Red Bull set to end Melbourne drought

Red Bull stand poised to shrug off their Australian Grand Prix hoodoo on Sunday and continue their domination of the Formula One world championship as rivals struggle for pace.

Red Bull have not won at Albert Park since former driver Sebastian Vettel claimed the 2011 race but there may be no stopping the constructors champions this year at the lakeside circuit.

With Max Verstappen leading a Red Bull 1-2 in Bahrain and team mate Sergio Perez flipping the order in Jeddah, Red Bull have been in a class of their own this season, with the RB19 car dazzling with its speed and showing ample reliability.

"It's always nice to ... experience Melbourne a little, although from a racing point of view, it is not one that has been too kind to us over the years," said double defending champion Verstappen, who was forced to retire during last year's race due to a fuel problem.

"The track is great with some high-speed corners, and one I enjoy driving so hopefully we can have a good race this weekend.

"We just need it to be straightforward and consistent."

Verstappen leads the championship by a point from Perez, who won in Saudi Arabia by holding off the Dutchman as he roared back to second from 15th on the grid.

Formula One will hope Perez can keep the pressure on Verstappen, with the other teams seemingly well behind the development curve.

An unprecedented fourth DRS Zone at Albert Park this year -- between turns eight and nine on the 14-corner lay-out -- could play further into Red Bull's hands.

'RACING HARD'

Once-dominant Mercedes, whose drivers George Russell and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and fifth respectively at Jeddah, are "storming full steam ahead" to bridge the gap after realising they got their car concept wrong.

"The signs we are seeing back at the factory are promising," said team boss Toto Wolff.

"We are not where we want to be - but that won't stop us from racing hard and giving it everything we've got."

They may need improvement quickly if they hope to retain Hamilton, whose contract expires at the end of the season.

Speculation about the 38-year-old Briton's next move is already rife, with Ferrari seen as the likely destination.

Ferrari, however, have their own problems, with drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc lamenting a lack of pace after finishing sixth and seventh respectively in Jeddah.

Neither they or Mercedes have a podium this season, upstaged by the much-improved Aston Martin and their 41-year-old twice world championship-winning driver Fernando Alonso.

Aston Martin have brushed off jibes from Red Bull that the AM23 is a copy of its car, despite sporting a Mercedes engine and gearbox.

That has hardly fazed them.

"We have a different concept to those two cars (Red Bull and Mercedes) although it's true that visually all the cars look a little bit similar," Alonso told Spanish media.

Home fans will cheer a new Australian driver over the weekend, with the much-hyped rookie Oscar Piastri having replaced Daniel Ricciardo in the papaya colours of McLaren.

Ricciardo, now reserve driver at Red Bull, never managed a podium at Albert Park, and Melbourne-born Piastri's first home race is unlikely to be triumphant, with struggling McLaren yet to score a point.

Formula One statistics for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, the third round of the 23-race season:

Lap distance: 5.278km. Total distance: 306.124km (58 laps)

2022 pole position: Charles Leclerc (Monaco) Ferrari, one minute 17.868 seconds.

2022 winner: Leclerc

Race lap record: Leclerc (2022) 1:20.260

There was no grand prix at Albert Park in 2020 and 2021. The circuit was shortened by 28 metres, with two turns taken out and seven corners modified, for last year's race and is now considered a new layout from 2019.

A fourth DRS zone has been added for this year.

Start time: 0500 GMT (1500 local)

AUSTRALIA

McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri is the only Australian in SundayG��s race.

No Australian driver has ever won a home grand prix.

There have been 14 Australian F1 drivers since 1950 and two world champions -- Jack Brabham and Alan Jones.

This yearG��s race will be the 26th to be held at Albert Park, and 37th Australian Grand Prix. It was held in Adelaide, as the final race of the year, between 1985 and 1995.

Four current drivers have won before in Melbourne: Fernando Alonso (2006), Lewis Hamilton (2008, 2015), Valtteri Bottas (2019) and Leclerc (2022).

Ferrari great Michael Schumacher won a record four times in Australia.

Hamilton has been on pole in Melbourne a record eight times (2008, 2012, 2014-2019).

McLaren have won a record 11 times in Australia, with Ferrari on 10.

The lowest starter to win was Britain's Eddie Irvine from 11th in 1999 for Ferrari. Sixteen of the 25 races in Melbourne have been won from the front row.

Leclerc last year achieved his first ever 'grand slam' in Melbourne - pole, leading every lap, win, fastest lap.

RACE WINS

Hamilton has a record 103 career victories from 312 starts but his most recent was in Saudi Arabia in December 2021.

Red Bull's double world champion Max Verstappen has 36 wins from 165 starts.

Red Bull have won 12 of the last 13 races and 18 of the 21 since the 2022 Australian Grand Prix.

Aston Martin's Alonso is on 32 wins, his last coming in his home Spanish Grand Prix in 2013 with Ferrari, from a record 357 starts.

POLE POSITION

Hamilton has a record 103 career poles.

Sergio Perez's pole for Red Bull in Saudi Arabia was only the Mexican's second in Formula One. The first, last year, was also in Jeddah.

LAPS LED

Alonso is the only driver apart from the Red Bull pair to have led a race this season.

PODIUM

Alonso is chasing his third podium finish in a row. The last time the Spaniard did that was in 2013 (Belgium, Italy, Singapore) with Ferrari.

POINTS

Verstappen leads Perez by a single point after two races.

SAFETY CAR

The safety car has made an appearance in three of the last five dry races in Melbourne. It was deployed twice last year.

MILESTONE

This weekend will be Red Bull's 350th grand prix. The team made their debut in Melbourne in 2005. They are chasing a third successive one-two finish, something they have never before achieved.

-Reuters