3 bold predicitions for the Australian Grand Prix

Formula 1 is on a one-week break before they race down under, next week, for the first Australian Grand Prix since 2019 while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc leads the championship.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc leads the world drivers standings, after two rounds of the 2022 season, closely followed by his Spanish teammate, Carlos Sainz. As a result the drivers have pushed Ferrari back onto the top spot in the constructors standings while Mercedes-AMG Petronas and Red Bull Racing trail behind respectively.

Mercedes are now under pressure from losing their P2 position in the constructors as Red Bull pulled off a strong weekend in Saudi Arabia, after the defending world champion, Max Verstappen, secured his first win of the season ahead of fourth placed Sergio Perez.

The 2022 Australian Grand Prix will be the first time the sport has returned to Melbourne for the Aussie race since 2019, when the sport was forced to cancel its 2020 season opener as a result of the raging – and still ongoing – pandemic.

Here are five bold predictions for the 2022 Australian Grand Prix:

Mercedes make inroads on performance issues

The defending constructors champions are on the back foot as the season embarks on its third round. They currently sit second in the constructors championship, 40 points behind Ferrari (78), while they are at risk of being overtaken by Red Bull who are one point behind (37).

Their issues primarily come down to porpoising and the lack of straight line speed. While the team seemed to make some significant improvements in Bahrain, they looked to still have issues with the uncontrollable bouncing. In Saudi Arabia, their biggest issue came down to straight line speed which was unmatched to the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari.

On the contrary, while Mercedes looked to have a fairly reliable powerunit in recent years, the teams straight line speed wasn’t always their strong suit.

However, a one-week break could be all the time the Mercedes team need to figure out a solution to their lack of performance. The team, who has secured eight constructors championships in a row, are bleeding points to go for an unprecedented ninth consecutive world championship.

With any luck, they should be able to arrive into Australia with new aerodynamic upgrades which will see them return to the front of the pack. On the other hand, the works team are still putting in a relatively good performance with a car that should stand third – at best – in the overall pecking order.

Kevin Magnussen inches closer to a podium finish

The Danish driver, Kevin Magnussen was parachuted into the Haas F1 team last minute during the opening phases of the 2022 season, after the American team cut ties with their title sponsor Uralkali and Nikita Mazepin.

Since then, the Dane has put in an impressive performance for a team that was at the back of the pack all season long last year. In the first two rounds of the year, Magnussen was the only Haas driver to finish in the points after he secured a P5 and a P9 finish.

Magnussen’s career best finish in the sport is second place, at Melbourne in 2014 for McLaren. The team are yet to appear on the podium since their debut in 2016.

Following the teams clear performance and ability to return to the midfield fight, it looks likely the team can work their way towards the podium – or even score one if circumstances fall their way.

Max Verstappen becomes less conservative

Since the 2022 championship started, F1 fans would have expected the defending world champion to return to his normal mantra of racing; no quarters given. However, in the opening two rounds of the season, Verstappen has been seen to take a more conservative stance in his racing; leaving space and not making ambitious moves.

After he secured his first championship win in Saudi Arabia, when he provided a great clean battle between himself and Leclerc. But the Dutch champion currently sits third in the drivers standings behind Leclerc and Carlos Sainz respectively.

As a result, Verstappen’s new driving mantra might be put to the test and we may see a return of his aggressive driving style.

In light of this, Verstappen’s more conservative stance might be down to his world championship. At the beginning of the year, Verstappen said:

“For me, I always wanted to win one and you will see where you go from there. Everything that comes now is a bonus.”

This could mean that he isn’t going to fight for another world championship as hard as he did in the past, because he already has one. But, Verstappen is a racing driver and losing a championship may not be in his vocabulary.

Carlos Sainz to score first win

The Spanish driver, who recently moved to Ferrari from McLaren last season, has put in a stellar performance at this point of the championship. The Italian outfit finally look like as if they have the ability to fight for a world championship once again – for the first time since 2019.

For Sainz, he looked to be the number one driver during his McLaren tenure, above Lando Norris. However, he currently looks to be the second driver in Ferrari behind his teammate Leclerc who is leading the world drivers standings.

During his time in the sport, Sainz has collected three second-place finishes; Italy (McLaren), Monaco (Ferrari) and Bahrain (Ferrari).

After two rounds, the Spaniard has finished directly behind his Monegasque teammate (second in Bahrain and third in Saudi Arabia). Despite this, it looks to be a question of when – not if – Sainz will score his maiden F1 win.

 

That’s it for the article: ‘3 bold predicitions for the Australian Grand Prix.’ What are your five bold predictions for the Australian Grand Prix? Let us know in the comments!

Read more Formula One here!

• F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen secures win by 0.5 seconds
• F1 Saudi Arabia Qualifying: Sergio Perez on pole position for first time
• F1 Saudi Arabia FP3: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc tops final practice
• F1: 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Preview

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