Formula 1 is back for the third Grand Prix of the 2023 season. The first two races of the 2023 F1 season have seen dominating performances from Red Bull, with Max Verstappen winning the season opener in Bahrain, and teammate Sergio Pérez taking the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Can another team threaten the Bulls this weekend?
The grid moves to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix, taking to the roads around Melbourne’s Albert Park, at the Albert Park Circuit. As the track is not a permanent fixture, the surface can be quite slick as the weekend begins with practices on Friday, and takes on more rubber by the time the Grand Prix rolls around.
Turn 1 is the toughest turn to navigate, as drivers come off the longest straight of the course into a difficult right-hand turn. According to this analysis from AlphaTauri, drivers endure negative deceleration of around 5.2 Gs when making that turn.
It all gets underway this week. Here is how to watch, and what to watch for. You will note that this is one of the races on the calendar this year that will be tough for those of you in the Eastern time zone, including yours truly.
How To Watch (all times Eastern):
- Practice 1 – Thursday March 30 – 9:25 p.m. – ESPNEWS/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN
- Practice 2 – Friday March 31 – 12:55 a.m. – ESPN2/WatchESPN
- F1 Show – Friday March 31 – 3:00 a.m. – ESPN3/WatchESPN
- Practice 3 – Friday March 31 – 9:25 p.m. – ESPNEWS/ESPN3/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN
- Qualifying – Saturday April 1 – 12:55 a.m. – ESPN/WatchESPN
- Ted’s Qualifying Notebook – Saturday April 1 – 2:30 a.m. – ESPN3/WatchESPN
- Grand Prix Sunday (Pre-race Show) – Saturday April 1 – 11:30 p.m. – ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN
- Grand Prix Race – Sunday April 2 – 12:55 a.m. – ESPN/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN
- Grand Prix Race (Replay) – Sunday March 5 – 7:00 p.m. – ESPNNEWS/WatchESPN
What to Watch:
Here are some of the major storylines heading into the Australian Grand Prix.
2023 Australian Grand Prix odds
| Driver | Winner (Mar 19) | Winner (Mar 26) |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Winner (Mar 19) | Winner (Mar 26) |
| Max Verstappen | -330 | -330 |
| Sergio Perez | +550 | +500 |
| Fernando Alonso | +1000 | +1000 |
| Charles Leclerc | +1400 | +1600 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +1800 | +1800 |
| Carlos Sainz | +3500 | +3500 |
| George Russell | +3500 | +3500 |
| Lance Stroll | +8000 | +8000 |
| Esteban Ocon | +30000 | +30000 |
| Pierre Gasly | +30000 | +30000 |
| Lando Norris | +50000 | +50000 |
| Oscar Piastri | +50000 | +50000 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +80000 | +80000 |
| Guanyu Zhou | +80000 | +80000 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | +80000 | +80000 |
| Logan Sargeant | +80000 | +80000 |
| Alexander Albon | +80000 | +80000 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | +80000 | +80000 |
| Kevin Magnussen | +80000 | +80000 |
| Nyck de Vries | +80000 | +80000 |