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If you are looking for our Australian setup guide for F1 2020, you can find it here.
The Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit has been home to the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix since 1996. Since becoming the official F1 Australian Grand Prix track, the layout hasn’t changed. The track itself features a mixture of medium to high speed corners set within a street circuit location.
Overtaking around Albert Park is notoriously tricky, meaning qualifying high up the grid should be a priority going into the Grand Prix weekend. In the F1 2019 game rendition of the Australian circuit overtaking is a little easier due to the 3 DRS zones. It is also much easier to drive closer to other cars than in real life, as the dirty air effect is reduced.
Whilst driving the circuit you have to be wary of making mistakes as the gravel traps and walls are especially close. If racing online a single mistake could result in a huge loss of places as the gravel slows the cars down very quickly.
A good lap time around this Australian F1 track is a 1:22.000 or quicker. The setup guide below was designed for those driving with all assists off, and helped us achieve a lap time of 1:21:384 in Time Trial mode. Watch our hotlap video here.
Click on the images below to view the setup we are using. View the full setup we are using in text format here.
This Australian setup has been designed for the fastest lap time in Time Trial and Qualifying, however can be used in the race. The aerodynamics are set to a reasonably balanced grip setup, with the front wing slightly higher than the rear. This helps turn in on some of the fast apexes this circuit has.
Set the front wing to 7 and the rear wing to 6 to give maximum turn in.
This Australian track has some pretty quick corner exits leading on to long straights. This requires pinpoint precision on the throttle and a very open differential setup.
The on-throttle differential setting dictates how the power is distributed to the rear wheel when accelerating. The lower this number the more open the differential is, meaning you can accelerate harder out of corners.
The off-throttle differential describes how the rear wheels rotate when off the throttle. Driving through the fast corners of Albert Park require both rear tyres to rotate at the same speed. This requires a more locked setup.
Set the on-throttle differential to 50%, and the off-throttle differential to 85%.
The suspension geometry is setup to its fastest, most aggressive settings. This track is so easy on tyres that we can go aggressive on the suspension geometry. We also have the differential wide open meaning the rear tyres are less likely to spin up when accelerating out of corners.
Set the Front Camber to -2.50°, Rear Camber to -1.00°, Front Toe to 0.05° and Rear Toe to 0.20°.
The suspension needs to be reasonably soft around the Australian circuit. You will be hitting the kerbs on most corners, and you’ll be going reasonably fast when doing so. This carries over to the anti-roll bars also, where we have run a reasonably balanced setup here.
Softening the car in both of these aspects really allow you to drive the kerbs which is key around Albert Park. You’ll find much more lap time really attacking the apexes.
Keeping the ride height close to average also allows you to ride the bumps and kerbs.
With all of this in mind set the Front and Rear Suspension to 2, the Front Anti-Roll Bar to 4, the Rear Anti-Roll Bar to 6, and both Front and Rear Ride Height to 4.
The brake settings are key to slowing your car down as quick as possible without locking your tyres. As we are braking in a straight line for most corners we can set the pressure a little higher than average. Having a slightly forward brake bias around Albert Park helps stop the car as quickly as possible by putting most of the pressure through the front wheels.
Set the Brake Pressure to 87%, and the Brake Bias to 56%.
Keep the tyre pressure reasonably average, as most of the setup work has gone in to the other aspects of this setup. Keeping the pressures reasonable will aid both corner exit and tyre wear during a Grand Prix weekend.
Set the Front Tyre Pressure to 23.4, and the Rear Tyre Pressure to 21.5.
The chicane at the end of the pit straight is a tricky one to get right. It is crucial to get the best exit possible so you can line up a pass in to turn 3. By the time you approach the first corner you will be going at around 200mph so you’ll need to get your braking point spot on.
You’ll need to hit the brakes just before the 100m board as you pass by the large digital flag on the left of the track. Decelerate hard, and shift down to 4th gear to get a good turn in angle. Make sure you take as much kerb as you can on the entry, placing the car almost entirely over it if possible. Do not go too far over this kerb otherwise you will face a warning or your lap time removed in Time Trial.
As soon as you are past the apex, get straight on to the power and straighten the car up. Point your car straight towards the green run off zone on your left. Short shift up from 4th to 5th to 6th to get the best traction possible before the long straight. You can run slightly wide on the run off zone of turn 2 if required. Ensure you are completely straight before enabling DRS.
As mentioned the key to this corner is to get the smoothest exit possible. As approaching turn 3 is one of the best overtaking opportunities around Australia.
Arriving towards turn 3 you need to focus on braking as late as possible. Watch for the 100m board on the left, and brake hard. It is very easy to lock your front right and miss the apex so focus on trial braking slightly as you start to turn in. Aim to just kiss the apex of turn 3 without taking too much kerb, then gently apply the throttle on the exit. If you run too far over the inside kerb of turn 3 you will be out of position for turn 4.
Smooth throttle application through turns 3 and 4 is key to getting through quickly. Drift to the right of the circuit before braking for turn 4 to make the corner as shallow as possible. As soon as your right front tyre gets close to the outside yellow track marking, turn in to the medium speed turn 4. Again, don’t run over the kerb too much as it’ll spit the car out wide and on to the very high sausage kerb just on the right hand run off area.
Try to just clip the apex as you apply the throttle smoothly, and as soon as you are around the corner point your car to the left of the track. Approaching turn 5 you should be as far left as you can be on the track, to allow you to drive through turn 5 at full throttle. Take this corner flat out using as much of the run off kerb as you need. During a long race if you feel the tyres going off, you may need to lift ever so slightly through this corner to avoid running too wide.
Turn 6 is a tricky braking zone as its on a slight curve, and often your vision is obscured by the heavy shadow on this apex. You need to place your car as far to the left as possible and brake at around 80m from the corner. You will be braking between the 100m and 50m board. Shift down to 4th gear and take as much kerb as you can on the apex.
Once again smooth throttle application is key on the exit, and use as much of the green run off zone as you need. If you accelerate too hard you can spin the rear tyres, hampering the run down to turn 9. Short shift slightly up to 5th gear and then accelerate hard through the slight curve of turn 8.
The Best F1 24 Racing WheelsBrake just before the 50m board and make sure you hit the apex. Once again, turn 10 leads on to a long straight, so exit speed is more important than the entry. You want to have your whole right wheel over the kerb, but no further. There is a large sausage kerb on the inside of the apex, which will spin you out if you hit it.
As soon as you are through the apex, straighten the car and smoothly accelerate over the green run off zone on the left side of the track. Short shift once again if required to aid traction. If you get a good exit here, you can overtake down the long curve towards turn 11.
Possibly the funnest part of the track, and a place where you can make up a huge amount of time on the AI. There isn’t much braking involved as this chicane is taken at huge speeds.
Hit the brakes at around the 50m board and shift down 1 gear to 6th. Try to use all of the track and kerbs on entry. There is a bollard on the inside of turn 11. Use this as reference, as you will want to get as close to this without clipping it. If you clip this bollard you will generally get a corner cutting warning and your Time Trial time removed.
Accelerating out of turn 11 and towards turn 12 where you will be at almost full throttle the whole way through. Lift slightly as you approach the apex, then get straight back on to the throttle again. Run almost entirely over the yellow kerb on the outside of turn 12, but be careful with the throttle. Too much and this corner will spin you around.
Turn 13 known as Ascari is one of the more difficult corners to get right, as you will be kissing the apex late, and running on to the outside kerbs. Brake just after the 100m board and shift down to 4th gear. Aim to kiss the apex slightly and run out on to the outside kerb. If you accelerate too hard here you will lose the back end, so smoothly accelerate across the kerbing.
Turn 14
Turn 14 is a fun one if you get it right. As you approach dab the brake pedal and shift down 1 gear if requried. Try to stay in 5th gear through this corner and accelerate early. Accelerating throught this corner will push you out wide, but there is enough track to allow you to do so. Run out across the kerbing on the left to get the best exit.
Turn 15 is the slowest corner on the track, and once again the exit is key. Brake down to 2nd gear, and apply almost full lock to get you through. Try to get as close to the kerb as you can without touching it, as this will make the car unstable on the exit. Accelerate smoothly out of the corner as you will have low traction exiting turn 15, and pull towards the left of the track.
Whilst applying as much throttle as you can turn in to turn 16, running over the apex kerb as you approach. As soon as you touch the inside kerb you can apply full throttle and run the car out wide on to the pit straight. Getting this corner right can give you an overtaking opportunity in to turn 1.
And that is a turn by turn guide of the Australian Grand Prix circuit in F1 2019. Watch our hotlap video below, showcasing everything discussed above.
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Rich is the co-founder, and one of the main F1 setup creators and content writers for SimRacingSetups. With over a decade of experience as a graphic designer, marketing director, competitive sim racer and avid motorsport fan, Rich founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers. Regularly writes for sim racing website SimRaceReviews.com
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