The good, the bad and the potentially ugly at the back of the field: All the reasons you shouldn't miss this weekend's curtain-raiser for the new campaign
Friday 24 March 2017 09:28, UK
Will it be Ferrari or Mercedes in front?
It's finally time to put winter testing to the test: are Ferrari really all they seemed to be at Barcelona?
After three years of relentless domination from Mercedes, the tantalising promise of pre-season running, when Ferrari consistently topped the timesheets with speed Lewis Hamilton dubbed "spectacular", is that F1 will have a multi-team race at the front in 2017.
But it was only testing and Melbourne is when it matters. No more mind games, no more sandbagging, no more doubts.
Or, to quote Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff: "As the old saying goes, it is when the flag drops that the bulls**t really stops."
Quite.
What Red Bull have been hiding?
The feeling from winter testing was that we are yet to see the best of Red Bull. What do they have up their sleeve for the season opener? "I assume they are bringing something here which I am excited to see," says Lewis Hamilton.
Red Bull were predicted to be Mercedes' closest challengers this year following the regulation changes with technical chief Adrian Newey among their ranks. However, the RB13 looked very minimalistic in appearance at Barcelona and only managed the fourth-fastest lap time - eight tenths behind Ferrari's benchmark.
Newey's Melbourne-spec aero package is expected to feature a series of snazzy upgrades but will it be enough to close the gap and put Red Bull back in the mix for victory?
Will McLaren be at the back again?
Testing could hardly have gone worse for McLaren-Honda and there is a real danger they will be on the back row in Melbourne - if they make it to the grid at all! The MCL32 broke down four times over the last two days in Barcelona, twice on out-laps, after a Honda engine described as offering "no reliability" and "no power" by Fernando Alonso shook itself apart.
Their best lap - Stoffel Vandoorne's 1:21.348 - was second slowest only to Sauber and nearly three seconds off Ferrari's pace. Meanwhile, their longest stint of 11 laps is not even a fifth of the race distance in Australia. A tough weekend surely awaits.
What will the first look at F1's new era reveal?
Faster cars? Check. Aggressive looks? Check. That much was clear from testing when lap times were already four seconds faster than this time last year, but the longer-term verdict on the success of F1's 2017 rules package is still likely to be based on the spectacle it produces on the track.
Fears that increases in downforce will hinder overtaking have long been voiced, while the move back to more durable tyres is likely to produce at least one fewer pit stop per driver, per race than last year. "I don't know whether it's going to make it more exciting in terms of racing," Lewis Hamilton told Sky F1 in Melbourne. "But I'm hoping it is the right one [change]."
But a word of warning: Australia's Albert Park will certainly not be the place to make a definitive judgement on whether or not F1 2017-style has hindered, or helped, the sport's age-old passing problems. There were just 26 overtakes in last year's race, and a measly 11 in 2015. It's a track which tends to provide unpredictable, rather than thrilling wheel-to-wheel, season-opening action.
Will F1 2017's speed be record-breaking?
"The target with these new regulations was to make this generation of F1 cars the quickest in the history of the sport," said Toto Wolff before flying to Melbourne. "And looking at the results from testing, we're well on the way to achieving that."
Already within a second of the fastest laps ever recorded at the Circuit de Catalunya in winter testing, the 2017 cars are likely to soon be lining up many long-standing race lap records and fastest low-fuel qualifying times - many of which have stood for over a decade.
Will the first lap record fall in Melbourne? Michael Schumacher's 1:24.125 has stood since 2004 and last year's fastest race lap, set by Daniel Ricciardo, was 4.8 seconds slower than that. So while the official race record could just be out of reach for round one, what is almost certain to be lowered this weekend is the fastest-ever lap recorded around the circuit - Sebastian Vettel currently holds that distinction with a pole-winning 1:23.529 for Red Bull back in 2011.
With these 2017 machines already flying in testing, could Albert Park be set to witness the first sub-1:20 lap in its 21-year history? Now that would be quite some start!
A lesson in fashion? There will be a pink car on the grid
It seems like the F1's spirit of change for 2017 is infectious. Not only have the cars been radicalized under the bodywork but their colours are very different too. Toro Rosso have ditched their old look for a paintjob which is the envy of the rest of the field, McLaren have decided their future really is orange and Force India have gone pink.
Yes, pink.
As we've only seen two snapshots of the VJM10's new look so far, this really will be one development worth looking out for in Melbourne.
How will the young drivers measure up?
Lance Stroll will become the second-youngest driver in F1 history when he lines up in Melbourne and arrives with a point to prove. The 18-year-old Canadian has been labelled a 'pay driver' by critics, due to his billionaire father's backing, but won the European Formula 3 title last year and will be determined to show he belongs with the best having skipped what used to be called GP2. After a tough introduction at Williams with a crash and two spins in the first week of testing, he performed solidly in week two and managed a full-race distance on the penultimate morning.
And then there's Stoffel Vandoorne who begins his first full season in F1 with a burgeoning reputation after scoring points when filling in for Fernando Alonso in Bahrain last year and impressing in the lower formulas.
Esteban Ocon and Pascal Wehrlein also enter their second seasons in F1 at new teams in Force India and Sauber respectively having been overlooked for the Mercedes drive this year. However, both will know there could be an opening at the world champions in 2018 should they impress. Ocon looked good in testing and will have the chance to showcase his talents in the tight midfield battle while Wehrlein, who missed the first test with an injured neck and back, will attempt to exceed expectations at back-markers Sauber, having claimed Manor's only points last season.
Just don't forget the clocks go forward on Sunday
Yes, in case you've not made a mental note already, the clocks spring forward this weekend in the UK for the start of spring.
So that 6am race start time on Sunday live only on Sky Sports F1 is actually 5am for your body clock.
No matter: this one will be worth getting out of bed for.
Promise.
Watch the Australian GP, the first race of the 2017 Formula 1 season, live only on Sky Sports F1 this weekend and in incredible Ultra HD for the first time! The race begins at 6am on Sunday. Check out all the ways to watch F1 with Sky Sports - including a NOW TV day pass for £6.99!
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