FROM THE PIASTRI STAND
The lights are out and we’re racing, come with me as I recap my first ever Grand Prix experience from the Piastri stand!
Walking into Albert Park was a feeling I can’t begin to explain – if you’re a lover of Formula one like me and have attended a race before you’ll understand. An area filled with so much excitement and anticipation coming from likeminded motorsport enthusiasts.
As a hard core f1 fan girl I openly express every emotion I feel during a race so when I was sat next to a group of girls who shared just as much love and passion for the sport as I, I knew I’d won more than just the ticket war – I’d won some new friends and a shared experience that’d last a lifetime.
The free practices were a treat to watch, being some of the first to witness the new era of F1 unfold in front of us. A pivotal moment in FP3 saw Kimi Antonelli in the wall, the young driver was unharmed but his Mercades needed major repairs before qualifying later in the day – however, the team delivered, restoring everything so Kimi was prepared for one of the most important sessions of the race weekend.
F2 had Dino Beganovic on pole position – a driver I’ve been following and loved since his rookie year in F3! For those who don’t watch other formula series, seriously consider it! F3, F2 and F1 academy showcase some incredible upcoming drivers, and races are almost always exciting; plus! you can claim your OG ticket as a fan before they reach F1.
The F2 sprint had Durksen on the top step for invicta racing, with Leon and Dunne taking out P2 and P3 to join him on the podium. The feature race saw much excitement for Nikola Tsolov, winning his first ever race in F2 on his debut in Melbourne!
(if F2 is something you’d be interested in me writing about more often, let me know!)
Then came F1 qualifying, with fingers tightly crossed, holding hands of other fans and praying for the best outcome for Oscar….out came him and his contenders.
An unexpected Q1 knockout was Max Verstappen, where he went off the track spinning and beached himself, thankfully the Dutch driver was alright but was unable to get back on track due to damage putting him down in P20. As a fan of max myself who has watched him go through MV33, MV1 and now MV3 I knew if anyone could make a comeback from that far down on the grid, it’d be Max.
Lance and Carlos were also out due to their absence in Q1, both were placed in the new grid spots, p21 and p22 for not setting times. Q2 eliminated both Hass and alpine boys, as well as Albon and Hulkenberg. The critic’s favourite for the season, George Russell claimed pole position, following closely behind was his teammate, Kimi in P2; and for his debut in a redbull Isack slid into the top 3! For Oscar he made it into p5, the whole grandstand screaming proud – although a pole position at his home race with his first grandstand would have been great, everyone felt optimistic, knowing the talent behind car 81.
RACE DAY! The track over the last 4 days had reached a record-breaking amount of attendance, over 480,000+, The stands at full capacity. Out came the cars to loop around the track and roll into their grid positions. Happily, in the stands everyone waited, counting the minutes until the season officially started; The screens in front of us switching between playing highlights from last year’s Australian grand prix to the cars in real time weaving around the track….and then came the moment that every Oscar fan would rather forget, the cameras zooming in on Oscar sending himself into the wall, stopped on the side of the circuit; The entire grandstand convincing ourselves for a split second this was a clip from last year’s race. Hopping out of his car, head hung and walking away.. the fans from the Piastri stand, including myself letting out cries of disbelief. Our home hero was not going to start his home race.
The spark in the Piastri stand slowly dulled but all of us knew no matter what, we were proud. We’ll get em’ next year Osc!
But the race must go on….and there were battles off the line with a thrilling start to the season. From p4 Leclerc made his way up into P1 before the first corner, claiming 3 positions. Fighting for the position multiple times, with crowd on the edges of our seats, George managed to take back his lead.
The race was packed with so many enjoyable yet crazy scenes, a great race to start the season.
Mercades won with a 1-2 finish, George and Kimi’s first ever, with Charles in p3 completing the podium. Arvid scored points in p8 on his F1 debut, Max made his way up to p6 from p20, we had 3 DNF’S, Fernado Alonso, Valtteri Bottas and Isack Hadjar and 2 DNS’s Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg – due to technical issues on the way to the grid. George now leads the drivers championship for the first time in his career.
Although bittersweet not having Oscar start, this was a race week that made me fall in love with the sport all over again. Until next time Aus Gp :)
Onto the next, China!
With love, T x
