Charles Leclerc was the big winner at Australia, but there were plenty more winners and a few losers both on and off the track in Melbourne.
Autoweek takes a look at some of the stories and snippets from behind the scenes at Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix.
Drivers Get Cheeky over Underwear
There have been concerns from the FIA that drivers were becoming a little lax in terms of wearing personal underwear, as well as jewelry, that could compromise safety in the event of an accident.
This is serious.
Appendix L of the International Sporting Code has extensive guidelines and outlines that “the use of synthetic, non-flameproof materials in contact with the driver’s skin is not authorized” aside from in justified medical cases. That means no boxers or briefs bought from your local clothes store.
Underwear was even a discussion point during the usual Friday drivers’ briefing (yes, we said briefing) at the Australian Grand Prix, which extended to two hours, as several topics were picked through. It is understood that new race director Niels Wittich has given those drivers impacted a grace period of a couple of events—in order to make arrangements—before a clampdown happens. Some drivers were more perplexed by the situation than others.
“I don’t want to comment on that,” said Pierre Gasly, before deciding to comment that “(If) they want to check my ass, feel free, I have nothing to hide. If they want to check it every single weekend, if that makes them happy, then feel free.”
It has not yet been outlined exactly how the underwear rule will actually be checked and enforced.
Fans and participants alike had a great time in Melbourne.
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Melbourne Is Back, Party On!
Melbourne was where Formula 1 was when the pandemic struck and 2022’s return was a deeply cathartic experience. The city—surely one of the world’s best and most sports-obsessed—was buzzing throughout the weekend, the event was blessed by superb weather, and from the outset on Thursday Albert Park was a hive of energy and excitement.
There was also a noticeably younger demographic than pre-pandemic. It was just the injection Formula 1 needed after successive events in the Middle East—where the fanbase is growing but a little underwhelming—as a record-breaking 420,000 fans crammed into Albert Park across the course of the four days. It was like a festival, with the club music blaring out on a packed grid, which included Australian royalty in the form of actor Eric Bana, MotoGP legend Casey Stoner, and wheelchair tennis icon Dylan Alcott.
Formula 1 was the showpiece event but Australia’s Supercar series kept fans highly entertained with four races across the weekend, while S5000 was another engaging category. The argument persists over whether Australia should return to holding the opening round, given the circuit is not the most conducive for great racing, but as an overall event it is comfortably among Formula 1’s best. Miami and Las Vegas would do well to talk to Australia’s promoters.
Daniel Ricciardo
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Ricciardo Kicks Off with Charity Auction
Daniel Ricciardo headed to the rooftop bar of Melbourne’s QT for an event in conjunction with race sponsor Heineken. Local artist Reko Rennie designed a race helmet to celebrate the vibrancy and inclusivity of Melbourne, with both Rennie and Ricciardo putting their signatures on the lid.
The blue and green colors on the helmet were a tribute to the Yarra river—known to those with aboriginal heritage such as Rennie as Birrarung—and the eight-time race winner was delighted with the end product. The helmet will be auctioned off to help the Australian Red Cross in their efforts to provide humanitarian support to communities impacted by the devastating flooding that has affected Queensland and New South Wales in 2022. Ricciardo, understandably, what the center of attention for much of the weekend in Australia, with fans cheering his every move, and he went on to reward their enthusiasm with his first 2022 points in sixth.
Oscar Piastri was celebrating more then just a return to Melbourne.
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Piastri Turns 21
There was a celebration on Wednesday evening as friends, family and members of the paddock gathered at a beach-side bar in nearby Brighton to celebrate the 21st birthday of Alpine’s reserve driver and 2021 Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri.
The timing of the calendar allowed Melbourne native Piastri to mark the occasion on home soil, and as part of the celebrations a video package was presented, featuring messages from leading Australian sports figures and other famous faces. Piastri’s mentor Mark Webber provided a glowing tribute to a young charger whose time will come.
Piastri is spending 2022 as Alpine’s reserve driver, following successive titles in Formula 3 and Formula 2, and he is already deeply embedded within the operation. Piastri should be on the 2022 grid already, given his talent, but circumstances mean it’ll taste even sweeter when the opportunity arrives.
Valtteri Bottas showed off his football skills during race weekend.
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Bottas, Williams play football
Not the kind of football you’re probably thinking about, nor the kind of football that this British writer considers either. No, Australian Rules Football.
It is big business in this part of the world; most of the leading teams are based in the state of Victoria, either at Melbourne’s Cricket Ground or nearby Marvel Stadium, and it is a sport that takes a bit of time to get your head around.
Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas headed to Richmond Tigers’ training base at the Swinburn Center to learn a few tips and tricks from some of the players. Williams drivers Nicholas Latifi and Alexander Albon also got in on the action as they headed down to RSEA Park for a lesson from the players at St Kilda.
Fernando Alonso got to play in a different sandbox in Melbourne.
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Supercar Stars
Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso had an early taste of Albert Park when they drove Supercars machinery on Thursday. The V8 category was Formula 1’s main support in Melbourne and Perez got behind the wheel of the Red Bull-liveried Commodore while Alonso tried a Mustang, and typically ragged it to the best of his abilities. He even took his race engineer Karel Loos for a couple of hot laps.
“The braking was the biggest challenge,” Perez said. “The braking efficiency, coordinating the corners is quite different. But it’s really good fun; the amount of kerb you’re able to take, you’re limited with that in F1. ” Alonso said that, “It’s between a GT3 and a NASCAR.
“It’s heavier and softer on the corners, but then you feel the power, the V8… the noise is amazing. It’s good fun [to drive]because the cars are very similar to each other on the grid.”
Aston’s Safety Car Gets Bashed
Poor Aston Martin. It had a hellish weekend, with four crashes, a lack of performance, while Williams’ point means it sits alone on a big fat zero. And then the front-runners weighed in on its safety car. Formula 1 used to have an exclusive agreement with Mercedes but from last year a split partnership was reached with Aston Martin. Their Vantage made its first 2022 appearance in Australia and was used in the race following incidents for Carlos Sainz and, ironically, Aston Martin racer Sebastian Vettel. It at least meant an Aston Martin ran up front, not that it had many fans.
“The Safety Car was driving so slow, it was like a turtle,” said Max Verstappen. “Unbelievable. With that car, to drive 140km/h on the back straight, where there’s not a damaged car anymore, I don’t understand why we have to drive so slowly. We have to investigate. For sure, the Mercedes Safety Car is faster because of the extra aero, the Aston Martin is really slow. It definitely needs more grip because our tires were stone cold.”
After the race on Sunday, Mercedes driver George Russell piped up that “we don’t have the issue with the Mercedes AMG safety car! On a serious note, the Mercedes AMG is like five seconds a lot quicker than the Aston Martin safety car, which is pretty substantial.”
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