Before the 2019 Australian Grand Prix weekend began, I posted five prediction polls on the Lights Out twitter account. How many of the questions did you get right? Find out below!
1. WHERE WILL LECLERC FINISH?
1. Where will Charles Leclerc finish on his Ferrari debut?#LightsOutF1Predictions #AusGP #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) March 14, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: 2nd or 3rd
CORRECT ANSWER: 4th or 5th
Charles Leclerc topped the timing board in Q1, but qualified fifth in Q3. In the race, the Ferrari newbie climbed as high as second before his pit stop, but finished where he started after being instructed to not overtake his team-mate ahead.
2. WILL THE TRACK RECORD BE BROKEN?
2. Will the track record at Albert Park (a 1:21.164, set by Lewis Hamilton in qualifying in 2018) be beaten this weekend?#LightsOutF1Predictions #AusGP #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) March 14, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: YES
CORRECT ANSWER: YES
Just as 70% of you predicted, the Albert Park track record was indeed broken over the weekend. It was Lewis Hamilton who broke it first, then Valtteri Bottas lowered the time again before Hamilton took pole with a 1:20.486. His lap time was 11.885 seconds faster than Jacques Villeneuve’s time for pole in the first Melbourne event in 1996.
3. WILL ALFA ROMEO QUALIFY IN THE TOP 10?
3. Will Alfa Romeo qualify in the top ten this weekend?#LightsOutF1Predictions #AusGP #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) March 14, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: YES, WITH ONE CAR
CORRECT ANSWER: YES, WITH ONE CAR
65% of you correctly predicted that Alfa Romeo would qualify in the top ten with one car. While Antonio Giovinazzi was eliminated in the second part of qualifying, Kimi Raikkonen reached Q3 and qualified in ninth. It was the first time one of the team’s cars had qualified in the top ten for the Australian Grand Prix since Kamui Kobayashi qualified in ninth in 2011.
4. HOW MANY DRIVERS WILL FINISH?
4. How many drivers will reach the end of the 2019 Australian Grand Prix?#LightsOutF1Predictions #AusGP #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) March 14, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: 17
CORRECT ANSWER: 17
Seventeen drivers reached the end of the 2019 Australian Grand Prix – the highest number of finishers at the track since 2013. Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo and Romain Grosjean were today’s three retirements.
5. HOW MANY TEAMS WILL SCORE?
5. How many different teams will score a point at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix? #LightsOutF1Predictions #AusGP #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) March 14, 2019
YOUR PREDICTION: 6
CORRECT ANSWER: 8 or more
Eight teams picked up points during the race, with everyone but McLaren and Williams scoring. It’s the second consecutive year where Williams have failed to pick up a point at the season-opening race, and the fourth time in the last five years where McLaren have left the event point-less.
Let us know how you got on with this race’s predictions! There’ll be more at the next race, follow us on twitter to take part: @LightsOutF1Blog!