Martin Brundle: Charles Leclerc and Ferrari deliver Australian GP statement as Max Verstappen title defense falters

Ferrari and Charles Leclerc have truly outperformed these new 2022 Formula 1 cars. The Ferrari F1-75 is a benign and extremely fast car suitable for every circuit so far including Barcelona, ​​Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and a modified Melbourne design.

Leclerc went even higher, delivering consistent speed and always looking a half-step ahead of this car, rather than approaching the edge of the car’s limits and the occasional heavy detours as we’ve seen in the past. The new regulations suit him and he has developed confidence and increased self-confidence.

Two pole positions, two wins, a second, and three faster laps in three races confirms that.

Teammate Carlos Sainz had a weekend from hell, losing on a solid qualifying lap when his friend Fernando Alonso triggered a crash warning due to technical issues, then as another engine drama that doesn’t offer a representative lap begins. Out of the real ninth on the grid, he needed a last minute steering change which made for a horrific start, then embarked on a brutal midfield battle on solid composite tires, and eventually started impatiently on the road.

He could end up playing a supporting role for Leclerc from here, depending on how the competition is shaping up and whether he can win the next races, which is out of the question.

With Max Verstappen recording a victory and retiring twice so far, he is already 46 points behind Leclerc in the championship in sixth place.

Max used words like ‘unacceptable’ in his pen interviews to describe his unreliability issues before they were resolved shortly thereafter, but a fuel leak kept him away from the Australian Grand Prix which was generally a rough weekend for the team under the surface. It was a different fuel issue that got him out of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

There is still a long way to go but Leclerc has nearly two races to it, and now a faster car.

New track, new cars and Australian GP improvements

It’s hard to tell how much of a difference the faster and more open Albert Park track made, but it’s fair to say it helped with some overtaking in Turn 3 and a revised and renumbered turn 11. The race was the best we’ve seen there for a year, watched by 128,000 people on the racetrack, Although it was by no means a classic.

The cars, especially the midfield, continued to be able to race closely and once again we saw very little contact in wheel racing. One of the discoveries of research into recent aerodynamic changes has been the amount of downforce and grip lost not only when following another vehicle but also when running side-by-side.

Think of Hamilton and Verstappen’s side-by-side battle at Copps’ Corner due to last year’s infamous crash and the many other clumsy transformations that could have been more invisibly affected by the plane than we could have imagined.

With so many aircraft issues fixed, it is clear that drivers are able to better control their vehicles in close combat. This will undoubtedly be bolstered by the teams’ many warnings to drivers that if they damage many parts, they will be out of the race.

In that regard, it was a nightmare for Aston Martin. With Sebastian Vettel in the wall massively twice, Lance Stroll in the wall and also mostly responsible for the collision with Williams’s Nicholas Latifi, their parts supply room must have frequented all the way to a very large shipping container full of broken carbon fibres. backwards. And with today’s cost cap budget, that’s cash that really only needs to delve into the updates.

Mercedes continues to be determined

Except for the stumbling Aston Martin, we didn’t get the same indication as in the first two races that the Ferraris were going forward and the Mercedes-powered cars going backward. The Mercedes-powered and McLaren team looked much stronger although with two safety cars shutting down the group and only Leclerc plying in front, Mercs still trailed by 25secs, and the McLaren duo pulled back closely by 53secs. There is a long way to go to catch up.

George Russell was lucky with the safety car but you have to be competitive before and after to benefit and he certainly was. He doesn’t seem to struggle to stay with Lewis in qualifying or the race and that’s impressive against the great man. George is second in the Drivers’ Championship due to the elegant, faultless ride and reliability. Now he needs the performance car to take a good step forward quickly.

Lewis was disappointed in an overheated fourth place but the team must have been happy to use their tires better than Red Bull in the first half of the race. The entire Mercedes team is certainly implementing Damage Reduction very well.

Who are the other outstanding people in Melbourne?

McLaren is clearly starting to get their car back to a reasonable aerobase after hastily made brake cooling changes in Bahrain, and I expect them to move forward from there. Norris and house boy Riccardo were equally well matched for a solid, reliable car.

Valtteri Bottas drove another great race to eighth for Alfa Romeo, in a winning car that was still winning races.

The Alps were flattered to deceive quickly. Esteban Ocon came home in seventh place 62 seconds off the lead, Fernando Alonso, who would have started in the first two rows with no sprint issues in qualifying, was very fast throughout the event but came out with nothing and finished 17th and last, running to fourth from By not stopping behind the safety car after a late tire pit stop and going for the fastest lap, which Leclerc prevented in his final victorious round. It was the kind of day for Fernando who drives with so much speed and passion.

And so for Alex Albon who last started after Williams couldn’t provide enough fuel for the required legality check sample after qualifying. He was in control of his solid tires all the way to the penultimate lap until the regulations forced a halt, along with endless midfield battles, still running a world championship point. And even without Stroll’s five-second penalty for weaving a straight hole, Albon would have finished in front of him, while also just three seconds behind top-ranked Pierre Gasly.

It was a very strong day for Team Grove. Yes, I know Williams used to win a lot of races and championships, but that’s irrelevant in 2022. Sunday was an important day for the Williams-Albon partnership.

Plenty of huge Australian fans have given up their Red Bull merchandise for McLaren papaya hats in honor of their man Ricciardo. I wonder what the grand grandstands at Imola will look like in the next race.

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