Australia Top 5

Number 1: F2 & F3 firsts 

For the first time, Formula 2 and Formula 3 traveled to Australia. I don’t usually watch a lot of the feeder series content during race weekends because of the time difference. I am usually able to catch a practice session or maybe a qualifying session, but very rarely do I watch a feature race. These races usually air between 2 am and 5 am and while I’ll stay up sometimes I can’t do it every race weekend. It only happens like twice a year for F1 so I stay up for those but I just have a hard time doing it for F2 and F3. 

With the race weekend taking place in Australia, F2 and F3 were live at times I was able to watch. I have started following a lot of the drivers in F2 so it’s fun to actually watch them race. I started watching Arthur Leclerc in F3 last year so it was cool to see him earn his first F2 podium.

Number 2: There’s something in the Australian water 

It was a crazy weekend both on track and off track. The land down under provided a place for not only excellent racing but stand-out content, most of which we haven’t even seen yet. From Max Verstappen in a wig to the Ferrari boys playing soccer in the paddock the teams have content in the works that I can’t wait to see. F1 Twitter was also filled with memes that fans were creating as the weekend took place. I saw a lot of great moments from the press conferences that are now immortalized on social media. 

On track, things were just as crazy. The race consisted of three red flags and eight DNF’s. There were teammates crashing into one another and debris flying everywhere.  Sergio Perez started in last place and ended in fifth. Max Verstappen was 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field at one point during the race. Lando Norris held off Sergio Perez for several laps despite having a less competitive car. It felt like the longest race of my life but at least it was eventful.

Number 3: Success for McLaren 

McLaren brought home their first points of the year. While I would have preferred the points to come earlier, Australia couldn’t have been a better place for a double-points finish. It was McLaren’s rookie driver Oscar Piastri’s home race and it wasn’t just any points finish but it was his first points finish in F1. A driver or team’s home race makes a good finish a great finish. After two hard races, the team needed a great finish. This race was a game of survival when it came to the restarts so both cars making it to the checkered flag was an accomplishment. 

Number 4: Protocols 

I have a lot to say on this topic. 

First, I’m not the biggest fan of how the end of the race was handled. I completely understand making the final classifications the positions from before the third restart. It’s what happened in Silverstone last year so I understand the need to uphold a previous decision. What I can’t understand is why Carlos Sainz would then get a penalty for the restart. Either you agree that the events of the restart happened or they didn’t. It also doesn’t seem fair that he was given a time penalty knowing that there would be no racing laps. He was sent straight to the bottom of the classification all because of a racing incident. 

My second protocol-related issue from Australia is how the crowd was handled after the race. It was not only dangerous but it affected Lewis Hamilton’s celebrations during the post-race ceremonies. Fans were allowed to run wild forcing some of the teams to lock down their garages to prevent theft. I’m not sure if it was a true or not but I heard that one of the F3 garages had things stolen. After the F1 race, the Mercedes team wasn’t at the podium to celebrate with Lewis because they were locking down their garage. He had no idea where any of them were and he was visibly hurt that he was alone at the podium. I’m sure he would have understood that they were trying to prevent their garage from being invaded but they shouldn’t have had to do that. 

On a similar note, the ruling to stop teams from climbing the fence at the end of races was announced before the Grand Prix. It’s almost ironic that this ruling was made only for fans to start climbing the fences at the end of the race. Don’t even get me started on the fans walking around on the track while crews were trying to remove the cars that didn’t finish the race from the track.

Number 5: I shouldn’t do predictions 

I’m so bad at them. I know this race was unusual all around and I’m not sure anyone could have predicted what happened. I complete three different sets of predictions for each race, one for Red Bull, Williams, and the F1 official prediction. Most of these are 10-question predictions and I get about 3 of each set right on average (that’s being generous). Those aren’t very good results if I’m being honest. Now some of these things are next to impossible for me to guess (like what lap Max Verstappen will pit)  but I like to be right so my results bruised my ego. 

It's safe to say that F1’s trip to Australia was an eventful one. Due to the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix, F1 won't return until April 30th for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Street circuits never disappoint so I’ll be counting down the days until Lights Out.