Excitement is reaching fever pitch as the new Formula One Season 2013 gets set for a highly anticipated opening in Australia’s Albert Park.
However, the big talking point is the weather forecast for the Australian grand Prix, which right now is looking very mixed indeed.
At the time of writing (Thursday, 14 March) our forecast for Albert Park is indicating that although the Practice rounds – which take place on Fri – will be a dry and sunny affair, there may be a serious dampener to the Australian GP Qualifiers on Saturday.
Looking at Saturday’s forecast, at the time of writing it seems that there could be a substantial amount of rainfall during the qualification, which will put an interesting ‘spin’ on proceedings. These animated weather charts for Albert Park show a band of heavy cloud and rain coming in from the South Australian Basin due to move North-East over Melbourne.
Temperatures for the GP race on Sunday are expected to be lower than usual, peaking at around 17C, with some patchy rain in the morning, likely drying under the Australian sun in time for the start of the race at 17.00 local time. View the forecast for the race here.
Pirrelli have brought new P Zero Red Supersoft tyres to Albert Park for the first time which will offer better grip for the lower ambient temperatures of the track – view the track temperature chart for Albert Park here. These tyres offer better traction on this semi-permanent low-grip asphalt surface, but will wear quicker and result in more pit stops.
However, these tyres may need to be replaced by Cinturato wet tyres for the qualifiers, and consequently for the race, if officials make that decision. This all depends on the weather…
