Sainz leads Ferrari with a one-two finish at the 2024 F1 Australian Grand Prix
After an eventful race, Ferrari secured a double victory Australian Grand Prix took place on Sunday at Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit.
Carlos Sainz crossed the finish line first in his first race since his recent operation for appendicitis, with Charles Leclerc finishing just over two seconds behind. Rounding out the top three was McLaren’s Lando Norris, around six seconds behind the winner.
The race, which served as the third round of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship, began like every weekend in previous seasons, with reigning champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing on pole position and Sainz also at the front of the grid.
Verstappen had a smooth start and soon built a lead when problems arose with his car. When Verstappen slipped in a corner, Sainz was able to get out of the way and take the lead. Moments later, clouds of smoke began to appear at the rear of Verstappen’s car and he retired soon after. It later turned out that the car had a problem with the brakes. It was the first time since the 2022 Australian Grand Prix that the three-time champion failed to finish a race when he retired due to a fuel system issue.
Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2024
Leclerc was third in the race at this point, Norris split the two Ferrari men. A successful undercut on lap nine put Leclerc ahead of Norris, and he drove brilliantly in the final stint to keep the position away from Norris, who was on the fresher tires at the time.
His McLaren driver colleague Oscar Piastri also successfully managed an undercut against Norris in the first round of pit stops, but later returned the position on the team’s orders. Piastri also went off the track once and was lonely in fourth place at the finish. Rounding out the top five was Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who struggled with some traffic after starting sixth as he received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying.
The weekend went badly for Mercedes-Benz AMG. Star driver Lewis Hamilton retired on lap 17 due to an engine failure, and teammate George Russell suffered a serious accident on the final lap, ending the race under the virtual safety car. Russell crashed after overtaking Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and moving into sixth place. Race stewards later concluded that Alonso was involved in the incident and handed him a 20-second penalty.
After the weekend’s events, Verstappen still leads the 2024 Drivers’ Championship with 51 points. Leclerc has overtaken Perez and moves into second place with 47 points, with Perez just one point behind. In the constructors’ championship, Red Bull leads with 97 points, compared to Ferrari’s 93 and McLaren’s 55. The next race on the calendar is the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks.
Carlos Sainz at the 2024 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix
Below are the full results of the 2024 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix:
1) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +2.366 seconds
3) Lando Norris, McLaren +5.904 seconds
4) Oscar Piastri, McLaren +35.770 seconds
5) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing +56.309 seconds
6) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +93.222 seconds
7) Yuki Tsunoda, RB +95.601 seconds
8) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +100.992 seconds
9) Nico Hülkenberg, Haas +104.553 seconds
10) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1 lap
11) Alexander Albon, Williams +1 round
12) Daniel Ricciardo, RB +1 round
13) Pierre Gasly, Alpine +1 lap
14) Valtteri Bottas, Sauber +1 lap
15) Zhou Guanyu, Clean +1 round
16) Esteban Ocon, Alpine +1 lap
17) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG – DNF
NC) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG – retirement
NC) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing – retirement
