Australia, Dominance, Fastest Lap: “Ok..,But..,Ok…”

Charles Leclerc. Pole Position. Fastest Lap. Win. First position from first to last lap. Ok.., But.., Ok…

The Australian Grand Prix is one of my favorite tracks in Formula 1. In 2015 I went to Albert Park, when I lived in Melbourne. Australia was the inaugural race of the 2015 Formula 1 season. This season showcased the rise of Mercedes’s dominance.

2014-2022 Dominance Swap

The hybrid revolution of 2014 looked to increase the gap between the Rosberg/Hamilton duo, with Mercedes dominating the race from first to last lap, Hamilton starting from pole position, winning the grand prix with that nonchalance. It was Sebastian Vettel’s debut with Ferrari, making it third place. It was Raikkonen’s first time retiring from the Australian GP edition.

Where Mercedes looked to be dominant, Ferrari looked to be behind, lagging stability and speed.

There were few debutantes including Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr., which in their absolute debut, they both did not finish the race.

Fast forwarding to 2022, some things that changed, other that remained the same. One major change was the re-design of the Albert Park circuit layout. The new turn 11 gives drivers the opportunity to find peak acceleration and greater chances of passing.

Another change is in the confirmation that Ferrari is now the dominant force of Formula 1. If Hamilton was the young driver, beginning to show some of these WDC skills that made him 7-times champion, Leclerc is now looking to follow the same steps. And this is where Australia GP has always been a race confirming who is going to be the favorite for the title.

Australian Grand Prix Nightmares

What did not change is in Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen ending. DNF.

Carlos had a weekend nightmare. The Spaniard looked to be too frantic in his driving, he lost control first in qualify and then racing composure, leading him to make mistakes driven mostly by his impatience to regain the positions lost first in qualify, then in that terrible GP start.

One could understand that Carlos aspires to be a serious contender to Leclerc, and the mounting of pressure and comparison with Charles’s performances can be an obsessive competitive danger. Carlos needs to focus on self-improvement and to exploit his greater skills as technical learner, which is a developing skill, compared to that raw skill that other drivers possess.

Nothing is loss, but this negative weekend could serve a purpose for Sainz, in understanding his key role in the constructor championship.

Max had a mirror ending from that 2015. Engine failure, just few inches away from the box. The Dutch champion this weekend showed Red Bull’s engine defects and retiring from 2nd position must have been a major disappointment. The note is that Max has not been capable of matching the strong rhythm and consistent pace Leclerc maintained throughout the weekend.

Australian GP: Ok…But..Ok.

There is a level of maturity to note in this weekend of Ferrari’s dominance. Well, more than Ferrari overall, the Ferrari-Leclerc side. Charles’s race has shown control, pace, focus, combined with this enormous talent that make the Monegasque a special driver.

The moment that Verstappen retired from the race, I am not sure if Leclerc was informed by the pit side, and he continued pushing and pushing, recording fastest laps one by another, noting also stronger tires-management.

That team radio duet with Binotto “let’s push for fastest lap” – “We don’t need that” – Ok, but, ok.

Ok: I understand, I have the fastest lap

But: I have a strong pace, car feels strong, with red tires, I can do the fastest lap.

Ok: I trust you; I will finish the race as ordered.

The 2022 Leclerc is peaking maturity levels. The Australian GP is mirror of this mentality switch.

It looks like while Ferrari in the 2019-2021 was already preparing for the 2022 revolution, Leclerc was preparing himself to become the perfect driver for the 2022 opportunity.

The next stop in Imola, Italy is going to be Ferrari’s home racing. The “predestinated” Leclerc is coming home with over 100,000 people cheering for  Scuderia. This brings back hopes of a Ferrari victory at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari Autodromo, missing since 2006, the dominant Michael Schumacher’s Era.