5 key questions heading into the Australian GP

The F1 circus returns to the Australian GP after missing out on a couple of years due to COVID-19. The track has been a permanent fixture on the F1 calendar for more than two decades now and it will be interesting to see how the new cars behave.

Having said that, the Australian GP is going to be the third race of the season. The first two races have seen Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc fight it out for top honors amongst themselves, while teams like Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin have been a bit of a disappointment. Heading into the race weekend, let's take a look at some of the key questions before the race.

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#5 How will Sebastian Vettel fare on his return to the new era of F1?

Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel will make a return to racing in the new era of F1 in the Australian GP. The German driver has missed the last two races after contracting COVID-19. It now remains to be seen what kind of impact the infection has had on Vettel, and what he can do with a car as uncompetitive as the Aston Martin.

The first two races were a clear indication that Aston Martin was underperforming. It was the second slowest car on the grid, finishing outside points in both the races.

For Sebastian Vettel, the Australian GP already brings with it a challenging situation where the team will be looking up to him to make an immediate impact.

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#4 How will the track layout changes affect the Australian GP?

Albert Park has seen some modifications to the circuit, making it much faster than earlier. The new tarmac, however, might be abrasive and could cause significant tire wear. Additionally, there are as many as four DRS zones with only two detection points.

Consequently, we might see a scenario where the driver at the front of a chain of cars could be severely handicapped by the consistent DRS aid for the chasing pack. How effective will these changes be for the on-track action? On paper, it appears to be a positive outcome, but we'll have to wait and see what happens.

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#3 Who will be the best of the rest?

The first two races have shown Haas, Alpine, Alfa Romeo, and AlphaTauri fighting it out on the tarmac. The cars are similarly paced, separated only by maybe a tenth or two. It is these small margins, however, that could be the difference between these teams finishing fourth, or even seventh, in the championship.

Alpine held the advantage in Saudi Arabia while it was Haas in Bahrain. It will be interesting to see which team holds the advantage in Australia.

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#2 Can Mercedes close the gap?

Mercedes has been on pole position at every Australian GP in the Turbo-Hybrid era. Expecting them to replicate that success this time around, however, is going to be tough. Having said that, the clock starts ticking for the German team from the Australian GP.

The more races they spend chasing Red Bull and Ferrari, the more points they are conceding. The German team is suffering from a deficit of around half a second per lap. Unless they can find something quick, they can bid adieu to any title aspirations they might have.

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#1 Red Bull vs Ferrari: Who will hold the edge?

The most important question is going to be the relative pecking order when we compare Ferrari and Red Bull. In Bahrain, Ferrari held the edge over Red Bull as Max Verstappen struggled with brake overheating and multitudes of other issues during the race. At the Saudi Arabian GP, it was much closer between the two.

Now, at the Australian GP, the track layout seems to be a lot faster and hence similar to the Jeddah circuit. Will we see a scenario similar to the Saudi Arabian GP where it all comes down to driver skill? Should that be the case, then we are surely in for a spectacular race.