Melbourne's The Place To Be....

Albert Park signage. (C)

    This time in a week we'll know who has claimed the spoils of victory at the 2019 season opening Formula One race at Melbourne's idyllic Albert Park. Comes around quick doesn't it? Formula One is ably supported by Supercars, Porsche Carrera Cup, Australian GT, Formula 4 and Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific. Not to mention a big presence in the skies courtesy of the Royal Australian Air Force and a massive music festival. For the first time ever Formula One and the Australian GP Corporation are bringing years of planning to fruition by staging a F1 season launch in the heart of Melbourne at Federation Square on the Wednesday before the event starts on Thursday. All this to create a bonanza for the senses over a hectic 5 day period. 
    As usual F1 winter testing revealed little regarding a potential pecking order. No one knows what programmes the teams are running and we think it a frivolous exercise to try and dissect who's hot and who's not. However, the consensus at this early stage is that Ferrari look strong. One thing we did notice amongst all the teams is that reliability seemed to be at a higher level than at this time in previous years. Bodes well for Melbourne.
    Aerodynamically speaking, F1 cars are designed to be as fast as possible when travelling in clear or undisturbed air. Upon approach to another car, the disturbed air created behind the car in front compromises the pursuing car's aero  rendering it difficult to overtake the car in front. The loss of downforce counters any speed differential. Therefore a number of aerodynamic changes have been mandated for the forthcoming season. They are designed to assist F1 cars punch through the dirty air when chasing another car. In short, the complex endplates which adorned front wings are banned. Front wings are now higher, wider, further forward, thus devoted to creating downforce and less likely to stall when in dirty air. Brake ducts are smaller, thereby having less surface area for dirty air to mess with. The bargeboards which guard the sidepods are smaller and moved forward to better link up with the air coming from the front of the car. There's a ban on blown axles. Rear wings have also had extensive reworking. The Drag Reduction System (DRS), whereby the rear wing opens in designated spots to reduce drag and therefore increase speed, has had its gap widened. The rear wing is also wider and higher, having the duel effect of increased downforce and punching a larger hole in the air so the car behind can follow in less disturbed air.
    To date, opinions are divided on whether the changes will have the desired effect or not. During winter testing, Haas' Kevin Magnussen commented that it was easier to follow another car and that the changes are a step in the right direction. But did he know what fuel load or tyre compound they were running? Contrarily Red Bull design genius Adrian Newey thinks not much will change. Remember even when aero was in its infancy in F1 design when the cars had relatively simple front and rear wings compared to today's standards, F1 cars were still difficult to follow, let alone overtake. Hasn't it always been difficult to overtake in F1?
    So will the revised aero rules have the desired effect or will it still reminisce of groundhog day? Melbourne's always been notoriously hard for overtaking. Will some of our questions be answered next weekend, or will we have to wait for subsequent races? Either way, Melbourne's still the place to be....
    
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