Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Prediction: Maybe some mistakes in Red Bull?

Now it is already more than clear that for some greater tension in the race, we should "cheer" for some small bad luck in the Red Bull camp. Maybe it's time for Sergio Perez to win a race, but neither he nor the rest of the grid have shown a pace worthy of victory so far. Carlos Sainz is returning to the track after missing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to appendicitis surgery. Sainz's replacement, Ferrari's young reserve driver Oliver Bearman, did more than expected and eventually won seventh place in the race in Jeddah, withstanding the onslaught of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton towards the end of the race. Ferrari is currently the only one that poses any kind of threat to Red Bull. Charles Leclerc has the speed at least for pole position, which is of course difficult to realize in a race with this pace of Red Bull, more precisely of Max Verstappen.

The Albert Park circuit consists of 14 turns and has recently been redesigned to be even faster. It is still difficult to overtake, although not as difficult as it was in the past. Historically, a one-stop strategy has been the optimal option, but this year's move to softer components could change that. We also have a record number of DRS zones in a season, as many as four! Pirelli's C5 tire compound – the softest of the five compounds available this year – will make its debut this weekend in Melbourne. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was the only driver to do a real long drive with the component at the Bahrain test, while Williams, Ferrari, and Kick Sauber all completed a small number of laps, meaning the C5 component is still unknown. There are also components C4 (which was used in Jeddah) and C3, which can be seen at almost every race.

The fastest time and starting position in Sunday's race was provided by Red Bull driver and current champion - Max Verstappen. He achieved victory with a time of 1:15:915. It was the 35th pole of his career and he will fight for the 57th triumph in his F1 career in Australia. The Dutchman achieved a time that was 0.270 seconds better than the first runner-up, Carlos Sainz from Ferrari, who reached this result only two weeks after he underwent appendicitis surgery. Third was Lando Norris and fourth was Charles Leclerc, who made a big mistake in the last sector of the last lap. Sergio Perez, Verstappen's teammate, will start sixth on the grid on Sunday after he received a penalty. Among the top ten in the qualifiers were also Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll, and Fernando Alonso. Former champion Lewis Hamilton failed to qualify for Q3 for the first time this season, so he will start 11th in Melbourne.

At this year's race for the Australian Grand Prix, there will be two drivers on the home field, Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri. After a dramatic entry into the world of Formula 1, Oscar profiled himself as a very high-quality driver for a team on an upward trajectory. Namely, after a difficult start to his career at McLaren, where he struggled, Oscar returned the Australian flag to the podium again, at the races for the Japanese Grand Prix and the Qatar Grand Prix last year. He also won the sprint race in Qatar. After more than ten years, two Australians will compete in the race for the Australian Grand Prix, hopefully with the best possible results.

Verstappen's strong form continued in qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix as the Dutchman beat his rivals on the way to his third consecutive pole position of the year. It’s obvious that Red Bull has way faster and powerful engine, and the real fight is happening behind Verstappen’s back. Both McLaren drivers will challenge very good and fast Ferrari, while even further on the grip we are waiting to see the fight between Aston Martin and Mercedes, Alosno and Hamilton. This will be very fast and unpredictable race and I expect Charles Leclerc to “fly” on the circuit and finish in the top 3.

OUR PREDICTION: Charles Leclerc in the top 3