Russell huge smash forces Albert Park circuit change  –  Former One is an ever evolving living being as from year to year different priorities take precedent depending on the headline topics of the day. Of course safety is an ever present issue and even with the huge improvements since the 1970’s and 1980’s there remain from year to year tweaks to even circuits considered amongst the most safe.

Romain Grosjean in his final year in F1 proved the day of the fireball, thought to be long gone with the advent of kevlar built fuel tanks, reminded us all that in F1 everything is possible. This incident along with Zhou Gaungu’s upturned Sauber at the first turn of the Silverstone circuit are the two biggest incidents f1 has seen in the past decade.

The French driver now in Indycar suffered the most dramatic of F1 crashes in recent memory and while his car split into two, the safety aspects of the Halo did their job orienting the barrier which intruded into the chassis from impacting with Grosjean’s head.

 

 

 

F1’s latest big crashes

The sight of an F1 car split in two may bring on some flashbacks for the older F1 fans as the front section of the Haas pierced the barrier at an angle which tore the rear of the car away with its heavy power unit and hybrid batteries. Unusually the fuel cell was punctured causing the fireball yet crucially the safety cell remained in tact.

Further, the time for Romain to extract himself from the car was timed at 18 seconds after the impact. Interestingly the FIA had upped the limits for the fire safety overalls from 10 to 20 seconds that year, but the fireproof gloves remained at 10 seconds, which explains the second degree burns Grosjean suffered.

Zhou Guangu’s incident at the British Grand Prix in 2022 looked almost as horrific as Grosjean’s but without the fireball. At turn one there were extensive tyre walls in place but there was also a gap between them and the retaining fence used to protect the spectators from debris. This was around three feet deep and Zhou managed to slot his car sideways between the tyres and the fence, creating a serious extraction difficulties should the driver have been seriously injured.

The extraction did take some time, but Zhou had confirmed he was OK and not suffering in any way. Turn one at Silverstone no longer has the gas between the tyres and the fence as the FIA now recognises the potential dangers.

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Russell screams for red flag

Last year at the Australian Grand Prix, a number of incidents occurred which have forced the FIA’s hand to ring the changes. During the closing laps of the race in Melbourne, Russell crashed heavily with the result his Mercedes spat back from a raised kerb and on to the track.  It then tipped on to its side after an impact with the barrier at Turn 6 leaving Russell stranded in the middle of the track.

Such was the dangerous nature of the resting place of George’s W15 F1 car, the driver was nigh on screaming at his team over the radio for a red flag to be thrown as he feared a high speed T-bone impact from another car exiting the previous corner.

The incident proved highly controversial with Fernando Alonso, the Aston Martin driver who was ahead of Russell at the time of the accident, and was later hit with a 20-second time penalty for “potentially dangerous driving.”

Alonso admitted to have braked too early for Turn 6 as he defended his position from Russell before accelerating again, with the two-time World Champion punished for “doing something extraordinary.”

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Problematic sector of Albert Park

The warning signs were there of potential problems at this section of the circuit as in practice Alex Albon had a heavy impact, losing control of this Williams at the same corner. The subsequent damage to the chassis forced Williams to field just one car for the Grand Prix even their severe shortage of parts, Logan Sargeant had to sit out the race on Sunday.

Albert Park had undergone some circuit modifications in the layout when F1 finally returned down under after the nations fearful response to Covid-19. Turn sic had bee re-profiled and was now a higher speed section of the track then prior to the modifications. As expected, the FIA has now confirmed changes to the layout of the track in Melbourne with turn 6 once again the main focus of the revised layout.

The crash barriers have been reposition bat a new angle to prevent cars hitting them at speed being spat back into the middle of the track. Further the kerbs at turn six and seven which were raised, are in fact now sunken and sit below track level

The changes have seen the crash barriers moved and positioned at a new angle with the aim of stopping cars being spat back on to the track, with the kerbs at Turns 6 and 7 now sitting lower than the track surface. These so called ‘negative kerbs’ reduce the potential for a car to become unsettled when compared the the previous “positive kerbs” which bounce the car away from them.

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Multiple winners in Melbourne are rare

The gravel trap at turn six has now been extended to the edge of the kerbs in line with solutions being fitted around the f1 venues of the world. Thins expected to reduce the driver’s’ ambitions arriving at the corner because now they know if the are a millimetre off line, the gravel and all its perils awaits.

With Australia returning to its once historic slot as the F1 season opener this year, the organisers are keen for everything to pass off without incident. Albert Park is one of Formula One’s outlier circuits and in modern times no driver has ever dominated there from year to year.

The last multiple winner of this event was Sebastian Vettel who was victorious in 2011, 2017 and 2018 and prior to him was Jenson Button with three wins in 2009, 2010 and 2012. Lewis Hamilton has won there just twice in eighteen years (2008,2015) as did Nico Rosberg, Kimi Raikkonen and Damon Hill. 

Max Verstappen has  had a miserable time at Albert Park having mechanical issues in the last two events which forced him to retire from the lead of the race, now leaving his total tally of DNF’s in Melbourne as four. The world champion has one win down under in his uber dominant year of 2023 and a third place from 2019. The rest isn’t worth writing home about.

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New Red Bull 2025 car breaks cover

Red Bull test new RB21 ahead of competition –  Red Bull gains an edge as Verstappen and Lawson hit the Bahrain track early for film day as Red Bull tests RB21 ahead of official preseason – As the countdown to the 2025 Formula One season intensifies, Red Bull Racing has once again demonstrated its strategic ingenuity. With the official three-day pre-season test in Bahrain set to begin on 26 February, Red Bull is exploiting a regulatory loophole to get an early start.

By using a designated filming day, the reigning champions will have the RB21 on track before any of their rivals. The move allows Red Bull to fine-tune its latest challenger ahead of the competition, maximising its preparation time and ironing out any teething problems before the crucial pre-season testing days begin… READ MORE