For a long time, his circuit Albert Park, venue of the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, it was synonymous with few overtakings. The layout, extremely fast and demanding for frame performance, it had straight lines that were too short and the fact that the cars were creating more and more turbulence made it very complicated for one competitor to easily pass another.
The two-year absence from the event due to the pandemic has led its organizers to seek to improve the circuit with a view to increasing the show. In 2019 there were a total of fourteen overtakes and in 2018 the number was fifteen.
And in 2022 with the new changes? 34, more than double from 2019.
Hop on board with us for a spin around Albert Park! 🤩
Can you spot the track changes? 🔎#AusGP #F1 @ausgrandprix pic.twitter.com/zCSLKcrQEc
—Formula 1 (@F1) April 4, 2022
While a high number of passes does not necessarily mean that the race is better or worse, it is true that the event is more likely to have more excitement as the action on the track increases.
With that in mind, the Melbourne circuit has undergone several related changes since the last time F1 traveled to this end of the world.
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Modifications to the peaks of the curves
Sometimes the most significant changes are those that, from the outside, are seen as minor alterations. On semi-urban tracks like these, these intakes have a significant effect, as they are usually very fast tracks where there is almost no margin for error due to the proximity of the wall and where following the car in front is not easy.
In this way the circuit Albert Park changed the apexes of turns 1, 3 and 6 of the first sector, all to the right. These will now be less narrow, especially in the case 1 and 6. The last one was extended almost seven meterswhich has turned it from a medium-speed spin to a fast one.
On the other hand, the penultimate corner (T13) has also been enlarged in space, the position before the opening of the DRS.
The ultimate goal of these modifications was for the chase car to be able to follow much closer to the one in front and for the action on the track to be greater.
less slow corners
This will be the biggest innovation at the Australian Grand Prix. In the past, the sector 2 It was characterized by a combination of medium and high speed corners with not too long straights where it was difficult to overtake.
Now the scenario will be very different. In relation to the previous point, the curve 6 a very fast sector begins where there will only be a sharp braking. This meant the complete elimination of chicane after the curve 8replaced by an area where you can go deep.
This whole sector will lead to a long straight that ends at turn 11 where there will be strong braking that can make overtaking easier. This curve, which will be slow as it has a right angle and a noticeable change in speed, will help increase the spectacle.
The pitlane has been extended
Being a semi-urban circuit, the Australian circuit was very limited in speed for the cars in its area boxes. In fact, the limiter was set at 60 km/h, he is one of the slowest in the entire league.
So teams used to look for strategies where they had to spend as little as possible boxes for the loss it represented compared to the gain of running on new tires.
in 2022 its width increased by about 2 meters, eliminating a garden area that was at pit lane. Thus, the top speed has been increased to 80 km/h so teams could look for new strategies to gain an advantage over their opponents.
