There’s only one thought in every F1 enthusiast’s mind after George Russell and Kimi Antonelli’s W17 ran away with the silverware last weekend — are they going to do it again and again?
Can Scuderia Ferrari mount a constant challenge, the way Charles Leclerc repeatedly snatched back the lead? And will Mercedes-AMG ever fumble a race strategy this season?
Formula 1 reported 120 overtakes at Melbourne, compared with just 45 last year. That suggests the new regulations are doing exactly what they were designed to do. The racing was closer, the cars could follow each other more easily, and the unusual downshifting to charge the battery looked strange — but it worked.
Most intriguingly, last year’s runners-up and the fourth-best team have suddenly emerged as the top two contenders, leaving McLaren and Red Bull Racing playing catch-up. The pecking order has been tossed up in fascinating fashion.
During the first Virtual Safety Car period, Ferrari chose caution and held onto their one-two track positions rather than diving into the pit lane as Mercedes did.
It’s been a while since the Italian team last led — or won — a Grand Prix, and perhaps their race strategy isn’t quite as sharp as it should be. But their race starts have been phenomenal, as seen both in pre-season testing and in the way they swamped the cars ahead of them Down Under!
Leclerc rocketed from P4 to P1 by the first corner. Lewis Hamilton surged from P7 to P3 by the second.
This season has all the ingredients of a Mercedes versus Ferrari epic. Let’s just hope the Germans don’t find yet another gear to add to their already formidable top speed.
The last time the regulations were rewritten — back in 2014, when the turbo-hybrid era began — the silver cars of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team went on to dominate for eight consecutive seasons.
With the surge in popularity driven by Netflix’s Drive to Survive and Apple’s F1 The Movie, the new generation of fans may not have the patience to endure another era of relentless domination.
The ‘new F1’ continues to Shanghai this weekend for the Chinese Grand Prix. Last season, Lewis Hamilton won the Saturday Sprint there for Scuderia Ferrari.
This Sunday, he and Leclerc will have to dig deep to hold back Mercedes.
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Round 2 | China | Sunday, 15th March 12:30 | F1TV & FanCode App
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