F1 LIVE | The 2023 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne
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The third round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship is upon us. It's time for the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne's Albert Park Circuit. Max Verstappen will start from pole position, but has some unexpected company at the front of the grid and that makes for a fascinating Grand Prix. You can follow it all here in GPblog's liveblog below.
F1 LIVE | The Australian Grand Prix
Verstappen's Red Bull teammate will start from the back of the grid after he ended up in the gravel during Q1. After Perez's mishap, all the attention switched to Fernando Alonso and Ferrari as to whether they could challenge Verstappen. But in Q3, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton turned up the heat. Mercedes were able to get second and third on the grid, with Russell sharing the front-row with the current World Champion.
Hamilton and Alonso will renew their rivalry again by sharing the second-row of the grid. Carlos Sainz was the fastest Ferrari driver in qualifying and Lance Stroll sits sandwhiched between the Ferrari cars. Alex Albon starts as best of the rest from P8. Pierre Gasly and Nico Hulkenberg round out the top ten in what is one of the closest fields in recent memory.
It's expected that Verstappen will be able to pull away providing he gets off the line well and survives the first corner without incident. However, long run pace remains relatively unknown because the second free practice featured rain. This leaves a little bit of mystery as to how the race will work out.
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Albert Park
At Albert Park, Michael Schumacher is still the record holder with four wins. Ferrari are also the most successful team with nine wins in total. Charles Leclerc won last year's edition. Of the current drivers on the grid, Lewis Hamilton is the only one with two wins behind his name. Besides Leclerc, Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas are the only other drivers with a victory in Melbourne. Verstappen only has one podium to his name in Australia.