Paddy Lowe says the opening qualifying session of the season is the “most interesting hour of the F1 season.”
The Williams Martini Racing chief technical officer hopes to improve on last seasons fifth place in the constructor’s standings but is firstly, excited to be back.
“We are all very excited to go back to Melbourne for the first race of the season.
“There are lots of new things this seasons with a new car, driver line-up, people, regulations and a range of new tyre compounds which I’m sure will make events interesting.
“The first race is always very special.”
After a weather affected pre-season, there is an extra element of uncertainty as Formula One arrives in Australia with qualifying being the first indicator of where everyone is.
“Importantly, there is always a state of tension around where everyone will end up pace-wise with the first qualifying session being the most interesting hour of the F1 season, where we get the first exam results following our year-long build up to put together the FW41.”
Melbourne sees Sergey Sirotkin make his Formula 1 debut as he partners Lance Stroll in the Williams and Lowe believes it could be very close between teams.
“We are excited to see Lance and Sergey in their first race as teammates, and it looks like there will be some close competition as all the teams appear to have done a fantastic job over the winter.
“And whilst that might make things difficult for the teams, it is great for the fans, so above all else, we hope to put on a great show for everyone in Australia.”
