Red Bull driver wary of revamped circuit as F1 returns to Melbourne after two years
\n MELBOURNE
\nWorld champion Max Verstappen is eyeing a \u201csmooth weekend\u201d to build on his victory in Saudi Arabia, but is wary about a revamped Albert Park circuit as Formula One returns to Melbourne after a two-year hiatus.
\nThe 24-year-old Red Bull driver was a relieved man after battling to a thrilling win ahead of Ferrari\u2019s Charles Leclerc in Jeddah last month.
\nIt was a satisfying triumph for Verstappen after Monaco\u2019s Leclerc clinched the season-opening grand prix in Bahrain where the Dutchman failed to finish.
\nThe young rivals again shape as the men to beat in the third race of the year, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton desperate for improvement from Mercedes on a track where he has taken eight poles, including the last six.
\nIt will be a new experience for all drivers, with Albert Park undergoing its most significant modifications since first hosting a grand prix in 1996.
\nA full resurfacing has taken place with seven corners modified and two removed, bringing the number of turns down to 14, providing more overtaking opportunities and lap times up to five seconds quicker than in the past.
\n\u201cIt will be interesting to see the track updates, I think they will make quite a big difference, especially in turn six where the most significant change has happened,\u201d said Verstappen, who is 20 points behind Leclerc in the drivers\u2019 standings.
\n\u201cThere should be more overtaking opportunities now too which is always positive. It\u2019s going to be interesting to see how the car performs in Australia, the track can sometimes be quite dusty. I hope we can have another smooth weekend as a team.\u201d
\nVerstappen made his Formula One debut in Melbourne in 2015 for Red Bull\u2019s junior team Toro Rosso.
\nHamilton, who has won more Formula One races than any driver in history, has topped the podium twice in Australia, but not since 2015.
\nHis chances of doing so again appear slim on the evidence of the opening two races, where Mercedes struggled with speed and managing downforce, prompting the Briton to complain in Saudi Arabia his car was \u201cundriveable\u201d.
\nAfter being gifted third place in Bahrain, when neither Red Bull finished, he managed just 10th in Jeddah, having qualified 16th.
\nTeam boss Toto Wolff is not holding out hope of big improvements in Melbourne.
\n\u201cThere won\u2019t be a magic fix for the next race weekend,\u201d he said.
\nAlbert Park had previously held the season-opening race every year since 1996, but was moved to third on the calendar this time to allow Covid restrictions to ease in Victoria state.
\nMelbourne missed out in 2021 due to strict quarantine and entry regulations, after 2020 was sensationally scrapped just before the first official Friday practice session as concerns spiked following a McLaren staff member testing positive.
\nValtteri Bottas, now driving for Alfa Romeo, won the last Australian Grand Prix three years ago, ahead of then-Mercedes teammate Hamilton by 20.886secs, the biggest margin of victory in the Finnish driver\u2019s 10 race wins.
\nAustralia will mark the first grand prix of the season for four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who has been out of action after testing positive for Covid before the Bahrain season-opener.
\n\u201cFor me, after nearly a month out of the car, it will be important to learn throughout the practice sessions,\u201d said the Aston Martin driver, whose team are yet to register a world championship point.
\n\u201cI hope we can take some steps forward in what is usually an exciting and unpredictable race,\u201d said the German.
\nVettel is a three-time winner at Albert Park — in 2011, 2017 and 2018. Other than Hamilton and Bottas, the only other driver on the grid this weekend who has tasted victory in Australia is Fernando Alonso, but that was 16 years ago in a Renault.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Red Bull driver wary of revamped circuit as F1 returns to Melbourne after two years MELBOURNE World champion Max Verstappen is eyeing a \u201csmooth weekend\u201d to build on his victory in Saudi Arabia, but is wary about a revamped Albert Park circuit as Formula One returns to Melbourne after a two-year hiatus. The 24-year-old Red […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253647,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-253634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n