Typical Melbourne weather set to wreak havoc on Australian Grand Prix
Updated . First published at
MELBOURNE: Australian Grand Prix organisers insist they're well prepared for a heatwave set to bake the Albert Park precinct on Saturday.
Despite the beautiful weather in Melbourne on Thursday and Friday, forecasts have the mercury topping 37C on Saturday as the drivers do battle in qualifying.
But then it's supposed to be significantly cooler and wet on Sunday.
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Typical Melbourne then, as Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief executive Travis Auld put it.
"We've had a beautiful lead-in – (Friday) is an unbelievable day, we'll get some warm weather (Saturday), but we're prepared for that," he told Nine's Today on Friday morning.
Jack Doohan driving under beautiful blue skies during Friday practice. They'll look very different on Sunday. Getty
"We've got a whole lot more shade, hydration stations, all the things you would expect, (and) fans will turn up prepared."
After Saturday's scorcher, showers are supposed to start rolling through late Sunday morning and continue rolling through for the balance of the day. There's even a chance of a thunderstorm.
It would be the first time all year the drivers will have driven in the rain, and they would get no extra practice before the race begins to get a feel for their cars in the wet.
That in itself presents a headache nearly as big as the one from Saturday's heatstroke.
Given that car set-ups cannot be changed after Saturday's qualifying, teams will be forced to make a decision.
Do they set the car up for a wet race? Doing so will compromise their qualifying performance, but obviously, optimise their race pace. Or do they set up for the dry qualifying session? Then they have to pray the rain doesn't come, or if it does, that their driver can keep the car on the black stuff and hold position.
Lewis Hamilton during Friday practice. Formula 1 via Getty Images
Usually, they'll hedge their bets and land somewhere in the middle.
The hot conditions also mean the cars are pushed even further to their limits. A Formula 1 car produces a significant amount of heat, and when the ambient air temperature cannot cool the car enough, failures occur.
And that's just the cars. Despite their open nature, the cockpits of an F1 car can also peak around 50C. While that shouldn't be a problem in qualifying, the chance of making a mistake will increase.
But while the weather forecasts are a headache for most, Oliver Bearman is one driver who will be thankful to see a wet race.
The Haas pilot crashed in opening practice on Friday morning, and the team was unable to repair the car in time for practice two.
In dry conditions, losing so much track time would be a massive blow. But given that nobody will have any experience in the rain this weekend, it brings him back into play.
Bearman told media, including Wide World of Sports, the forecast softened the blow "a little".
"Of course, at this stage of my career I can't really be missing any laps, so that's on me and annoying, but I can only thank one person for that," he said.
"C'est la vie ... but with a chance of rain on Sunday, I'm a little less sad."
Although there have been several wet practice sessions – and qualifying in 2013 was famously delayed until Sunday morning due to heavy rain – the race itself hasn't been wet since 2010.
Bearman will have one final hour of practice early on Saturday afternoon to get acquainted with the Albert Park circuit before qualifying begins.
