Introduction
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz took the primary non-Pink Bull win of the season with a powerful show in the course of the 2024 Method 1 Australian Grand Prix, benefiting from technical bother for Max Verstappen within the opening laps that pressured the reigning world champion to retire.
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Bidding for a record-equalling tenth victory in a row, Verstappen transformed his pole place benefit because the race acquired 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 acquired worse. With plumes of smoke exiting the rear of his RB20, he pulled off the racing line to let the remainder of the sphere overtake him earlier than returning to the pits and retiring for the primary time in two years.
Sainz went from energy to energy in Verstappen’s absence, build up 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 web second and again up Sainz for Ferrari’s first one-two end for the reason that 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 Pink 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 Flip 6/7 complicated, inflicting intensive harm to his Mercedes and bringing out a Digital Security Automobile to the end.
The stewards later deemed that Alonso had performed a “doubtlessly harmful” half within the incident, dropping the Spaniard from P6 to P8 with a post-race 20-second penalty. That call 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 completely lead to factors. He took eleventh, adopted by the opposite house 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 option 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 difficulty for Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton was watching from the Mercedes storage when teammate Russell crashed. The latter—whose automotive was pitched on its aspect 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 “easy operator” line as he headed for parc ferme.
Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:
Initially, 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 acquired nothing in opposition to Max and Pink Bull, however clearly, a brand new identify on the listing of winners, after two years of virtually complete dominance, is sweet for Method 1 as an entire, 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 convey a trio of softer compounds right here in comparison with final yr was the correct one. In the present day’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. Sure, Carlos might drive a great a part of his first stint with a transparent observe forward of him whereas his team-mate, for instance, was in 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 Laborious tyres within the opening laps of his second stint.
Typically, graining was the weekend’s leitmotif, however it was not problematic when it comes to tyre efficiency, and in the long run, 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 Gentle and two (Alonso and Hulkenberg) the Laborious. As predicted, the most well-liked technique was the two-stop, operating Medium-Laborious-Laborious. Ocon was the one driver to make three stops, however that was pressured 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 this time, used for nearly 80% of the race distance by the 19 drivers on observe with this compound. Graining continued to be a vital issue, and, as anticipated, this phenomenon didn’t diminish though it was a lot hotter than in earlier days, and it was on a observe that acquired more and more rubbered in. Important graining was additionally evident on the Laborious, which was by no means used on the primary two days, however however, it was manageable. Relating to stint size, George Russell’s second stint ran 37 laps on the C3, and Fernando Alonso did 24 on the C4.
What’s subsequent?
Method 1 is again in motion in a fortnight when the Japanese Grand Prix takes place from 5 to 7 April at Suzuka. On the basic Honda-owned observe, the trio of compounds would be the identical as in Bahrain: the C1 as Laborious, the C2 as Medium, and the C3 as Gentle. To see the Method 2 and Method 3 vehicles again in motion, one should wait till 17 – 19 Might in Imola, on the identical weekend because the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
2024 Method 1 Australian Grand Prix Race Outcomes
PosNoDriverCountryTeamTimePointsOverall
1.55Carlos SainzSpainScuderia Ferrari1:20:26.8432540
2.16Charles LeclercMonacoScuderia Ferrari+2.366s1947
3.4Lando NorrisGreat BritainMclaren Racing+5.904s1527
4.81Oscar PiastriAustraliaMcLaren Racing+35.770s1228
5.11Sergio PerezMexicoRed Bull Racing +56.309s1046
6.18Lance StrollCanadaAston Martin F1 Crew+93.222s89
7.22Yuki TsunodaJapanVisa Money App F1 Crew+95.601s66
8.14Fernando AlonsoSpainAston Martin F1 Crew+100.992s416
9.27Nico HulkenbergGermanyHaas F1 Crew+104.553s23
10.20Kevin MagnussenDenmarkHaas F1 Crew+1 lap11
11.45Alexander AlbonThailandWilliams Racing+1 lap00
12.3Daniel RicciardoAustraliaVisa Money App F1 Crew+1 lap00
13.10Pierre GaslyFranceAlpine F1 Crew+1 lap00
14.77Valtteri BottasFinlandKick Sauber F1 Crew+1 lap00
15.24Zhou GuanyuChinaKick Sauber F1 Crew+1 lap00
16.31Esteban OconFranceAlpine F1 Crew+1 lap00
17.63George RussellGreat BritainMercedes-AMG PetronasDNF018
18.44Lewis HamiltonGreat BritainMercedes-AMG PetronasDNF08
19.1Max VerstappenNetherlandsRed Bull RacingDNF051
20.2Logan SargeantUSAWilliams RacingDNS00
2024 Constructor Standings
PosTeamPoints
1.Pink Bull Racing97
2.Scuderia Ferrari93
3.McLaren Racing55
4.Mercedes-AMG Petronas26
5.Aston Martin F1 Team25
6.Visa Money App F1 Team6
7.Haas F1 Team4
8.Kick Sauber F1 Team0
9.Williams Racing0
10.Alpine F1 Team0
Listed here are the team-by-team highlights:
