Melbourne Scores Massive F1 Win
Posted on June 17, 2022 Tags: Montreal
Albert Park to Host Grand Prix to 2035
And Canadian GP at Montreal this weekend
Image courtesy Wikipedia.com
IT’S OFFICIAL! Melbourne – and Albert Park – will host the Australian F1 Grand Prix at least until 2035, following a welcome 10-year extension to Victoria’s current agreement.
After Covid caused a shutdown, F1 fans were back with a vengeance this year with an astonishing 419,000 punters clicking the turnstiles over four days, the largest crowd ever for a weekend sporting event in Australia.
“The race has always been a favourite for the fans, drivers and the teams, and Melbourne is an incredible and vibrant international city that is a perfect match for our sport.”
F1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali.
Although Melbourne would be chuffed if the event reverted to F1’s season opener, we do know 2023 will feature 24 races.
Las Vegas and Qatar are already in and the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami is half a chance to return to next year’s calendar, as the French GP at Paul Ricard drops off after next month’s race.
In announcing Melbourne’s massive win this week, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali also confirmed the sport’s feeder series, F2 and F3 – with a couple of Aussies Jack Doohan and Perth’s Calan Williams currently in the mix – have been confirmed as supports for Albert Park.
And, If the W Series continues on its winning ways with fans, it could force a lockout for local racers.
But that’s some ways off yet!
From Melbourne – It’s Back to the Future
Meanwhiie. after a similar two-year absence Canada is back on the calendar hopefully with the teams demonstrating some marked improvement with the so-called porpoising phenomena.
Even McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, whose car has been one of the smoother rides before Baku, likened the spooky experience to his helmet during that race to a basketballer bouncing the ball low down.
“I genuinely felt rattled,” the Aussie said.
I’ll Need a Cane by the Time I’m 30!
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly went one further saying unless the problem is solved he would likely need a cane by the time he reached the age of 30. He has called on the FIA to look into the issue to stop drivers from suffering long-term health injuries.
“It’s not healthy, that’s for sure,” Gasly told Motorsport.com.
“I’ve had a physio session before and after every session, just because my [spinal] discs are suffering from it.
“You have literally no suspension. It just hits going through your spine.”
It really is a serious issue that must be resolved quickly, whatever it may take.
Track Info – Canada
After a two-year absence, Canada is back on the calendar: again with the softest tyres in the range, as was the case for Montreal in 2019 and also for the last two races this year – Monaco and Azerbaijan.
So it’s the C3 P Zero White hard, the C4 Yellow medium and the C5 Red soft.
In 2019, the winning strategy was a one-stopper, starting on the medium and finishing on the hard.
Montreal, Quebec
• Montreal has some elements in common with Baku, thanks to its heavy traction and braking demands on a rapidly-evolving surface, but with lower speeds and cooler weather.
The weather has often been a major feature of the Canadian Grand Prix: the 2011 race is still the longest in F1 history, thanks to six safety car periods and a lengthy interruption that neutralised the action for several hours.
It’s never easy to predict the conditions, and there’s also every prospect of rain, particularly today.
Canadian Park Track Hardly Ever Used
“Canada will pose a number of question marks for the teams: the weather is often variable, all previous data is three years old, and we have a completely different range of tyres with new compounds and structures, on a track that is hardly ever used – which will lead to a very high degree of evolution.
“Compared to their last visit to Montreal, the drivers should find compounds that are more stable with a wider working range, enabling them to push harder throughout each stint with a much lower risk of overheating.
“One interesting aspect to Montreal is that it has one of the lowest pit lane time loss penalties on the calendar, meaning that a car can be in and out of the pit lane in less than 20 seconds.
“This could open up a few options in terms of strategy.”
Mario Isola
It’s the Softies
Pirelli’s Tyre Graphic for Montreal
• MotoStars
Dates have been set for the MotoStars Nationals 2022 calendar, featuring national championships for competitors in both Junior Road Racing and Supermoto categories. Entries are open for Round 1 which kicks off in North Queensland, at Proserpine Raceway July 16-17 while Round 2 heads south to Port Macquarie’s Pacific Park Raceway, NSW, with its resurfaced road race circuit and purpose-built Supermoto section, September 10-11.
• European Rally
Rally Poland, round four of the European Rally Championship, took place last weekend with Pirelli driver Miko Marczyk winning the all-gravel event.
• GT World Challenge
Round five of the GT World Challenge takes place this weekend at Zandvoort – home of the Dutch F1 GP. As a Sprint Cup round, there’s an hour-long race both Saturday and Sunday
• Ferrari Challenge
The Ferrari Challenge, exclusively equipped by Pirelli, is one of the support races at the Canadian Grand Prix, with two 15-lap races both Saturday and Sunday.
• BEER 2400
Perth racer Steve Thomas is setting up a VE for the inaugural Budget Extreme Endurance Racing, reputed to be WA’s first 24H event. And he’s keen to attract interest in a seat in his car which allows for a minimum five drivers. Beer 2400 sets fire to the Collie Motorplex tarmac at 15:00 Friday July 15, finishing 15:00 Saturday. Check out www.ianjefferymotorsport.com and catch Steve on Facebook.
EDITED by AC
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