F1 Preview: What to expect from teams and drivers in 2019  

Free practice Roundup

F1 Grand Prix of Australia - Practice

In many ways, free practice is similar to the winter testing, in that no team seems eager to show their true pace. Last year at Melbourne, Ferrari seemed to be very competitive with Mercedes in free practice before the German team turned the engine up and found a half second difference over the hopeful challengers.

Still, free practice can show some trends even if nothing can be taken for granted. Ferrari, for instance, was slower than Lewis Hamilton (Bottas seemed to struggle in FP1 as he continued his to be overshadowed by his World Champion teammate); though in FP2 the Red Bull drivers both placed ahead of Vettel who was complaining that something felt wrong with the car, especially in the first sector.

While the teams’ positions are likely to change between free practice and the end of qualifying, the competition between teammates is more observable in free practice. In that regard, it was great to see Pierre Gasly competing with Verstappen and apparently not overwhelmed by the situation - which was a definite possibility with Leclerc who could only find 9th in FP2 behind the likes of Alfa Romeo - and a very welcome appearance in the top ten for Kimi Raikkonen.

Ricciardo initially struggled with his new Renault while Hulkenberg had electronic difficulties, but both put in more representative times later in FP2 as they finished in the top ten.

Other than that, Williams remained glued to the bottom of the grid and Racing Point (formerly Force India), McLaren and Toro Rosso all seemed a bit lackluster. It was good to see a return of Kvyat who placed ahead of his teammate; a feat the returning Kubica could not match, as he took up the place at the very back of the grid.

So, while the midfield battle is anyone’s guess, depending on just how much effort was put into the cars at the front, Mercedes seem to have the edge over Ferrari and Red Bull look ready to make this a three horse race to the line.

But as I stated at the start of this page, not everything will be as it seems and a lot will change between now and the end of the weekend. While there are still many questions left, such as will downforce continue to be an issue, and who is going to make the inevitable mess up in the pit lane?

Possibly the most pressing question and one we will be closer to answering are, is Hamilton on his way to an astounding sixth world championship, or will someone finally rise up to challenge him?