Australian Grand Prix: 5 questions that need answers at Albert Park

The Australian Grand Prix returns this weekend for the first time since 2019 and it’s going to be great seeing Formula 1 cars hurtling around the Albert Park circuit once more.

The race was postponed in both 2020 and 2021 thanks to the pandemic but fans are back in their droves for 2022, as they get to see their motorsport heroes up close.

Ahead of the race weekend Down Under, then, it’s time to take a look at some all-important questions that need answers…

How will the new track layout work?

Much has been made of the new Australian track layout, with them removing a chicane in sector two to allow for a much longer blast between turn six and the new turns nine and ten, which were formerly eleven and twelve.

There’s a hope it will increase overtaking, whilst a number of the corners elsewhere on the track have been reprofiled – we’ll soon see what benefits those changes have.

What can Daniel Ricciardo do at home?

Daniel Ricciardo is back on home turf and set to race in his home Grand Prix for the first time since 2019.

It’s been tough for him given the strict travel restrictions his country had imposed and he found it hard to get back home during the pandemic.

He’s back now, though, and says he’s eager to put on a show.

Will Sergio Perez’s luck change?

One half of the double retirement for Red Bull in Bahrain and then on the wrong end of an unluckily timed pit-stop in Jeddah, Sergio Perez hasn’t had much fortune so far.

He’s keeping his spirits up, though, and will be eager to get back into the swing of things as soon as possible this weekend to put Saudi behind him.

Can Carlos Sainz strike back?

Most are talking as though it’s Charles Leclerc v Max Verstappen for the title but Carlos Sainz will have other ideas.

He’s said