2023 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, March 31 - April 02 Sportsbook Motor Sport

[Tom]

First early start of the year.

TV Times:
Friday: First Practice - 02.30. Second Practice - 06.00.
Saturday: Third Practice - 02.30. Qualifying - 06.00.
Sunday: Race - 06.00.

All sessions will be live on Sky Sports.

For those who will watch it on C4: Qualifying will be on at 11.15 on Saturday and Race will be on at 12.30 on Sunday. All highlights.

 

[Tom]

I hope the 4th DRS zone is enough to make it interesting.

And it might be enough. I think the 3rd DRS zone was enough to make it close last year but not enough to help them overtake. I might be misremembering though.

 

[Franco Pinion]

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso set the fastest time in the second practice session before the rain came down over Albert Park, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Max Verstappen slotting in second and third respectively.

If we get sketchy weather for the rest of the weekend we could have a fun race. This can be a bit of a bogey track for Red Bull as well.

Pos.	Driver	Car	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:18.887		13
2	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:19.332	+0.445s	10
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:19.502	+0.615s	12
4	George Russell	Mercedes	1:19.672	+0.785s	20
5	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1:19.695	+0.808s	12
6	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1:19.725	+0.838s	12
7	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing	1:20.083	+1.196s	15
8	Lando Norris	Mclaren	1:20.176	+1.289s	20
9	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	1:20.194	+1.307s	19
10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:20.206	+1.319s	12
11	Yuki Tsunoda	Alphatauri	1:20.220	+1.333s	18
12	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	1:20.312	+1.425s	22
13	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:20.323	+1.436s	17
14	Oscar Piastri	Mclaren	1:20.380	+1.493s	24
15	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	1:20.470	+1.583s	22
16	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:20.579	+1.692s	15
17	Nyck De Vries	Alphatauri	1:20.600	+1.713s	8
18	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:21.182	+2.295s	18
19	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:21.266	+2.379s	18

 

[Legion]

Great qualifying session.

Verstappen really had to work for it but nailed it when it mattered. The Mercedes look quick, them against the Aston Martin tomorrow could be a fantastic battle.

Ferrari disappointing again, also where was that rain they insisted was on the way?

1	Max Verstappen	1:17.384	1:17.056	1:16.732
2	George Russell	1:17.654	1:17.513	1:16.968
3	Lewis Hamilton	1:17.689	1:17.551	1:17.104
4	Fernando Alonso	1:17.832	1:17.283	1:17.139
5	Carlos Sainz	1:17.928	1:17.349	1:17.270
6	Lance Stroll	1:17.873	1:17.616	1:17.308
7	Charles Leclerc	1:18.218	1:17.390	1:17.369
8	Alexander Albon	1:17.962	1:17.761	1:17.609
9	Pierre Gasly	1:18.312	1:17.574	1:17.675
10	Nico Hulkenberg	1:18.029	1:17.412	1:17.735
11	Esteban Ocon	1:17.770	1:17.768
12	Yuki Tsunoda	1:18.471	1:18.099
13	Lando Norris	1:18.243	1:18.119
14	Kevin Magnussen	1:18.159	1:18.129
15	Nyck De Vries	1:18.450	1:18.335
16	Oscar Piastri	1:18.517
17	Zhou Guanyu	1:18.540
18	Logan Sargeant	1:18.557
19	Valtteri Bottas	1:18.714
RT	Sergio Perez

 

[Franco Pinion]

The Mercedes look quick, them against the Aston Martin tomorrow could be a fantastic battle.

Fresh track because of the rain and colder temps really helped Mercedes.

People thought that would help Ferrari most but it seems like they're still running in impotent engine mode.

 

[Crabtree]

Good fun race, although I do think the two red flags at the end were bonkers. The first red flag at Lap 55 should have been a safety car and ideally, if they were to red flag, they might as well have done a rolling start and well there should never have been a second, just for parading. Very easy to say all this in hindsight though.

One thing is clear, RBR is well ahead of the pack. Ferrari is nowhere close enough either due to engineering issues or driver errors.

Second place between Mercedes and Aston Martin at this point. Those summer upgrades might be the difference.

 

[Tom]

Good fun race, although I do think the two red flags at the end were bonkers. The first red flag at Lap 55 should have been a safety car and ideally, if they were to red flag, they might as well have done a rolling start and well there should never have been a second, just for parading. Very easy to say all this in hindsight though.

One thing is clear, RBR is well ahead of the pack. Ferrari is nowhere close enough either due to engineering issues or driver errors.

Second place between Mercedes and Aston Martin at this point. Those summer upgrades might be the difference.

After Abu Dhabi nobody is taking chances.

 

[Dylan]

Did the two Alpines take each other out?