Melbourne: A new era in Formula One revs up this week with Lando Norris starting his world title defence and Cadillac making their debut at a wide-open Australian Grand Prix that will test the impact of sweeping rule changes.
McLaren ace Norris began his drive to a maiden Formula One crown last year with victory at Melbourne’s full-throttle Albert Park from pole, edging Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. It was an incident-packed race in the rain with the safety car repeatedly forced into action after a slew of crashes on the wet circuit.
Better weather is forecast this time but there will be as many, if not more, variables to deal with after a dramatic overhaul to both engine and chassis regulations. With hybrid power units now roughly 50 percent thermal and 50 percent electric, there is more focus on battery management, prompting Max Verstappen to say driving felt like “Formula E on steroids”.
The uncertainty of what to expect makes Melbourne one of the most anticipated races in years as drivers grapple with finding maximum performance in what are vastly different cars. It also sees the grid expand from 20 cars to 22 with the debut of an 11th team in Cadillac, whose hopes rest on experienced pair Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
Britain’s Norris, who narrowly clinched the championship at the season finale in Abu Dhabi in December from Australian teammate Oscar Piastri, has reservations about the new cars “A lot of the driving is focused on just trying to get the battery to work properly and less focused on how can you as a driver get everything out of the car,” he said.
But he added: “I still have fun and it’s still the job that I love to do.” Pre-season testing at Barcelona and Bahrain suggested that the big four -- McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes -- would again dominate.
But teams were still hiding their full capabilities as they collected data on the power units and how the cars responded. Along with defending the drivers’ title, McLaren also hold the constructors’ crown and team chief Zak Brown said they may not be at the very front of the pack. “I think we’ll be in the big four,” he said. “I don’t think we’re in the front of the big four, but it’s going to be a long season with a lot of development.”
