2022 Australian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Charles Leclerc leads the Drivers’ Championship by twelve points from teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. and twenty from Max Verstappen after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Ferrari leads Mercedes by 40 points and Red Bull by 41 in the Constructors’ Championship.

Previous race

Verstappen won in Jeddah — a race that had continued despite a missile strike on an Aramco oil depot visible from the circuit during Friday’s first practice session. Verstappen overtook Leclerc on the penultimate lap after they had exchanged positions multiple times in the closing stages; Sainz finished third.

Entrants

Sebastian Vettel makes his season debut, having missed the first two races after testing positive for coronavirus. Nico Hülkenberg, who substituted, will not return to a race seat until the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix. Alexander Albon carries a three-place grid penalty following a collision with Lance Stroll at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix; he was subsequently disqualified from qualifying.

Tyre choices

Pirelli brings the C2, C3, and C5 compounds (hard, medium, soft). The non-consecutive selection — skipping C4 — is the first time tyres without consecutive designations have been used since the 2018 Russian Grand Prix.

Track changes

Albert Park underwent its most significant revisions since the inaugural 1996 Australian Grand Prix. Turns 9 and 10 were redesigned from a heavy-braking chicane into a faster right-left combination, raising approach speeds for the following section. Turn 13 was widened to create additional racing lines, with positive camber added. The main straight was resurfaced and the pit lane wall moved two metres closer to the circuit, allowing the pit lane speed limit to be raised from 60 to 80 km/h. A fourth DRS zone was added to the redesigned circuit but removed ahead of FP3 following safety concerns raised by multiple drivers, including Fernando Alonso.

Practice

Carlos Sainz Jr. was fastest in FP1 ahead of Leclerc and Sergio Pérez. Leclerc set the fastest time in FP2 ahead of Verstappen and Sainz.

In FP3, Lando Norris went fastest ahead of Leclerc and Pérez. The session was red-flagged when both Aston Martin cars crashed.