09/03/2020
NEWS STORY
What's the best thing about the first race of the year?
Lance Stroll: "It's definitely not the flight over - that's quite a trek! Australia is a great country and I love going to Melbourne. The city is awesome and the track is great to drive too - very technical, not much room for error and one that requires precision. It's also really beautiful with the way it threads through the park."
What's the one thing everybody should do in Melbourne?
LS: "I spend most of my time there in a race car driving around Albert Park, so unfortunately there's not much time for sightseeing! I'm probably the wrong person to ask... but I'd genuinely encourage people to go to the race. The atmosphere around the place and the energy of the weekend is really one of a kind - it's not like any other race, in that sense."
What's your standout memory from Albert Park?
LS: "I had a good result there last year, scoring my first points with the team, so that's a good memory. I've been looking forward to going back ever since."
Describe the Australian Grand Prix in three words?
Sergio Perez: SP: "Exciting, challenging, beautiful."
What's the best thing to do in Melbourne?
SP: "It's a fantastic city - one of my favourites, actually. I'd recommend going cycling or running to see as much of the city as you can. It's a really diverse and beautiful place."
What's your top racing memory from Albert Park?
SP: "I would say my debut in 2011. That first race is something you've been dreaming about your whole life and then suddenly you're there, waiting for the lights to go out - it's an amazing feeling. Finishing P7 was pretty satisfying too, even if I didn't get to keep the result!"
Melbourne is often described as having four seasons in one day, so watch out for sudden changes in the climatic conditions that have the teams on the pit wall scrambling for data [and umbrellas!]
As is common with temporary circuits, the track surface can be quite bumpy and also rather slippery at the start of the weekend - the latter improving as the tarmac rubbers in
For the first time in the modern-day Pirelli era [2011 - present], the opening race of the season will be run with exactly the same tyres as the previous year, with the C2 as the Hard, C3 as the Medium and C4 as the Soft compound for the weekend
With just six days of pre-season testing spread across two weeks ahead of the opening round, the teams head to Melbourne with plenty still to understand about their 2020 packages, so expect plenty of track activity during the three Free Practice sessions
Albert Park traditionally has a high Safety Car probability - six appearances in the last 10 Australian Grands Prix - which will keep the strategists on their toes