Teams have to temper their desires for low downforce down the straights, with higher downforce requirements through the turns. High lateral forces are generated through several corners meaning high levels of energy and heat are dispersed through the tyres. As the facility is only used once a year as a race circuit, drivers will face a 'green' circuit on Friday, with low levels of grip, making tyre graining a strong possibility, especially on the softer compound. The track surface should improve over the weekend as the circuit cleans and rubber is laid down, however, meaning a dramatic improvement in lap times could be seen.
"The grip level will change over the course of the weekend and teams and drivers will have to constantly adapt," confirms Bridgestone’s director of tyre development Hirohide Hamashima, "We will use the middle two compounds in our range - medium and soft - as they provide the best option for this circuit.
"Most teams have new cars so they have the additional challenge of finding the best setups to maximise performance from our tyres on cars they are still learning about. For drivers, the lack of traction control will make a difference. Albert Park does feature heavy braking, so we could see some drivers lock their tyres as they adapt to the new systems, especially when there are low grip levels from the track."
Australia, despite being under threat from
F1 ringmaster
Bernie Ecclestone, who would like to see the event become a night race, remains a popular jumping off point for most of the field.
"I really like racing in Melbourne and it's nice having won there already before," world champion Raikkonen comments, "The track is very slippery on the first day due to the fact that it's only used once per year, and braking without the engine brake will be a bit more difficult, but we've had already many tests and a driver adapts quickly.
