MERCEDES once again have dominated this weekend so far, picking up 1-2 in sprint qualifying early Friday morning.
It would not be a surprise to anyone if George Russell and Kimi Antonelli run away with it on Saturday; it’s more a question of who will take the last podium spot.
Starting in third is McLaren’s Lando Norris.
McLaren, as it stands, looks like the third-best team on the grid; despite this, they aren’t even close to Mercedes and Ferrari.
Last week Norris mustered only fifth at the Australian GP, +52 seconds behind Russell.
Just behind Norris is Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.
Despite last week’s strategy blunder from the Italian team, Ferrari was able to compete with Mercedes on all-around race pace.
The one advantage that Ferrari does have is their race starts.
We saw this last week when Charles Leclerc went from fourth to first from the off, and Hamilton went from seventh to fourth.
So, if the Ferrari boys can get off the grid well, then they will be the favourites to pick up the last spot.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri splits the Ferrari drivers after missing his home grand prix due to crashing out on the way round to the grid. He will be hungry for a podium.
Max Verstappen is starting way down the order in eighth.
After crashing out in Qualifying, before he could set a time in Australia, he made an incredible comeback and managed to pick up sixth.
The Red Bull driver was +54.6 seconds behind Russell, so despite him being a four-time world champion, it will be tough for him to compete.
Realistically, as it stands, the only drivers who currently have a chance at the podium are the two Mercedes drivers and one of the Ferrari drivers.
Obviously, this isn’t a certainty, as anything can happen, but the gap between the two teams and the rest of the grid is massive.
As it’s a Sprint Race, only eight drivers can pick up points.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly is starting seventh, Haas’s Oli Bearman is ninth, and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar is 10th.
These three drivers can all compete for the last remaining points positions.
Who is going to finish last?
As teams and drivers figure out this new era of cars, we are bound to see a couple of retirements.
In last week’s race alone, we had six driver retirements, but as it’s a sprint race and the distance is shorter, more drivers will be able to complete the session.
Cadillacs Sergio Perez failed to make qualifying, so he will start from the back of the grid.
His teammate Valtteri Bottas will start alongside him in 21st.
As it stands, they’re the two favourites to finish last.
The other favourites are the Aston Martin pair, who have had a pretty dismal start to the season.
Last weekend saw them both DNF due to technical issues, coming out again, before retiring one last time.
Out of the two drivers, Fernando Alonso is likely to finish ahead of his teammate, Lance Stroll.
With more experience and two driver’s championships to his name, the Spaniard, unless he has to retire, will more than likely win the duel.
With how much teams have struggled with the new era of cars, nothing is a certainty.
