F1

Minute-by-minute updates on Friday practice for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park.

All changes have been made in the hope of increasing overtaking opportunities and creating more exciting races. Opening practice for the Australian GP gets underway at 4am BST (1pm local time), followed by second practice which starts at 7am BST (4pm local time). Over two years on from the cancelled Australian GP due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, F1 makes its highly-anticipated return to a revamped Albert Park for 2022.

'It's too much': F1 stars call for major Aus GP change over 'painful' situation.

“There’s no reason we can’t do it back-to-back with one of the Middle-Eastern races,” he said. “Melbourne is included, don’t you worry. Russell suggested that the Australian Grand Prix take place immediately after the Middle-Eastern leg. I think it needs to be thought about more.” He added: “As the season is getting longer and longer we need to find a better balance.” As such, Russell believes the race is akin to a double-header, and said it shouldn’t take its place on the calendar as a standalone event.

McLaren's homecoming hero Daniel Ricciardo faced what he called the “busiest Thursday” he's experienced in F1 as the Australian Grand Prix returned for the ...

I was trying to encourage that and see if we could keep the character of the circuit and help out on Sunday. I think everyone’s just stoked to have the race back here; there’s a lot of motorsport enthusiasts and you feel that.” “It’s always been pretty wild here so there’s no denying that.

Perth-born driving prodigy Daniel Ricciardo owns at least three properties across the globe. · Mercedes team driver Lewis Hamilton has an impressive property ...

His UK home is reportedly close to the McLaren factory and is said to be luxurious, featuring a white and grey interior. The home is in a development where NFL star Tom Brady once lived. He recently moved to Monaco to be based with many other F1 drivers. But the up-and-coming driver recently revealed on Instagram that he was building a home in Monaco. The place isn’t finished yet, but I’ll be living here in Monaco when I’m not in the factory or at the track next year. I get the keys at the end of next month so will hopefully be moving in soon.

Kevin Magnussen thinks some changes made at Melbourne's Formula 1 track have gone slightly 'over the top', as he is not sure all the tweaks were needed.

"The bend before Turn 9, it's going to be pretty full on, I think, with DRS on," he said. "I think the cars are going to be quite loose there. And I think that's a great thing for the tracks to try to do their best to improve racing.

"If Red Bull get ahead, it's going to be difficult for Ferrari to overtake them."

The first practice season for the Australian Grand Prix commenced earlier on Friday, with the main race to begin at 3pm on Sunday. The Australian Grand Prix will be the third race of the 2022 season and Aussie F1 fans are bound to pack the stands at Albert Park on both Saturday and Sunday. Croft is not yet ready to say his long reign at the top of Formula 1 with Mercedes is over, saying he finds the criticism laughable.

Carlos Sainz comfortably had the measure of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc and the Red Bull duo to top first practice ahead of Formula 1's 2022 Australian ...

Bottas rounded out the top 10 over AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda and George Russell, while Vettel ended up 13th. He was swiftly joined by MCL36 teammate Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian 0.13s adrift on home soil as Bottas crossed the line another six hundredths in arrears aboard the Alfa Romeo C42. Sainz's benchmark on a scrubbed set of softs arrived shortly after Leclerc had completed a practice start, only for the Monegasque to run off track Turn 1. That triggered a brief 90-second red flag after 21 minutes so the carbon fibre could be cleared. Haas's early season promise only returned 18th and 20th. Norris became the early pacesetter as he was the first driver to post something in the ballpark of a competitive time, the McLaren driver chalking a 1m25.009s after four minutes of the hour.

Asked by Autosport if he felt any pressure to step aside at Alpine to make way for its FIA F3 and F2 championship-winning reserve driver Piastri, 23, Alonso ...

“He won all the junior categories until now, which obviously shows that he has talent and is very professional and hard working in the simulator and in the factory. “As I said at the beginning of the year, I still feel competitive and fast and feel that I am enjoying time in Formula 1. But Alonso - who, as the oldest driver on the grid, will be 41 years old at the end of his current deal - reckoned he would continue in the top flight for another couple of seasons.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Formula One mania in Australia has certainly not been lost on Daniel Ricciardo. The McLaren driver and local hero, who is gearing up ...

Turns 6 and 11 have also been widened to allow for faster speeds through the back half of the lap, in the hope it leads to more overtaking opportunities. It appears to be the catalyst in a completely sold out 2022 Australian Grand Prix. It's a Thursday and the walk in ... the fans ... I don't know if they thought the race was yesterday, but it felt like a Sunday. Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief Andrew Westacott believes the number could have been even greater had they been permitted to sell additional tickets, with an expected 25,000 set to miss out on a raceday ticket altogether. It's definitely a good crazy and there's a lot of support and love. "But it felt like it was turned up a notch, or two, or three.

F1 drivers have hit out at Australia's position on the 2022 F1 calendar.

We obviously race very far east with Japan and Singapore, China obviously, not this year, but it is on the calendar from next year onwards,” Russell said. There is no reason we couldn’t do a back-to-back with one of the Middle Eastern races. “We need to come to Australia, we need to come to this part of the world, but as we said as a stand-alone it is just too much for everybody.” But it feels like another double-header for all the teams with the amount of time they spend in this part of the world.” “People came out on Saturdays and Sundays to get acclimatised to the conditions, to the time zone change and it is just too much. In 2020, the F1 season was cancelled while in Melbourne due to the Covid-19 pandemic and this is the first time the race has been back after it had to be cancelled in 2021.

'Two or three more years': Alonso slams door shut on Aussie's F1 promotion.

A new deal for the Spaniard would be bad news for Piastri’s F1’s hopes. “I will race I guess a couple more years, two or three more years. Another year out of the spot would be untenable. “It’s an age thing, that people try to find a way for the young talents. “But I think this is about performance. Teammate Esteban Ocon, 23 years old, signed a long-term deal early last year taking him to the end of 2024.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc beat Max Verstappen to the top spot for Formula 1's 2022 Australian Grand Prix, with the latter opting to complete extra ...

Mercedes Mercedes Mercedes Mercedes Ferrari Red Bull Ferrari Red Bull Ferrari Red Bull Ferrari Red Bull

Mercedes driver George Russell believes having the Australian Grand Prix as a standalone event is 'too tough' on Formula 1 teams amid a 23-race season.

"There's no reason why we couldn't have done a back-to-back with one of the Middle Eastern races. The season started with a Middle East double-header in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. I think it needs to be thought about more.

Lewis Hamilton says nothing that Mercedes does to try to improve its Formula 1 car is working in helping it deliver progress it needs to make.

So we need to try and get on top of things and understand why." "We need to keep digging into the data and understand it. "It's just nothing we change on the car makes a difference at the moment," explained Hamilton after Friday running.

'Nothing works': Mercedes' grim championship reality laid bare.

“We need to keep digging into the data. “There’s just not a lot we can do. It’s just difficult.” “That’s the difficult thing. “It’s just nothing you change on the car makes a difference at the moment,” he said. “There’s quite a few midfield cars ahead of us and obviously we’re quite a long pace away from the front, so we need to work hard tonight to understand the limitations.”

In Saudi Arabia last time out, Lewis Hamilton slumped to his worst qualifying performance for the team ever, eliminated in Qualifying 1 before racing forward to ...

“We need to trust the process and bring the upgrades when we have total faith and confidence they will do as we expect. Last year’s constructors’ champions appear to have slipped to just the third-fastest team in the field, on the evidence of the opening two races. Considerations relating to Formula 1’s cost cap regulations are weighing on the mind of those at Mercedes as they work to claw back the ground lost to Ferrari and Red Bull.

Formula One drivers question where in the schedule Australia's race should sit as Melbourne prepares for its first GP in three years in an unusual April ...

“He is a good guy, very talented....very professional and hard working on the simulator the factory and all our meetings. He has won all the major titles, he is very professional and dedicated and you will see him around soon.“ Mick Schumacher, the Haas driver who is racing in the Australian GP for the first time, said: “Teams have to move back and forwards a lot. He is still very young and hopefully he finds a seat.” “But I think this is about performance. “I think it’s geographically correct ... we are happy I think for the race to be at any point of the season. I just think there’s a better compromise to be had. That’s what makes it very difficult with all the travel.“ “Oscar is a great guy, he is very involved in the team, he is going to have a great testing program. “I am very sure he is going to have a seat in F1 shortly, I don’t know where in the paddock but opportunity comes for the ones who deserve it, and Oscar is one of them. I think it needs to be thought about more. We race very far east with Japan and Singapore, China, not this year but it is on the calendar from next year onwards.

Charles Leclerc was fastest during Australian Grand Prix practice in Melbourne on Friday, the third round of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship.

Mercedes Mercedes Mercedes Mercedes Ferrari Ferrari Red Bull Ferrari Red Bull Ferrari Red Bull Verstappen retook P1 on 1m20.377s before Leclerc and Sainz grabbed a Ferrari 1-2, with Carlos on top with 1m20.325s, just 0.052s ahead of his teammate.

Sebastian Vettel insists that he was given permission by a marshal to ride a scooter via the track back to the Albert Park pits after Friday's Formula 1 FP1 ...

“I said, ‘Can I drive it?’ Because I prefer to drive myself. I'm not here to drive a scooter.” “Obviously, we had a problem, and there was a bit of smoke, and I lost power,” he said. Plus the track is different. So it was a bit of a job. Vettel rode it back to the pits waving to the crowd – at some points with both hands – and his crash helmet was perched on top of his head.

Sebastian Vettel was facing potential punishment Friday after riding a moped on the track at the Australian Grand Prix in violation of the rules, ...

F1’s youngest world champion is now in his 15th full season. “The positives are that I felt I was able to get comfortable quite quickly and that we had a good balance in the car, too. “It was a shame to have to finish FP1 earlier than we would have liked -- and then not be able to take part in FP2 -- because today was an important day for me in terms of getting back up to speed with the car and learning a new layout,” he said.

Mercedes driver George Russell believes having the Australian Grand Prix as a standalone event is 'too tough' on Formula 1 teams amid a 23-race season.

"There's no reason why we couldn't have done a back-to-back with one of the Middle Eastern races. The season started with a Middle East double-header in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. I think it needs to be thought about more.

AUSTRALIAN FORMULA ONE GRAND PRIX AT A GLANCE:- * WHEN: Sunday race; Saturday qualifying. * WHERE: Albert Park...

Double world champion Fernando Alonso on Friday said he planned to keep racing for at least two or three years more, denying feeling pressure to step aside ...

This year, let’s see how it goes, but it is about performance and not age.” “I think I still feel competitive and fast and I’m enjoying my time in Formula One, so I will race I guess a couple more years, two or three more years,” he said. Last year I think I did well.

Ferrari fired a major warning to its rivals at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday, while Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren showed small signs of improvement.

“Because we’re so far behind and because of the cost cap we can’t afford to just throw things at it and trial and error at race weekend. “We need to obviously close that gap but there‘s nothing substantial this weekend that will do that,” he said. I don’t have a second in my pocket but of course you’ll find a bit as the week goes on.” “I suspect the team working the hardest tonight will be Red Bull,” he said. A week after we went to Saudi and we showed more competitiveness — that was really just a track dependent thing. “You said crazy, It‘s definitely a good crazy. That certainly stood out and it’s awesome. He will meet with the stewards after FP2. Hopefully this circuit, I think it does lean more to a Saudi layout than a Bahrain one and I think that will help us a bit with where we currently are.” “Until then, we need to maximise each opportunity and make the most of the package we have.” There’s a lot of support and love and it’s not just for me, it’s for F1 and I think everyone is just stoked to have the race back here.” He added: “It’s so versatile.

The former world champion came in 13th in his Mercedes, following his disappointing finish in Saudi Arabia.

“We have to find a balance,” he said. With the number of meetings limited to 24 there is concern that a congested calendar could come at the expense of historic races in Europe. “We have gone left, right and centre with the setup but that has resulted in a similar outcome, so we need to get on top of things,” said Russell. Hamilton was 10th at the last round in Saudi Arabia and admitted that the drivers could make little difference to the performance. Hamilton, the sport’s biggest star for some time, may not be in the fight but the enthusiasm for the competition is undimmed in his absence. “Nothing we change on the car makes a difference at the moment and that is the difficult thing,” he said.

Formula 1 drivers have praised changes at Albert Park making the track faster and more fun, but they remain sceptical about them helping produce more ...

But I think it will be to some degree better. "I think we'll get a fun one on Sunday, but I'm cautious to oversell it because I honestly don't know what the facts will be. I think it will be better. It is easy to make mistakes and I think with this car generally compared to last year's, it is a bit easier to make mistakes. To be fair, I don't think there were many overtakes in the past here. I think the track grip is quite nice, the bumps definitely improved.

Melbourne plays host to the third round of the 2022 Formula 1 season. Here's how you can watch qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix.

Viewers from selected countries can subscribe to F1 TV to stream qualifying on a device of their choice. - Denmark - TV3 / TV3 Sport / Viaplay Can’t find your country or region in the list?

Sebastian Vettel is yet to decide on a name for his Aston Martin Formula 1 car as he wants to “wait for a bit more pace” before christening it.

“I had races where I was feeling a bit ill and raced, but it was not possible,” Vettel said. “Nico I think did really well, obviously with zero preparation to jump in and do that kind of job. It is one of only two teams yet to record a top-10 finish so far this year.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc beat Max Verstappen to the top spot for Formula 1's 2022 Australian Grand Prix – with the latter opting to complete extra ...

As he shot through Turn 12 during a lap on the mediums, Hamilton had to catch two oversteer snaps – the second of which sent him skating across the gravel trap at the corner’s exit. On his third softs flier, Verstappen posted a purple sector in the middle third of the lap, but had to back off late on after sliding off the exit kerbs for the Turn 12 right and then having bounced back onto the track locking up and sliding deep at the final corner. Sainz continued the exchange of best times with Leclerc as he then posted a 1m19.376s, but the championship leader then surged ahead definitively with a third flying lap on another set of softs with 25 minutes to go. Alonso broke the Ferrari dominance at the front with a 1m19.537s just before the halfway point, but just a few moments later Leclerc – who had been through the pits before continuing on the softs – demoted him with a new best of 1m19.487s. Leclerc got back ahead on his first run on the red-walled rubber – a 1m19.771s – albeit with no purple sectors and losing a chunk of time with a slide at the penultimate corner. As the opening five minutes drew to a close, Leclerc shot ahead on a 1m20.898s on the mediums, which he beat a few minutes later with a 1m20.523s.

Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc has refuted suggestions that his winning form in 2022 reflects a transition to a “2.0” version of himself.

"To have more pressure means you're doing something right, and that you are in the right place. "I don't really know where I'm gaining [on Sainz], I guess it's a little bit everywhere. "And this [cost me] massively at the end of the year. And it's great to be back here. "Yeah, I've had a growth from year-to-year that is linear. "This is not the case.

Formula 1 drivers have praised changes at Albert Park making the track faster and more fun, but they remain sceptical about them helping produce more ...

But I think it will be to some degree better. "I think we'll get a fun one on Sunday, but I'm cautious to oversell it because I honestly don't know what the facts will be. I think it will be better. It is easy to make mistakes and I think with this car generally compared to last year's, it is a bit easier to make mistakes. To be fair, I don't think there were many overtakes in the past here. I think the track grip is quite nice, the bumps definitely improved.

F1 LIVE: Fears over 'artificial race'; champ's 'eye-wateringly exciting' prospect revealed.

In handing down the decision, the stewards wrote: “At the end of the session, VET sought a way to return to his pit. “The guy came with a scooter and he said, ‘you can jump on the back,’ Vettel said. I’m not here to drive a scooter.” Meanwhile, the marshal was trying to contact Race Control for instructions. VET asked if he could drive the scooter in order to return to his pit. When he didn’t get on, VET departed alone for the pit, without the prior approval to do so. McLaren’s Lando Norris was of a similar opinion saying: “It is fast, it is exciting. “Firstly it‘s great news for F1 that brands such as Porsche and Audi are looking at entering. “I don’t think taking out the corners was the right call. “It’s no worries at all. I don’t know how they’re going to get two cars there.” They did a good job with that.”

The FIA is planning a clampdown on the underwear that Formula 1 drivers use on safety grounds following talks in Australia.

“There were a few people with some concerns for various reasons that we shan’t go into on TV,” Piastri added. Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, he reminded drivers in the event notes that wearing jewellery in the car was not permitted due to concerns about safety and extrication from cars. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said that he heard it was an “entertaining drivers’ briefing yesterday”.

Minute-by-minute updates on Saturday practice for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park.

All changes have been made in the hope of increasing overtaking opportunities and creating more exciting races. Final practice for the Australian GP gets underway at 4am BST (1pm local time), followed by qualifying at 7am BST (4pm local time). Over two years on from the cancelled Australian GP due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, F1 returns to a revamped Albert Park.

The FIA has removed one of the four DRS zones from the Albert Park layout for Formula 1's 2022 Australian Grand Prix, with the move made on safety grounds.

“DRS detection 1 will be moved to before Turn 9, DRS activation 1 will be after Turn 10, DRS detection 2 will remain unchanged, with the following activation zones will be renumbered accordingly.” The remaining two DRS zones and their activation points remain unchanged – with the drivers able to activate the system as they head down the main straight and on the track’s second straight that leads to the tight right of Turn 3. The DRS zone that follows the fast Turns 9 and 10 complex remains unchanged, with the activation point for that run moved to just before Turn 9.

Formula 1 could hold a second race in Singapore should plans for Qatar to replace the cancelled Russian Grand Prix in September fall through, Autosport has ...

The 2021 race started at 5pm local time, 15 minutes after sunset. Another option could be to return to Bahrain to user the outer loop layout of the Bahrain International Circuit, which staged the Sakhir Grand Prix at the end of 2020. A similar approach was taken for the pair of races in Bahrain at the end of 2020, when the Sakhir Grand Prix started a few hours later than the Bahrain Grand Prix one week earlier.

Daniel Ricciardo was partly responsible for a major change at Albert Park but F1 bosses had other ideas, stepping in before qualifying. 3 min read.

“The changes are pretty good, we have to see how they are,” Steiner said. “The surface is very nice. They did a good job with that.” I don’t know how they’re going to get two cars there.” “Turn 11, which used to be 13, I don’t know why they changed it. 2022 is very different to 2019, four DRS zones is too much I think but I don’t want to see an artificial race.

The FIA has removed one of the four DRS zones from the Albert Park layout for Formula 1's 2022 Australian Grand Prix, with the move made on safety grounds.

“DRS detection 1 will be moved to before Turn 9, DRS activation 1 will be after Turn 10, DRS detection 2 will remain unchanged, with the following activation zones will be renumbered accordingly.” The remaining two DRS zones and their activation points remain unchanged – with the drivers able to activate the system as they head down the main straight and on the track’s second straight that leads to the tight right of Turn 3. The DRS zone that follows the fast Turns 9 and 10 complex remains unchanged, with the activation point for that run moved to just before Turn 9.