The coronavirus pandemic has also impacted this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. Daniel Ricciardo and three other members of the Renault team have been place in self-isolation due to coronavirus concerns. There are also two members of the Haas F1 team and a member of McLaren’s team in self-isolation. Despite the fact that Italy is in lockdown, Ferrari and AlphaTauri (konwn previously as Toro Rosso) are in Australia, along with the tire supplier Pirelli. The Chinese Grand Prix has already been postponed, but for now the Australian race is still set to take place. We have the Formula 1 odds for the first Grand Prix of the year as well as thoughts on the teams and drivers.
Australian Grand Prix Preview & Odds
Driver Odds
- Lewis Hamilton 1/1
- Valtteri Bottas 7/2
- Max Verstappen 4/1
- Charles Leclerc 13/2
- Sebastian Vettel 9/1
- Alexander Albon 50/1
- Sergio Perez 150/1
- Carlos Sainz Jr 200/1
- Lance Stroll, Lando Norris 250/1
- Daniel Ricciardo 350/1
- Esteban Ocon 500/1
- Pierre Gasly, Kimi Raikkonen, Daniil Kvyat 1000/1
- Antonio Giovinazzi, Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen 1500/1
- George Russell, Nicholas Latifi 2500/1
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have won six consecutive double world championships (the driver’s and constructor’s championships), but they do not show any signs of slowing down. On the second day of winter testing, Mercedes unveiled its DAS steering system, and the other teams were left to figure out how they would compete. If Hamilton can roll to a seventh title, he would match Michael Schumacher for the most driver’s championships in his career.
Hamilton has won pole position in seven of the last eight Australian Grand Prix. However, he has won here only one time in those eight races, all the way back in 2015. Last year it was Valtteri Bottas who took the win, with Hamilton coming in second place to give the Silver Arrows a one-two finish.
One possible question for Mercedes is reliability. During testing, Hamilton’s car came to a stop, and for the last two days, Mercedes had all of its cars run with the engines turned down.
Ferrari has drama still bubbling from last year, as Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc had some tension between them, as they both view themselves as the team’s top driver. Team principal Mattia Binotto has said that the two will have equal treatment in the 2020 campaign. Winter testing was not as sanguine for Ferrari this year, though, and if the losses start to mount, the tension between Vettel and Leclerc could emerge again.
Vettel finished fourth place in this race last year, but the fact that Ferrari was not all that much slower than Mercedes in early testing and could have an advantage on courses that prioritize long-run speed means that they could be more competitive to start this season.
Red Bull has not contended for a constructor’s or driver’s championship in more than five years. However, in testing, the RB16 showed that it might be ready to push past Ferrari and give Mercedes a run for its money. Max Verstappen showed that he has grown as a driver enough to give Lewis Hamilton stiff competition, and Alexander Albon came on nicely after replacing Pierre Gasly on the top team. He has had a full test in a new car, and he should push his way onto podiums this season.
As far as the midfield teams are concerned, McLaren has pushed by Renault, as shown by Carlos Sainz’s sixth-place finish in the driver’s championship last year. McLaren switched away from a Honda power unit, a decision that gives them optimism going into 2020.
