Formula 1: Top three favourites to win F1 Australian GP 2023

Fernando Alonso would also be a dark horse after back-to-back podium finishes in the first two races.

The third race of the 2023 Formula 1 calendar takes place this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix (Australian GP) at the Melbourne Circuit. Before the lights go out at Albert Park, we must talk about the favourites to win this one.

The gloves are off inside the Red Bull camp as Sergio Pérez would be looking to build on his gathered momentum against the World Champion in teammate Max Verstappen. Red Bull has never been a threat to others when the F1 circus has travelled down under, as the team has carved out an undesirable tradition of coming up short here. Historically, when they were the top dogs in the grid, they had struggled to dominate this very landscape. Red Bull's last race win at the Australian GP came from Sebastian Vettel special in 2011.

Fernando Alonso has expanded the number of legitimate title contenders for this season. Both Mercedes and Ferrari would be looking to finally put their misfortunes behind them, hoping for a much-needed result.

We stand sceptical about Aston Martin's chances at Albert Park simply because we feel that Charles Leclerc's purple patch of this season might occur in Melbourne. Yes, it's easy to forget the talent that Ferrari withholds after their forgettable first two races at Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Just because Fernando Alonso landed two back-to-back podiums for Aston Martin doesn't guarantee that they will be able to keep up consistently against mammoths.

Mercedes can only hope to keep the midfield behind them as they tread on equal points in the Constructors' championship at 2nd with Aston Martin. However, for Toto Wolff, it would take time to deliver exciting results once the problems get sorted and the upgrades become ready to propel George Russell and Lewis Hamilton to their capabilities.

Take a look at the top three racers favourites to win the Formula 1 (F1) Australian GP 2023.

3. Charles Leclerc

The first race had a DNF for the Monegasque driver, while in the second race, he had to play a long catchup game after his imposed grid penalty early on for Ferrari to replace parts for technical issues. In Australia, Leclerc should be looking to bounce back and shift momentum toward his team, who have been struggling.

Ferrari has an excellent driver line-up, which has really been unlucky for the most part. The task for Frédéric Vasseur and the company would be to play this one safe and salvage the losses incurred in the first two to keep up with the competition. There is no reason why, with some luck and support from Carlos Sainz, Leclerc can't pull one surprising win over his Red Bull counterparts.

2. Sergio Perez

A win over his teammate in Jeddah showed the heart that the Mexican driver possesses when he is not playing second fiddle to Max. A splendid drive like last year would help him to podium places, which is not a challenge anymore. After all, Checo has the most envious machinery as his mount.

The fact that this isn't a street circuit would surely leave how the recent race winner fares up to speculation. In Australia, there will be plenty of times when the driver would need to fend off other challengers and maintain his position. Is Checo ready to fend off the likes of Charles Leclerc, Fernando Alonso, or Max Verstappen? If he is, there's no stopping his momentum.

1. Max Verstappen

The Dutch driver has to fight hard against his previous misfortunes in the Australian GP if he desires to emerge as the winner. Sure, the qualifying would play a significant part in that, and if this season is anything to go by, we know how dominant the Red Bull car is.

With a cheeky fastest lap in the ultimate period, the reigning World Champion kept his lead in the championship rankings over his teammate by a single point. That goes on to show you he conquers what he wills.

Yes, he has had horrible results around this circuit, but this matured version of Verstappen could and should be winning this race for himself and for Red Bull racing.