Introduction
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz took the primary non-Red Bull win of the season with a formidable show in the course of the 2024 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, profiting from technical hassle for Max Verstappen within the opening laps that compelled the reigning world champion to retire.
Click right here to subscribe to our print version!
Bidding for a record-equalling tenth victory in a row, Verstappen transformed his pole place benefit because the race received underway however quickly reported points behind the wheel. A compromised second lap opened the door for Sainz to get a run on him and make a transfer for the lead.
From there, Verstappen’s brake-related woes received worse. With plumes of smoke exiting the rear of his RB20, he pulled off the racing line to let the remainder of the sector overtake him earlier than returning to the pits and retiring for the primary time in two years.
Sainz went from power to power in Verstappen’s absence, increase a strong lead over Lando Norris, teammate Charles Leclerc, and residential favorite Oscar Piastri because the race developed. He finally took the chequered flag for the third triumph of his F1 profession.
Leclerc accomplished an undercut on Norris within the early phases of the race to rise to a internet second and again up Sainz for Ferrari’s first one-two end because the 2022 opener, however the Briton nonetheless recorded a breakthrough maiden podium of the season for himself and McLaren.
Piastri additionally jumped on Norris in the course of the preliminary spherical of pit stops, solely to be requested to maneuver apart for his teammate after which lose some extra time with an off-track tour. This left him in a lonely fourth on the end, adopted by Sergio Perez’s Red Bull.
George Russell had been pushing to finish a late transfer on Fernando Alonso for sixth place when he dramatically crashed out on the high-speed Turn 6/7 advanced, inflicting in depth harm to his Mercedes and bringing out a Virtual Safety Car to the end.
The stewards later deemed that Alonso had performed a “potentially dangerous” half within the incident, dropping the Spaniard from P6 to P8 with a post-race 20-second penalty. That resolution moved teammate Lance Stroll as much as sixth and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda to P7—giving RB their first reward of the marketing campaign—as Haas took a welcome clutch of factors with Nico Hulkenberg in ninth and Kevin Magnussen in tenth.
Williams’ resolution to place Alex Albon in Logan Sargeant’s automotive didn’t fully lead to factors. He took eleventh, adopted by the opposite dwelling driver in motion, RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, who was hit with a five-second penalty for a pit exit breach.
Kick Sauber endured but extra pit cease issues on their method to 14th and fifteenth with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, respectively. Esteban Ocon was the ultimate finisher within the different Alpine after Verstappen’s early retirement, Russell’s late crash, and a mid-race engine situation for Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton was watching from the Mercedes storage when teammate Russell crashed. The latter—whose automotive was pitched on its facet in the course of the observe after the left entrance crumbled—shortly reported over the radio that he was “okay.”
With the drivers conscious of Russell’s situation, the celebrations began down at Ferrari as Sainz revelled in his journey from a hospital mattress to the highest step of the rostrum in simply two weeks – shouting his trademark “smooth operator” line as he headed for parc ferme.
Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:
First of all, congratulations to Carlos Sainz and everybody at Ferrari for this one-two, which as soon as once more demonstrated that in such a aggressive sport, the place expertise is pushed to the restrict, one can by no means take something as a right. I’ve received nothing towards Max and Red Bull, however clearly, a brand new title on the checklist of winners, after two years of virtually complete dominance, is sweet for Formula 1 as a complete, as is the truth that simply eleven factors cowl the highest 4 drivers within the classification.
As for the race, it confirmed that our resolution to carry a trio of softer compounds right here in comparison with final yr was the correct one. Today’s race was busier in comparison with latest years, with tyre administration making the distinction. For instance, one of many keys to Sainz’s success was the power to elongate the primary stint on the Mediums, which then gave him the sting over his closest pursuers, as the 2 units of Hards he used within the second and third stints had been more energizing. Yes, Carlos may drive a superb a part of his first stint with a transparent observe forward of him whereas his team-mate, for instance, was in site visitors, sandwiched between the 2 McLarens. All the identical, Leclerc managed to overhaul Norris exactly as a result of he had stopped first and will higher exploit the efficiency of recent Hard tyres within the opening laps of his second stint.
In basic, graining was the weekend’s leitmotif, however it was not problematic by way of tyre efficiency, and ultimately, those that did the higher job of managing them had the higher hand.
The day on the observe:
All three compounds Pirelli selected for this Grand Prix had been used on the beginning grid: 14 drivers went for the Medium, three (Hamilton, Ricciardo and Zhou) opted for the Soft and two (Alonso and Hulkenberg) the Hard. As predicted, the most well-liked technique was the two-stop, working Medium-Hard-Hard. Ocon was the one driver to make three stops, however that was compelled on him by the necessity to make a really early first pit cease to take away a visor tear-off from a brake duct.
After making the briefest of appearances in FP3, just for scrubbing-in functions, the C3 was the most well-liked alternative at present, used for nearly 80% of the race distance by the 19 drivers on observe with this compound. Graining continued to be an important issue, and, as anticipated, this phenomenon didn’t diminish although it was a lot hotter than in earlier days, and it was on a observe that received more and more rubbered in. Significant graining was additionally evident on the Hard, which was by no means used on the primary two days, however nonetheless, it was manageable. Regarding stint size, George Russell’s second stint ran 37 laps on the C3, and Fernando Alonso did 24 on the C4.
What’s subsequent?
Formula 1 is again in motion in a fortnight when the Japanese Grand Prix takes place from 5 to 7 April at Suzuka. At the basic Honda-owned observe, the trio of compounds would be the identical as in Bahrain: the C1 as Hard, the C2 as Medium, and the C3 as Soft. To see the Formula 2 and Formula 3 vehicles again in motion, one should wait till 17 – 19 May in Imola, on the identical weekend because the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
2024 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Country | Team | Time | Points | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Spain | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:20:26.843 | 25 | 15 |
| 2. | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Monaco | Scuderia Ferrari | +2.366s | 19 | 28 |
| 3. | 4 | Lando Norris | Great Britain | Mclaren Racing | +5.904s | 15 | 12 |
| 4. | 81 | Oscar Piastri | Australia | McLaren Racing | +35.770s | 12 | 16 |
| 5. | 11 | Sergio Perez | Mexico | Red Bull Racing | +56.309s | 10 | 36 |
| 6. | 18 | Lance Stroll | Canada | Aston Martin F1 Team | +93.222s | 8 | 1 |
| 7. | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Japan | Visa Cash App F1 Team | +95.601s | 6 | 0 |
| 8. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Spain | Aston Martin F1 Team | +100.992s | 4 | 12 |
| 9. | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Germany | Haas F1 Team | +104.553s | 2 | 1 |
| 10. | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Denmark | Haas F1 Team | +1 lap | 1 | 0 |
| 11. | 45 | Alexander Albon | Thailand | Williams Racing | +1 lap | 0 | 0 |
| 12. | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Australia | Visa Cash App F1 Team | +1 lap | 0 | 0 |
| 13. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | France | Alpine F1 Team | +1 lap | 0 | 0 |
| 14. | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Finland | Kick Sauber F1 Team | +1 lap | 0 | 0 |
| 15. | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | China | Kick Sauber F1 Team | +1 lap | 0 | 0 |
| 16. | 31 | Esteban Ocon | France | Alpine F1 Team | +1 lap | 0 | 0 |
| 17. | 63 | George Russell | Great Britain | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | DNF | 0 | 18 |
| 18. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Great Britain | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | DNF | 0 | 8 |
| 19. | 1 | Max Verstappen | Netherlands | Red Bull Racing | DNF | 0 | 51 |
| 20. | 2 | Logan Sargeant | USA | Williams Racing | DNS | 0 | 0 |
2024 Constructor Standings
| Pos | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Red Bull Racing | 97 |
| 2. | Scuderia Ferrari | 93 |
| 3. | McLaren Racing | 55 |
| 4. | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | 26 |
| 5. | Aston Martin F1 Team | 25 |
| 6. | Visa Cash App F1 Team | 6 |
| 7. | Haas F1 Team | 4 |
| 8. | Kick Sauber F1 Team | 0 |
| 9. | Williams Racing | 0 |
| 10. | Alpine F1 Team | 0 |
Here are the team-by-team highlights:
