After three long years, the Melbourne Grand Prix’s return happens to match up with one of Australia’s main Formula 1 villains.
Sebastian Vettel’s looking to gain ground quickly, after catching Covid and missing the season’s first two races.
The German has enjoyed success at the Albert Park track as a three-time winner down under.
Vettel undertook pre-season testing, before a different test halted his momentum, admitting his Aston Martin AMR22 was proving a challenge.
“The car wants to be driven in a different way,” he told the media recently.
“We are trying to sort (out) some problems, some of the challenges that we’ve faced.”
Aston Martin’s reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg had to substitute in for Vettel at Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with the team yet to score a point.
The 34-year-old Vettel is a veteran of the Formula 1 circuit and for Aussie fans, he is best remembered as Mark Webber’s bitter rival when the pair were teammates at Red Bull Racing from 2009 – 2013.
Vettel, known for his pure pace and his single-finger victory salute, began his career with Toro Rosso in 2007 and was promoted to the Red Bull Racing team two years later.
In 2010, aged 23 years and 133 days, Vettel became the youngest Formula 1 champion in the 61-year history of the sport.
Vettel continued to dominate the field and claimed the next three championships with Red Bull Racing.
Vettel’s success saw him move to Ferrari and he came close to winning another F1 championship in 2017 and 2018.
Last season the German driver joined the Aston Martin team with Vettel enduring a difficult year, finishing 12th in the drivers’ standings.
All F1 drivers will be unsure of what to expect at the Australian Grand Prix, after changes were made to the Albert Park track.
The biggest change is the removal of the chicane at turns 9 and 10. Instead, it’s now a flat-out run from turn 6 all the way to the sweeping turns 11 and 12, offering more opportunities to overtake.
“Lap times will be four to five seconds quicker than they were in the old spec cars with the old track configuration,” Australian GP chief executive Westacott said.
“You want to reward aggressive driving, and penalise poor driving, and we think that the changes we have made are going to achieve this.”
“I think it is going to be the most spectacular racing we have seen for decades.”
Despite new challenges, Vettel has no plans to retire.
“There is still a very, very steep and high mountain to climb… but it’s fun.
“I think the challenge is fun and the belief is there that one day we will reach that peak.”
