carsales' own Dan Ricciardo hits the track this weekend in his first race for Renault F1
- Debut for Dan and his helmet
- A prince of a circuit
- Former F1 driver Alain Prost says Ricciardo can be champion
- Just fuelling around
- Dan’s new whip
The first day of school is etched in everyone’s memories. And in a similar manner, this weekend is one of firsts for carsales global ambassador Dan Ricciardo, as the smiling assassin makes his race debut for the factory Renault F1 Team.
The race at Albert Park on Sunday will be Dan’s 151st F1 Grand Prix start. It’s also the season-opening race of the 2019 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, with significant personnel and/or machinery changes across the full grid .
Here’s a few facts and figures around Dan’s Excellent Melbourne F1 Adventure and the event itself, the Rolex Australian Grand Prix.
Debut for Dan and his helmet
Dan makes his debut for the Renault F1 Team this weekend. It is the Perth (WA) native’s eighth home race and his 151st Grand Prix start. He has scored 34 points in Melbourne so far, at an average of 4.85 per race. He has an average finishing place of 10th, but will no doubt be looking to improve on that.
Dan is one of only four Aussies to have competed in their home Grand Prix. Mark Webber, Alan Jones and David Brabham complete the quartet.
Dan will unveil his new-look helmet in Melbourne sporting a design by Ornamental Conifer, an Australian artist based in Los Angeles. Renault says: “the extreme new look is based on Daniel’s passion for doing things differently, and takes both a modern and old-school twist.”
The new lid features a quote, “Stop Being Them” on the side of the helmet. It is inspired by Conifer and represents “the meaning behind the helmet of taking a different path in life”.
Dan’s team arrives in Australia off the back of a “positive” pre-season test in Barcelona. Teammate Nico Hulkenberg and Dan completed close to 4500km (961 laps) between them. This is the equivalent of 15 race distances – the third highest total of any of the F1 teams.
A prince of a circuit
Originally opened in 1953, the Albert Park course hosted races in the 1950s. Its original length was 5.027km and wound its way around nine turns on a similar layout to the current F1 track. The lap record of the defunct circuit dates from 1958 and is held by Grand Prix legend, Sir Stirling Moss in a Cooper–Climax Formula Libre at 1min 50.0sec.
Former F1 driver Alain Prost says Ricciardo can be champion
The new 16-turn 5.303km track first hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1996 with Damon Hill (Williams-Renault) winning from team-mate and pole sitter, Jacques Villeneuve. Renault has had a further seven wins in Australia since then.
The current race lap record is 1min 24.164sec and is held by Michael Schumacher. It was set in 2004. The theoretical “ideal lap” based on 2018 and best sector performance was by F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes-AMG at 1min 21.164sec.
Dan’s fastest race lap in 2018 (in the Red Bull Renault) was 1min 25.945. He qualified at 1min 22.152sec with the Renault F1 team.
The Dan Ricciardo grandstand is located at Turn 3 of the Albert Park F1 GP Circuit.
Just fuelling around
The circuit is sensitive in terms of fuel. For every 10kg of fuel added to the car, a lap time will be 0.4sec slower – the greatest effect on the 2019 calendar.
Dan and his teammate will use an average of 1.89kg of fuel per lap. Renault estimates 64 per cent of the lap will be at full throttle. The track is one of the flattest on the 2019 calendar, with only Sochi featuring less elevation change.
Based on Renault F1’s stats the Australian F1 Grand Prix at Albert Park has a 4.3 per cent probability of being a wet race but a 61% probability of involving a safety car (or virtual safety car).
The 2019 Rolex Australian F1 will be contested over 58 laps (307.574km) and starts at 4.10pm on Sunday, March 17.
Dan’s new whip
Dan’s new car is the Renault RS.19. It replaces, you guessed it, the Renault RS.18. It is powered by a 1.6-litre Renault E-Tech 19 direct-injection turbocharged V6 engine which is limited under F1 rules to a still stratospheric 15,000rpm.
The engine is a hybrid that features both kinetic and thermal energy recovery systems. However, F1 cars remain rear-drive only. The gearbox is an eight-speed sequential gearbox.
The RS.19 weighs in at 743kg (1638 lb) with driver, ballast and camera, as mandated by F1 regulators.
– With Renault F1 Media
Keyword: MOTORSPORT: Dan's excellent Melbourne F1 adventure