The first qualifying session of the 2018 F1 season is likely to be affected by ran and the championship-opening race could be wet too. However the weekend will begin with a dry day of running tomorrow.
Despite cloud cover throughout the day, air temperatures of up to 30C should give drivers excellent conditions for the first two practice sessions. But the picture will change overnight on Friday when a cold front arrives.
Maximum temperature will fall to no more than 24C and there is a very strong chance of rain in the late afternoon and into the evening. Qualifying begins at 5pm local time.
Similar weather conditions are expected on Sunday, though the threat of rain during the race is not quite as high as it is for qualifying.
Fernando Alonso said McLaren has taken note of the weather forecast but is unsure whether rain will play to their strengths.
“We don’t know if we will be more or less competitive in wet conditions,” he said. “It’s true that there are some rain around, the forecast is for Saturday and Sunday, so we have to think about this in terms of approaching the weekend. If it rains, definitely it’s a gamble and a bit of an unknown situation.”
For more updates on the track conditions during each session keep an eye on RaceFans Live and the RaceFans Twitter account.
See the location of every race on the 2018 F1 calendar here:
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Yoseph
22nd March 2018, 16:18
Lottery then?
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
23rd March 2018, 10:08
No he’s in Formula E now.
Robbie (@robbie)
22nd March 2018, 16:25
Last thing I wanted to here. Was hoping for an apples to apples weekend of comparing, not a roll of the dice. Hopefully the forecast will improve.
Robbie (@robbie)
22nd March 2018, 17:12
Also the last thing I wanted to hear.
Tango (@tango)
22nd March 2018, 18:07
Australia has always been an outlier track anyway
Robbie (@robbie)
22nd March 2018, 18:16
Yeah I know but all the more reason a dry weekend would be better to at least start to see the pecking order. If it’s wet it’s just more waiting after a long off-season, to see where they stand. That and I stand obviously in the minority of people who hate wet F1 races. Cars trundling around slowly like they’re on ice. Drivers who can barely see a darn thing. Terrible. I get that people like to see a little change in the normal order of things due to the lottery that a wet race can bring, but this is the first race. Anywho…you can change the weather channel, but that doesn’t change the weather. It is what it is and I still can’t wait to just see the cars in live action.
johns
22nd March 2018, 20:59
But if the track is dry, then all the BS stops. With a wet race, we could go on hearing how great Team X is but they just couldn’t show it in the wet.
Esploratore (@esploratore)
23rd March 2018, 2:51
I for example love wet races, so it’s good if the season starts with one, and I really doubt it will affect the pecking order that much, look at brazil 2016, we knew verstappen was strong in the wet, but apart from that, mercedes were still leading and vettel and ricciardo were getting past the slower teams, just slower than verstappen, not like ferrari or red bull were slower than force india.
John H (@john-h)
22nd March 2018, 22:26
Why do you want to know the pecking order? Surely it’s best to never know it.
BasCB (@bascb)
23rd March 2018, 9:53
indeed @john-h, it’s best if the only really clear pecking order is how it ends up after the final race :-)
TFLB (@tflb)
22nd March 2018, 16:49
Would love a wet race but a dry qualifying would be nice! Just to give an idea of outright pace.
Nitzo (@webtel)
22nd March 2018, 16:50
Not the ideal start for those playing F1 Fantasy or F1 Predictor.. :-(
rick2k9 (@rick2k9)
22nd March 2018, 17:22
affected by rain*
I hope so.
Jere (@jerejj)
22nd March 2018, 19:00
Things can change rather quickly regarding weather forecasts, though, as we’ve seen a few times (Monza last season is one example), so, therefore, I always avoid reading too much into them, LOL. I only ever confidently read into the forecasts regarding the two Middle Eastern venues for obvious reasons, but not so much with the rest of the circuits.
Markos
22nd March 2018, 19:13
Bring it on! Hamilton vs Verstappen!
Josh (@canadianjosh)
22nd March 2018, 19:48
I would love a wet Sunday, not sure if you can say there will be surprises on the podium given it’s the first race of the season, but if it’s rainy we may see some surprises on the podium!
stjs16 (@stjs16)
22nd March 2018, 20:26
Alonso will be OK, didn’t He get the most wet running in testing?
nase
22nd March 2018, 22:19
Let’s just say that if it snows, he’ll be in a league of his own.
Zomtec
22nd March 2018, 20:31
I am afraid we would see a Mercedes AMG 1-2-3 for most of the wet race. If only F1 would have rain tyres.
pastaman (@)
22nd March 2018, 22:37
Looking good for RB then
Jon (@johns23)
22nd March 2018, 23:12
knowing Melbourne at the moment, there will be almost next to no rain at all