F1: Pink Bull look to banish Australian Grand Prix hex. MELBOURNE — Pink Bull stand poised to shrug off their Australian Grand Prix hoodoo on Sunday and proceed their domination of the Method One world championship as rivals wrestle for tempo.
Pink Bull has not gained at Albert Park since former driver Sebastian Vettel claimed the 2011 race however there could also be no stopping the constructors champions this 12 months on the lakeside circuit.
FILE PHOTO: Pink Bull’s Max Verstappen applauds on the rostrum after ending second place within the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana
With Max Verstappen main a Pink Bull 1-2 in Bahrain and teammate Sergio Perez flipping the order in Jeddah, Pink Bull have been in a category of their very own this season, with the RB19 automotive dazzling with its pace and exhibiting ample reliability.
“It’s all the time good to … expertise Melbourne somewhat, though from a racing standpoint, it isn’t one which has been too type to us over time,” mentioned double defending champion Verstappen, who was compelled to retire throughout final 12 months’s race as a result of a gasoline downside.
“The monitor is nice with some high-speed corners, and one I get pleasure from driving so hopefully we will have an excellent race this weekend.
“We simply want it to be easy and constant.”
F1: Pink Bull look to banish Australian Grand Prix hex
Verstappen leads the championship by a degree from Perez, who gained in Saudi Arabia by holding off the Dutchman as he roared again to second from fifteenth on the grid.
Method One will hope Perez can hold the strain on Verstappen, with the opposite groups seemingly effectively behind the event curve.
An unprecedented fourth DRS Zone at Albert Park this 12 months — between turns eight and 9 on the 14-corner lay-out — might play additional into Pink Bull’s arms.
‘RACING HARD’
FILE PHOTO: Pink Bull’s Sergio Perez celebrates after successful the Saudi Arabian Grand. Prix Pool through REUTERS/Luca Bruno
As soon as-dominant Mercedes, whose drivers George Russell and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton completed fourth and fifth respectively at Jeddah, are “storming full steam forward” to bridge the hole after realizing they received their automotive idea unsuitable.
“The indicators we’re seeing again on the manufacturing unit are promising,” mentioned workforce boss Toto Wolff.
“We’re not the place we wish to be – however that gained cease us from racing exhausting and giving it all the pieces we’ve received.”
They might want enhancement shortly in the event that they hope to retain Hamilton, whose contract expires on the finish of the season.
Hypothesis in regards to the 38-year-old Briton’s subsequent transfer is already rife, with Ferrari seen because the seemingly vacation spot.
Ferrari, nevertheless, has their very own issues, with drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc lamenting an absence of tempo after ending sixth and seventh respectively in Jeddah.
Neither they nor Mercedes have a podium this season, upstaged by the much-improved Aston Martin and their 41-year-old twice world championship-winning driver Fernando Alonso.
Aston Martin has disregarded jibes from Pink Bull that the AM23 is a replica of its automotive, regardless of sporting a Mercedes engine and gearbox.
That has hardly fazed them.
“Now we have a distinct idea to these two vehicles (Pink Bull and Mercedes) though it’s true that visually all of the vehicles look somewhat bit comparable,” Alonso advised Spanish media.
Dwelling followers will cheer a brand new Australian driver over the weekend, with the much-hyped rookie Oscar Piastri having changed Daniel Ricciardo within the papaya colours of McLaren.
Ricciardo, now reserve driver at Pink Bull, by no means managed a podium at Albert Park, and Melbourne-born Piastri’s first residence race is unlikely to succeed, with struggling McLaren but to attain a degree.
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