F1 2020: Australian Grand Prix Setup Guide (Wet and Dry Laps) and Tips

Melbourne, Australia, traditionally hosts the Formula One season opener; although, in the last two years, it hasn’t done due to the pandemic.

The track is a unique street circuit set in Melbourne city’s Albert Park, and there is a range of slow to high speed corners throughout the track, certainly standing as one that the drivers enjoy.

This is a guide to getting the perfect F1 2020 setup for the Albert Park street circuit, ensuring that you can get on top of the competition Down Under.

Best wet and dry lap setup for Australia in F1 2020 Game

F1 2020 Setup Tips – Australia GP (Wet and Dry)

Aerodynamics

Dry Lap

• Front Wing Aero: 3
• Rear Wing Aero: 6

The Aerodynamics section in the F1 games pertains to the front and rear wing aero levels on the car. The more wing that you have, the more downforce your car will produce. However, more wing will result in more drag, and so, less top speed in a straight line.

Melbourne has a couple of long straights, but it also features corners where you need that front and rear end grip, so it’s a tricky balance.

A 7-Front and 5-Rear setup will give you good levels of downforce without producing too much drag. Lowering the ride height (which will get to further down) will also help you.

Wet Lap

• Front Wing Aero: 3
• Rear Wing Aero: 6

For the wet, don’t get too bogged down in changing a lot. Whilst real-life F1 cars have wet and dry setups, the same isn’t really an issue in F1 2020.

So, an increase of a value of 1 on each wing should give you just a bit more aerodynamic grip in the wet.

Transmission

Dry Lap

• Differential On Throttle: 75%
• Differential Off Throttle: 65%

Adjusting the car’s differential will have an impact on tyre wear and traction loss. The more open the setup, the less tire wear and traction loss, but a more locked setup may give more outright traction from the outset.

For Melbourne, as you approach most corners with speed, you won’t find yourself losing too much traction as you exit the corners.

Turns 3 to 5 and the final sector will warrant some good outright traction, though. So, 75% on throttle and 65% off should give the car a nice balance.

Wet Lap

• Differential On Throttle: 75%
• Differential Off Throttle: 65%

For the wet, don’t mess around too much. If anything, keep the values the same here. The biggest asset in the wet is your own right foot (if on a wheel), so just gently put the throttle down, even in the faster corners.

Suspension Geometry

Dry Lap

• Front Camber: 3.00
• Rear Camber: 1.60
• Front Toe: 0.10
• Rear Toe: 0.35

Camber is all about how the car sits vertically, and changing it alters each tyre’s contact patch with the track surface. More negative camber impacts the grip in sustained, longer corners.

As Melbourne has a mix of fast, slow, and medium, balancing that out and keeping the camber entries central is key for getting as much grip in as many corners as possible.

The Toe In and Out option is all about the turning response of a F1 car. Toe at the front adjusts the car’s turning response; adjusting it at the back will change its stability and responsiveness.

For Melbourne, as with the camber, keep the settings relatively neutral. There are some fast corners, such as the back chicane, and you do not want the rear end stepping out. Add a little bit more rear camber, though, for those high-speed corners at the back of the track.

Wet Lap

• Front Camber: 3.00
• Rear Camber: 1.50
• Front Toe: 0.10
• Rear Toe: 0.30

In the wet, just knock that rear camber back a value so that you bring it in line with the front camber. You will naturally take those faster corners much slower anyway, as booting the throttle and throwing the car in will see you head straight for the wall. So, a neutral platform, at least in Melbourne, is best.

Suspension

Dry Lap

• Front Suspension: 4
• Rear Suspension: 4
• Front Anti-Roll Bar: 6
• Rear Anti-Roll Bar: 6
• Front Ride Height: 5
• Rear Ride Height: 4

Wet Lap

• Front Suspension: 4
• Rear Suspension: 4
• Front Anti-Roll Bar: 6
• Rear Anti-Roll Bar: 6
• Front Ride Height: 5
• Rear Ride Height: 4

Now we come onto the main suspension components of the car itself. For the actual suspension, softer springs offer more absorption of the bumps, whilst stiffer springs improve aerodynamic stability.

Anti-roll bars help to reduce the overall body roll of a car into the corner, but go too far, and you will overstress the tyres. With the ride height, the higher the ride height, the more drag you’ll get.

For Melbourne, the kerbs and bumps are slightly more pronounced as it is a street track. The track also isn’t too harsh on the tires.

So, you can lean towards a softer suspension setup whilst countering that with a more neutral anti-roll bar setup to keep that balanced out. Almost the default setting will do for the ride height, but it can be worth dragging the rear ride height down a touch to reduce drag overall.

Brakes

Dry Lap

• Brake Pressure: 95%
• Front Brake Bias: 57%

The brake pressure is all about getting the right stopping distance while not locking up. Adjusting the brake bias towards the front will increase your front lockup chances, and you can increase the rear lockup chances by sending it too far the other way.

Wet Lap

• Brake Pressure: 95%
• Front Brake Bias: 57%

A setting of 90 to 100% for the brake pressure is optimum, and you can usually tune your brake bias accordingly. Either way, the latter is usually more down to personal preference, and you will often find yourself adjusting it throughout the Australian Grand Prix.

You shouldn’t need to adjust these for the wet, but be mindful of rear lockups in tricky conditions.

Tyres

Dry Lap

• Front Right Tyre Pressure: 23.0 psi
• Front Left Tyre Pressure: 23.0 psi
• Rear Right Tyre Pressure: 21.1 psi
• Rear Left Tire Pressure: 21.1 psi

Adjusting the tire pressures is all about getting as little rolling resistance as possible without compromising temperatures. Higher tire pressures reduce that resistance, which can help to increase your top speed, but go too far and your temperatures will go through the roof.

Your rear tire pressures will usually be a couple of PSI lower than the fronts. Still, keep the settings for the rear left and right the same, and the same should be done for your fronts.

With Melbourne having a couple of long straights, there isn’t any harm in increasing those tire pressures a bit higher than what the game sets as the default. Doing this would allow you to get the most out of the straights that lead to the best overtaking spots.

Wet Lap

• Front Right Tyre Pressure – 22.6 psi
• Front Left Tyre Pressure – 22.6 psi
• Rear Right Tyre Pressure – 20.7 psi
• Rear Left Tire Pressure – 20.7 psi

Bringing the tyre pressures down a touch in the wet could be useful, but you should not need to worry about this part of the Melbourn setup too much.

This is a solid setup for you to get the best out of your car on the F1 2020 Australian GP, in both race trim and qualifying trim in Career Mode, My Team, or regular Grand Prix mode. The Melbourne circuit is one of the most enjoyable on the F1 calendar, and this F1 2020 setup should really help you get to grips with F1’s traditional season opener.