Daniel Ricciardo: Making racing better in Melbourne

Earlier this week, the organizers of the Australian Grand Prix announced profound changes to the layout of Melbourne's Albert Park, the scene of the Australian Grand Prix since 1996, and whose 2021 edition will take place at the end of November in the revised calendar in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Changes approved after consultation with various parties, and which should offer more spectacle in the race. “Many of us were involved in the consultations on the changes and I was happy, indicated Daniel Ricciardo on the website of the F1.

We were allowed to contribute our thoughts and comments. Of course, not all drivers will be on the same page, but one thing we can agree on is that we want to improve the racing on Sunday. I had this in mind when I gave my review.

Widen some ropes, create more of a straight line in certain places to allow an opportunity for more suction... that was the priority, and I'm convinced it's going to be good.

This is a track where overtaking was complicated due to the width, and as it is very fast with the current single-seaters, it is even more difficult to follow each other in the series of high-speed turns. »

The main change to the circuit will be the removal of the Turns 9 and 10 chicane, with lap times expected to be lowered by around five seconds.