Welcome back to Australia: closing a circuit in Melbourne – News

Welcome back, Melbourne. You may like it or not, but Australian Grand Prix She has always brought her own charm with her, and why. With that first day of the school atmosphere, with the many expectations on the eve to join the unanswered questions of the tests, the curiosity to see the new cars in the race for the first time. This has not always been the case, because on other occasions Australia has not been the opening stage of the World Cup: yet the allure of the race inSunriseThough he was cursed by the distance of Saturday nights spent in the early hours, he has never gone away, along with the people who have always remained tight-lipped in Formula 1, filling those streets usually reserved for urban traffic that you know once a year have become Hot asphalt for collecting Formula 1 skis.

GP Australia, Pirelli: A race fit for a compound vaulting experience

circle closing

Melbourne’s comeback is honest because it was the closure of a cycle. It all started from here, from Melbourne 2020. When the initially over-optimistic circus decided to turn the other way and still flies to Oceania despite the fact that the world’s attention has now turned entirely to a new, dangerous and unknown enemy. who – which COVID-19 He is now less terrifying, partly tamed by science and health, but not yet completely defeated. The ones that were already pervasive that day as the drivers put their words together at a press conference looking into the void, almost uncomfortable talking about racing at such an unsettling moment. Because of the time zone, in Europe there has been a string of chase news, some wrong and some right, waiting to see if the race will take place. The gates opened, a few hours after the first free practice on Friday, and the staff entered the ring: but there will be no racing. Sebastian Vettel And the Kimi Raikkonen They were already in flight once they got the go-ahead from their teams, who didn’t feel they were imposing anything on the pilots; Lewis Hamilton He followed the team and was happy not to run, gradually leaving all the others, flying towards those houses where they would be locked up for weeks. exactly like us.

2022 edition: It’s Albert Park for all the doctors

From Melbourne 2019 to Melbourne 2022

And that was the last time she was in Albert Park Melbourne 2019. Not exactly at the bottom, the world is upside down, but there are still many differences compared to what it is today. Thinking, more than we remember: there was a very young man Charles Leclerc that he was preparing to try his first in red, with that Ferrari gradually becoming more and more his own and less Sebastian Vettel, at the start of the season that would take him away from Maranello; In the Williams house, there was a very welcome comeback, a comeback Robert Kubicaand the first appearance of a boy driving a Mercedes today, George Russell; For the first time too Lando Norris At McLaren who decided to rebuild in the first race without Alonso, he was replaced Carlos Sainz; Among the bulls, all powered by Honda for the first time, Gasly got the much coveted Red Bull while at Faenza they welcomed Daniil Kvyat again and they welcomed Alexander Albon; Fan favorite Daniel Ricciardo greeted everyone for the first time wearing the yellow Renault colour. There was Kimi and Giovanni in Alfa RomeoBoth are just getting started with the new team. For the record, Valtteri Bottas won a Mercedes in the Grand Prix where he was there for the first time, on a Ferrari wall Mattia Binotto As team manager.

Towards Melbourne: McLaren, step by step

Nothing is taken for granted

Not so long ago, as we’ve seen, however many changes have taken place since then. Because F1 is a fast-moving vortex, it does not stop or wait, but above all it is unforgettable. It is also valid for Australia which appears to have attended the first season three years ago as a release like many others, but twelve months later was a specter of afraidThe weekend when the world, for the first time in its life, was able to break through golden bubble Which F1 always thought it would live in. But it wasn’t, it couldn’t be. Perhaps returning to set the alarm for Australia would be a return to normalcy. Let’s enjoy it, Sunday morning coffee. Patience if it is at dawn. It could have been worse.

Australian Grand Prix 2022: schedules