01Getting To Know Melbourne
The Formula 1 season generally starts “Down Under” in Australia, the farthest trip of the year for we Europeans.
Albert Park circuit is, as the name implies, set in a park. In a previous life it was used as a rubbish dump and also a military camp. In 1864, it was named in honour of Queen Victoria’s consort.
The Australian Grand Prix has taken place here every year since 1996, after moving from Adelaide, where it was traditionally the final round of the F1 championship, so that Melbourne and Australia are now synonymous with F1 and the trip to one of the world’s sporting capitals is always appreciated by F1 folk, who enjoy the warm weather after the cold European winter.
02Thoughts Ahead Of The Opening Weekend
Yuki Is Ready© Getty Images
Yuki Tsunoda #22: “I arrived in Australia last Saturday and spent a few days in a house near the beach, spending my time with a mix of training, relaxing and adapting to the time zone, getting over the jet lag and adapting to the heat, because it looks like it’s going to be a hot weekend to start the year. It was a nice short break, as I enjoy spending time in Australia, everyone’s friendly and the breakfasts are amazing. I like being outdoors and there are great places to go for hikes which was a nice mental reset before the real start to the season. Now, I’m feeling ready to tackle the Albert Park track where I’ve had good weekends in the past, so hopefully we can have a strong first race, which always brings positivity and energy going forward.“
Locked And Loaded© Getty Images
Isack Hadjar #6: "It’s very exciting to be going all the way to Australia for my first F1 race. For a long time now I’ve been waiting for this moment. I’m really keen to hit the track on Friday and see where we’re at. Physically, I feel ready as I’ve been training very hard over the winter to prepare for this, including a training camp in Qatar and during the Bahrain test I felt really good. Our team preparation has been going very well with plenty of hours in the sim and testing went super-smooth, so I’m all set to go.”
03Last Year In Melbourne
