Australian Grand Prix Preview: Wehrlein out, Giovinazzi in

Photo: Formula1.com

Sauber F1 Team have made a driver change before tomorrow's (tonight's? depends where you are in the world...) Australian Grand Prix.

Pascal Wehrlein, still recovering from his accident at the Miami Race of Champions, will be replaced by Ferrari reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi for the race. Wehrlein received medical clearance to drive this weekend but insists his fitness is still not where it needs to be (again, further proof drivers are athletes). As of today, he plans to be back in the car for China in two weeks.

Giovinazzi will one of two drivers making his Formula One début in Australia (Williams' Lance Stroll is the other). He finished second in the GP2 Championship last season to Frenchman and Red Bull development driver Pierre Gasly, whose hopes of earning an F1 ride this year ended when Toro Rosso re-signed both Daniil Kyvat and Carlos Sainz Jr.

Lewis Hamilton will start on pole alongside Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton's new teammate, Valtteri Bottas, starts third.

Also, as an American, I must give a shoutout to Haas F1 Team. Romain Grosjean starts sixth tomorrow, which is where he finished for Haas at Australia last season.

Broken Streaks

Photo: NASCAR.com

It's hard to believe either of these guys went over three seasons without a single victory.

Ryan Newman stole the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway this afternoon, inheriting the lead after choosing to stay out of the pits after a late-race caution and holding off Kyle Larson for the win. It was Newman's first victory in 127 races, his last win coming at Indianapolis in 2013.

Richard Childress, Newman's team owner, also won his first Cup race in quite a while. The last time Richard Childress Racing won a Cup race was, ironically, at Phoenix, also in 2013, with Kevin Harvick behind the wheel.

While Newman and Childress were the feel-good stories of the day, one has to feel for Larson. The fourth-year driver recorded his third consecutive second-place finish and fourth in the last five races.

Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark

Photo: Motorsport.com

All Hamlet references aside, something is definitely rotten in Honda's 2017 power unit.

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso insists that McLaren's preseason testing struggles can be deduced solely from the team's Honda engines, which have struggled to keep pace with those of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Renault. When asked about McLaren's current situation, Alonso replied, "I don't think we are too far back in terms of chassis side. We have only one problem: that is the power unit. There is no reliability and there is no power. We are 30 km/h down on the straight, every straight."

Since their power unit switch from Mercedes to Honda in 2015, McLaren have struggled mightily and have yet to record a single podium with their new engine partner. While the team's performance has improved somewhat since the change, McLaren still are not the team that they once were.

One has to wonder if Alonso's patience is wearing thin. The double World Champion will be 36 this summer and is in the final year of his current contract with McLaren. While a bad year may not force him out of Formula One, it may force him into joining a new team if he wants a chance to win a third World Championship.

UPDATE: Well, here's further proof the situation is rotten: McLaren's troubles have left Honda 10,500 km behind Mercedes in terms of distance logged this preseason. Of course, Mercedes supplies engines for three constructors (Mercedes, Williams, Force India) while Honda only supplies for McLaren, but it's still a staggering number that represents just how much trouble Honda has endured so far.

Two Races in the Books

Photo: NASCAR.com

I've finally got some time to myself so I'll go ahead and put in a blog post now.

Ford is now 2-for-2 on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, with Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski earning victories at Daytona and Atlanta respectively. Kyle Larson could easily have won both of these races, but a lack of gas and a puzzling decision to run the high line have taken both potential race victories away from the Chip Ganassi driver.

I can also give an honest opinion of the stage format now that I've seen it at a non-plate track: it's not bad, certainly not as bad as I originally thought it might be. My only concern is that it turned the Daytona races into bigger wreckfests than they already are, but other than that, the racing isn't too different from past season. (I also wish they wouldn't throw the caution once the stage ends, but beggars can't be choosers.)

On another note, hold the phone on Atlanta's repave. It may not happen after all. Apparently the drivers like the track as is, so the project is going to be reconsidered. The track could certainly use one though...