Speaking of home races…
Such would be Melbourne for Oscar Piastri. But as is well known, the reigning Formula 2 champion did not get a cockpit for this season. He is only allowed to follow the Grand Prix as a substitute driver in the Alpine garage.
By the way: In contrast to Ricciardo, who comes from Perth, more than 2,700 kilometers away, Piastri was born directly in Melbourne. For comparison: the distance between Hamburg and Munich is just over 600 kilometers!
Maybe Piastri will have a home race in 2022.
Ricciardo: Podium would be unrealistic
The Australian has only been on the podium once at his home race. However, he was not allowed to keep the trophy after his second place in 2014, because the then Red Bull driver was subsequently disqualified.
“Realistically, the only thing that’s all [Fans] would make happy, a podium,” the local hero knows. “But to be honest, we’re still a bit away from that,” he admits after the difficult start of the 2022 season.
“I don’t have any points yet,” recalls the McLaren driver, explaining that it would be “a start” to collect the first points of the year. That would also be the “minimum” for him at his home race.
We’re excited to see how McLaren is doing this weekend.
New weekend format: That changes for the teams
In 2022 there will be a new weekend format in Formula 1. For example, the traditional media Thursday has been eliminated, the curfew and the start times of the sessions have been partially postponed.
But what does that mean for the teams? Mercedes gives us answers in this video!
New weekend format: This will change for the teams in 2022!
In 2022 there will be a new weekend format in Formula 1. Mercedes tells us what will change for the teams! More Formula 1 videos
Is Rosberg making his comeback now?
The internet never forgets! Now an old tweet by Nico Rosberg from 2017 has reappeared. At that time, the 2016 world champion was asked which route definitely belongs back on the Formula 1 calendar.
His answer at the time: “Las Vegas! If this race gets on the calendar, then I have to make a comeback.” Should he be pinned down now? 😉
Horner: Went to the car later
The Red Bull team boss is very satisfied with the start of the season and explains: “We have the RB16B [2021] developed until later in the year than our opponents have claimed.”
“We were therefore relatively late with the 2022 car,” he emphasizes. Last year, at the beginning of the summer, we heard “that our rivals are shifting all their resources to next year’s car.”
At that time, the RB16B was still being further developed. Horner is all the more proud that the 2022 season got off to such a good start.
Why the brakes are so important in 2022
Not only the aerodynamic concept is new in the 2022 Formula 1 season. Other technical areas of the vehicles have also undergone changes – for example the brakes. And the first two race weekends have shown that not all teams have these changes completely under control.
Our technical experts explain here why this is so!
© Motorsport Images
Running for Sainz
The Spaniard finished in the points for the 17th consecutive race in Saudi Arabia. No other driver in Formula 1 currently has such a long series. The Ferrari driver has finished in the top 10 in every race since Spielberg 2021.
By the way: The all-time record in this regard is held by Hamilton, who scored points in 48 consecutive races between Silverstone 2018 and Bahrain 2020. The series only broke at the time because he had to skip a GP with a corona infection.
To put that in perspective: Sainz could only reach this number towards the middle of the 2023 season. So there’s still a long way to go…
#AskMST
Frederik would like to know: “Is there any news about Pierre Gasly’s state of health or about the exact origin of his severe abdominal pain during the last race?”
No, we don’t have any new information on that yet. Our colleagues on site in Melbourne will certainly follow up on this at the weekend.
He also wants to know: “Who would be the replacement driver at AlphaTauri/RedBull at the moment, now that Alex Albon is driving at Williams himself?”
This year it’s Liam Lawson and, again, Sebastien Buemi.
Melbourne rookies
Because the race in 2020 and 2021 was canceled, four drivers, Guanyu Zhou, Yuki Tsunoda, Nicholas Latifi and Mick Schumacher, do not yet know Albert Park from their own experience.
“The track in Melbourne will be completely new to me, I only drove it once in the simulator,” reveals Tsunoda, who explains: “As always, I will approach a new track and build up my speed during the practice sessions.”
Zhou adds: “Melbourne is one of those special races. […] I can’t wait to get to know the track.” Above all, the first practice session will be “very important” to build self-confidence.
“My main focus is on getting everything out of the car – just like every other weekend,” said the Chinese.
Quasi home race for Bottas
Tiffany Cromwell, Valtteri Bottas’ girlfriend, is from Australia. Therefore, the Finn has already spent a lot of time there in winter. Before the Grand Prix, which he won in the last edition in 2019, he is aggressive.
“We know that we can fight with most cars. We’re confident that we can score points. But it’s important to do our job properly because we’ve seen how competitive the whole field is,” said Bottas.
Incidentally, the Alfa Romeo driver tried his hand at Australian football beforehand. Here are the pictures:
Haas strength: Car 2022 “easy” to drive
Haas is one of the positive surprises of the early part of the season. A key to success seems to be the handling of the new VF-22. Chief Designer Andrea de Zordo explains: “Since we tested it for the first time, it has been easy to ride. […] The strength of the car is that drivers find it easier to drive.”
His full statement is here!
Joint training
For those who were wondering about the relationship between the two new Mercedes teammates: Hamilton and Russell even trained together in Melbourne. This little snapshot of the record champion proves that.
But: We remember that Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were once even friends. Their relationship only went down the drain when they both fought each other for the world championship.
At least on an interpersonal level, it might even be quite helpful that this isn’t currently an issue at Mercedes…
press conferences at the weekend
The FIA has announced the line-up for the weekend’s PKs. Normally we would say at this point that we are of course there live here in the ticker. In Australia, however, this time it’s a little different.
Due to the extreme time difference, we only start our ticker after the end of the PK. But don’t worry: Of course you will still get the most important statements from us afterwards! Here is the overview:
Driver PK on Friday (CEST):
01:30 am:
Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
Alex AlbonWilliams
02:00 am:
Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Mick Schumacher (Haas)
George Russell (Mercedes)
Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
02:30 am:
Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
Nicholas LatifiWilliams
03:00 am:
Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
Lando Norris (McLaren)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Team boss PK on Saturday (CEST):
02:30 am:
Frederic VasseurAlfa Romeo
Otmar Szafnauer (Alpine)
Toto Wolff (Mercedes)
03:00 am:
Franz Tost (AlphaTauri)
Andreas Seidl (McLaren)
Christian Horner (Red Bull)
Gasly: Must take our chances
AlphaTauri scored eight points in the first two races and is on P7 in the World Championship. Gasly is only partially satisfied with this and explains: “It’s a shame that we couldn’t score points with both cars in Saudi.”
It was “positive” that he made it back into Q3 and finished eighth in the end, “which is proof that we have a car that we can fight for points with,” said the Frenchman.
But: “We have to make sure that we use every opportunity because the fight between the teams is already very intense this year,” explains Gasly. However, this is exactly what AlphaTauri has not been able to do so far.
In Bahrain Gasly retired with a defect, in Saudi Arabia Tsunoda could not start at all. The Italians urgently need to get the reliability under control.
#AskMST
Melanie immediately has two questions: “In the cars where the helmet camera was installed, is there no onboard cam there? Or either/or?”
No, the onboard camera is always there. The helmet camera is only an addition for some pilots, the normal onboard always have all 20 drivers.
Second question: “Is it conceivable that Vettel will stop in the middle of the season like Niki Lauda once did?”
A lot is conceivable, of course, but I personally believe that Vettel will definitely end the season. Whether it will still be driving in 2023 is another question…
