1082nd F1 GRAND PRIX | 86th AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX | 26th GRAND PRIX AT ALBERT PARK
2022 POLESITTER: CHARLES LECLERC | 2022 WINNER: CHARLES LECLERC
The Albert Park circuit had a makeover ahead of its comeback after a three-year absence in 2022. The 2023 Australian Grand Prix is set to take place on April 2.
2023 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday 31st March
Free Practice 1 – 12:30pm Local Time / 2:30am UK Time
Free Practice 2 – 4pm Local Time / 6am UK Time
Saturday 1st April
Free Practice 3 – 12:30pm Local Time / 2:30am UK Time
Qualifying – 4pm Local Time / 6am UK Time
Sunday 2nd April
The 2023 Australian Grand Prix – 3pm Local Time / 6am UK Time
2023 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX: WEEKEND MILESTONES
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At the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso will overtake Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button as the driver to have made the most appearances at Albert Park. This will be the Spaniard’s 18th appearance at the track.
- Pole position for Lewis Hamilton at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix would make him the first driver to have taken nine poles at a single circuit.
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At the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri will become the third Australian driver – after Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo – to race at Albert Park in Formula 1.
- McLaren currently hold the record for most Australian Grand Prix victories, with 11. Ferrari – who won last year – can equal McLaren’s tally of wins at the event in 2023. Similarly, Ferrari could equal Mercedes as the most successful engine manufacturer at the Australian Grand Prix. Mercedes-powered cars have won here 11 times.
READ MORE IN MILESTONES AND RECORDS TO BREAK
WHAT HAS CHANGED AT THE CIRCUIT SINCE LAST YEAR?
There have been minimal changes at Albert Park since the 2022 Australian Grand Prix. The width of the pit exit has been reduced to 4 metres and the pit exit line has been shortened. Barriers have been realigned at Turn 11.
HOW MANY DRS ZONES WILL THERE BE AT THE 2023 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX?
There will be four DRS zones at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. The 2022 Australian Grand Prix weekend also began with four DRS zones, before the one between Turns 9 and 10 was removed on safety grounds. It has been reinstated this year.
ALBERT PARK TRACK GUIDE
Albert Park, located just a few miles south of central Melbourne, is the venue of the now traditional season opening Australian Grand Prix. The temporary street circuit sees the cars tear through the park, just inches from the surrounding walls.
The Australian Grand Prix was an event for many years before it became a part of the F1 World Championship. This event moved around tracks in Australia on a yearly basis. One non-championship Grand Prix with F1 machinery was held at Albert Park in 1956, albeit on a very different track to the current layout. The 1956 event was won by Stirling Moss, driving for Maserati. The Australian Grand Prix became a fixture on the F1 calendar in 1985, at Adelaide. The race was run successfully there for eleven seasons.
In 1993, negotiations began to bring the Australian Grand Prix to Melbourne and, after two years of preparations, Formula One took to the streets of a rebuilt Albert Park circuit for the first time for the first race of the 1996 season, much to the dismay of the ‘Save Albert Park’ group. The building of the circuit, even though temporary, required trees to be cut down and some facilities to be removed from the park.
The deal was struck mostly thanks to Ron Walker, an Australian business man who held negotiations with Bernie Ecclestone. Following Walker’s death in January 2018, the main straight on the track was renamed the ‘Walker Straight’ in honour of the man who helped to bring the event to the city.
READ MORE IN OUR ULTIMATE TRACK GUIDE
WHO WILL BE IN THE 2023 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX PRESS CONFERENCES?
The world’s media will have the opportunity to talk to the drivers on Friday morning before the opening practice session. The drivers appearing in the press conference are:
Group 1
Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Group 2
Nyck De Vries (AlphaTauri)
Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Nico Hülkenberg (Haas)
George Russell (Mercedes)
Logan Sargeant (Williams)
The media will also be talking to prominent members of Formula 1’s teams on Saturday morning. The team members appearing in the press conference are Otmar Szafnauer (Alpine), Guenther Steiner (Haas), Mario Isola (Pirelli), Mike Krack (Aston Martin), Zak Brown (McLaren) and Christian Horner (Red Bull).
WHO WILL BE THE RACE DIRECTOR AT THE 2023 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX?
Niels Wittich will be the race director at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix.
WHO WILL BE THE DRIVER STEWARD AT THE 2023 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX?
Each weekend a former Formula 1 driver, or a driver from another prominent series of motorsport, joins the stewards to help judge any incidents from a drivers’ perspective. The Driver Steward this weekend is Enrique Bernoldi.
WHICH TYRE COMPOUNDS WILL BE USED AT THE 2023 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX?
Pirelli will supply the C2, C3 and C4 tyre compounds at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix.
In 2023, there are six compounds which Pirelli can nominate for use over a race weekend. In addition to the previous C1-C5 offering, the C0 tyre has been introduced. C0 is the equivalent of 2022’s C1 tyre, while the 2023 C1 tyre slots between the 2022 C1 and C2 equivalents.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME AT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX?
It was a near-perfect Australian Grand Prix weekend for Charles Leclerc, who secured the first Grand Slam of his career.
Formula 1 returned to Albert Park for the first time since 2019, with the 2022 Australian Grand Prix the first to take place on a revised layout of the Albert Park circuit. Sebastian Vettel returned after missing the first two races of the season with coronavirus. His antics at the end of Free Practice 1 made headlines, as he took a scooter ride back to the pit lane after his car broke down – for which he later picked up a fine. His weekend didn’t get much better on Saturday, with him crashing out in final practice along with Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll.
Vettel failed to make it out on track at the start of qualifying as his car could not be repaired in time but Aston Martin were successful in getting Stroll out on track. However, Stroll suffered another setback in Q1. The red flags were brought out after Nicholas Latifi collided with Stroll’s car. Ironically, the red flag period allowed extra time for Vettel to make an on-track appearance. A further red flag was called in Q3 as Fernando Alonso – who was on a fast lap – collided with the barriers.
The battle for pole was won by Charles Leclerc, who led the field into Turn 1 on Sunday. While it was plain sailing for Leclerc, team-mate Carlos Sainz had a difficult Saturday and qualified only ninth. The Spaniard was out on Lap 2 in the race, spinning out into the gravel. After a Safety Car period, there were further off track excursions for Vettel and Kevin Magnussen, though both were able to continue.
Vettel then went off again on Lap 23 and this time he was less lucky, bringing out another Safety Car as he retired from the race. At the restart, Max Verstappen attempted an overtake on the leading Ferrari, but Leclerc just stayed ahead. Verstappen’s race ended on Lap 39 as he pulled over to the side of the track with a fuel leak. That left Leclerc free to take victory by over 20 seconds from Sergio Perez.
Mercedes enjoyed a somewhat more competitive weekend than at the first two races of the year, with George Russell scoring his first podium result with the team and Lewis Hamilton finishing fourth. It was also a good weekend for McLaren – Lando Norris finished fifth, while home hero Daniel Ricciardo followed in sixth.
Alex Albon was one of the stars of the race. Opting for an alternate strategy, the Williams driver stayed out on hard tyres until the penultimate lap of the race. The bold strategy call allowed Albon to pick up his, and the team’s, first point of the season.
WHAT’S THE FASTEST EVER LAP AT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX?
Attending the 2023 Australian Grand Prix? Learn more about visiting Albert Park in the F1Destinations Travel Guide.
