In Pictures: Australia 2024
Formula 1 returns down under for the 2024 Australian Grand Prix in beautiful Melbourne. This marked the third race of the longest F1 season in history and the first held on a Sunday this year, following both Middle East races which were scheduled on Saturdays out of respect for Ramadan.
The Australian Grand Prix weekend is a firm favorite in the world of Formula 1, thanks to its stunning location and the buzzy atmosphere of host city Melbourne. The track is made up of 14 corners, having recently been redesigned to make it more flowing. It’s still tricky to overtake on, although not as hard as it was in the past. Historically, a one-stop strategy has been the favored option, as it isn’t too hard on tires, with degradation being a bigger factor than wear.
THE WINNER’S TROPHY
The Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix trophy holds significant meaning for the Australian people. It was designed by the Flynn Brothers, Dan and John, in Kyneton, Victoria. Inspired by Sir Jack Brabham’s 1959 Cooper-Climax T51’s steering wheel, the same car in which he won his first championship title, the trophy pays homage to his legacy. Following the passing of the three-time World Champion in 2014, the trophy was appropriately renamed The Sir Jack Brabham Trophy.
FRIDAY
Yellow and red, especially the latter, were the dominant tire colors on the first day of the Australian Grand Prix. These are the colors associated with the Medium and Soft tire compounds, which covered over 5000 kilometers across the two free practice sessions, with none of the 20 drivers opting to try the white-banded Hard compound.
Red is also the color of the quickest car on track, Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, the Monegasque setting the best time of the day (1’17”277) in the second session. He outpaced Max Verstappen (Red Bull, 1’17”658) and his own team-mate Carlos Sainz (1’17”707), the Spaniard back in action having had to miss the last two days of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, after undergoing an appendectomy.
Quickest in the first session was Lando Norris (McLaren), who stopped the clocks in 1’18”564, ahead of Verstappen (1’18”582) and George Russell (Mercedes, 1’18”597).
Red was also the color of the flag that had to be waved to stop the first session after Alexander Albon (Williams) crashed. The Thai driver was unable to take part in the second hour of free practice due to the damage to his car.
After Albon's accident, Williams Racing confirmed that, due to the extensive damage sustained, they were forced to withdraw the chassis for the remainder of the Grand Prix. The chassis has been returned to the team's HQ at Grove for repair. Since a third chassis is unavailable, the team made the decision for Alex to compete for the remainder of the weekend in the chassis that Logan Sargeant drove in FP1 and FP2.
““This is the hardest moment I can remember in my career and it’s absolutely not easy. I am however completely here for the team and will continue to contribute in any way that I can this weekend to maximize what we can do.””
SATURDAY
FP3
Charles Leclerc set the fastest lap of FP3 for the Australian Grand Prix, just ahead of Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, and Lewis Hamilton, all of them within a tenth of a second!
QUALIFYING
Max Verstappen continued on his masterful way with a third consecutive pole position this season in the Red Bull, the fourth if one also takes into account the final race of 2023 in Abu Dhabi.
The Dutchman had secured his 35th career pole, marking the second consecutive one in Melbourne. Before Q3, Max hadn't led the timesheet in any session throughout the weekend, finishing second fastest three times (once behind Norris and twice behind Leclerc), followed by a third place in Q1 and another second place in Q2. However, when the decisive moment came, he put together two quick laps that placed him out of reach of the rest of the field, with his final lap even dipping below the 1’16” barrier.
Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari (1’16”185) started alongside the Red Bull driver. On the second row, we had McLaren’s Lando Norris (1’16”315) and the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc (1’16”435), after Sergio Perez, who had been third quickest in the other Red Bull with a time of 1’16”274, was given a three-place grid penalty for obstructing Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas in Q1.
SUNDAY
What a dramatic race at Albert Park! It began with Max Verstappen retiring early due to severe brake problems, with his left rear practically exploding while entering the pits. A few laps later, Lewis Hamilton retired from the race in his Mercedes W15 due to power unit issues. Then, with just a handful of laps remaining, George Russell, who had been pushing to pass Fernando Alonso for sixth place, lost control of his Mercedes, crashing into the barriers at the high-speed Turn 6/7 complex and eventually landing on its side on the racing line, prompting the deployment of a Virtual Safety Car until the finish.
In the end, it was a one-two finish for Ferrari, with Carlos Sainz claiming his first win since Singapore last September, while Charles Leclerc secured second place in the Drivers’ classification with 47 points, thanks in part to the extra point for the race's fastest lap. Leading the standings with 51 points is Max Verstappen, despite his first retirement after 44 consecutive points finishes. His last non-finish was back in Melbourne in 2022. Sergio Perez, Verstappen's teammate, holds third place in the standings with 46 points, followed by today’s race winner who has accumulated 40 points.
It was the Spaniard’s third win and his twentieth podium finish, while for his Ferrari team it was win 244 and its 86th one-two. It was also the second for the Sainz-Leclerc pairing, the first coming at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix when they took the chequered flag in the reverse order.
INTERESTING FACTS - 2024 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen continue to be the only race winners in the last 11 months.
This race marked Ferrari's first one-two in Melbourne for exactly 20 years – Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello did it in 2004.
The last Ferrari/McLaren one-two-three-four result was Belgium 2007, with Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa one-two, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton three-four.
With neither George Russell nor Lewis Hamilton finishing, Mercedes ended a 62-race scoring streak (which tied their previous-best scoring streak in Formula 1).
Max Verstappen’s retirement ended a nine-race winning streak and a 43-race finishing streak for the world champion, whose last retirement was in Australia 2022.
Verstappen and Hamilton failed to finish in the same race for only the second time - the only other occurrence was Monza 2021 when they collided.
QUOTES FROM THE PODIUM
““What a rollercoaster! I’m extremely happy! I felt good in the car right from lap 1 and after overtaking Max (Verstappen), when I was in free air, I started setting a strong pace that took me all the way to the finish line, bringing home the first win of the season. I’m also happy that George is OK after the heavy crash. The team deserves this one-two, we did a fantastic job all weekend, from FP1 to the last lap. We executed a perfect race, nailed the strategy and the mechanics were incredible delivering precise and quick pit stops every single time. Congratulations to everyone! Let’s carry this momentum to Japan! Vamos!””
““It was a really good weekend for the team. We maximized our points and left nothing on the table, bringing home a 1-2 finish and the fastest lap.
Carlos did a solid job today. On my side, I struggled a bit with graining on my first set of Hards and had a stronger pace on the last stint on the second set of Hards, managing the gap to Lando.
We’ve started the season with three weekends in which we have made the most of our potential, which feels really good and is a testimony to all the hard work that our team has put in over the past months.””
““It was a very good day for us, I’m very happy, proud of the team, P3 and P4 is a lot of points in the championship so that’s the first thing. We missed out on Charles, I think our pace was a little bit better. He undercut us in the first stint so maybe a little bit of hope for second place. But Ferrari and Carlos did a very good job, so hats off to them, they’ve been fast all weekend. I probably wasn’t expecting to be on the podium, so I’m very happy.””
NEXT STOP: JAPAN! After the longest journey of the year, it’s time for the World Championship to head for Asia and the Japanese Grand Prix at the spectacular Suzuka circuit.
Excerpts from this article provided by © 2024 Pirelli & C. S.p.A.
