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2024 F1 Australian GP results: Carlos Sainz wins, Verstappen retires

Carlos Sainz Mercedes Ferrari Charles Leclerc Red Bull Lando Norris C Leclerc Max Verstappen M Verstappen L Norris

Sainz beat Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris at the Albert Park Circuit on Sunday after polesitter Max Verstappen retired early on with mechanical troubles.

2024 F1 Australian Grand Prix results

   
1
 - 
5
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Driver # Laps Time Interval km/h Pits Points Retirement Chassis Engine
1 Spain C. Sainz Ferrari 55 58

 

     2 25   Ferrari Ferrari
2 Monaco C. Leclerc Ferrari 16 58

2.366

     2 19   Ferrari Ferrari
3 United Kingdom L. Norris McLaren 4 58

5.904

     2 15   McLaren Mercedes
4 Australia O. Piastri McLaren 81 58

35.770

     2 12   McLaren Mercedes
5 Mexico S. Perez Red Bull Racing 11 58

56.309

     2 10   Red Bull Red Bull
6 Spain F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14 58

1'20.992

     2 8   Aston Martin Mercedes
7 Canada L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18 58

1'33.222

     2 6   Aston Martin Mercedes
8 Japan Y. Tsunoda RB 22 58

1'35.601

     2 4   RB Red Bull
9 Germany N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team 27 58

1'44.553

     2 2   Haas Ferrari
10 Denmark K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team 20 57

1 lap

     2 1   Haas Ferrari
11 Thailand A. Albon Williams 23 57

1 lap

     2     Williams Mercedes
12 Australia D. Ricciardo RB 3 57

1 lap

     2     RB Red Bull
13 France P. Gasly Alpine 10 57

1 lap

     2     Alpine Renault
14 Finland V. Bottas Sauber 77 57

1 lap

     2     Sauber Ferrari
15 China Z. Guanyu Sauber 24 57

1 lap

     2     Sauber Ferrari
16 France E. Ocon Alpine 31 57

1 lap

     3     Alpine Renault
17 United Kingdom G. Russell Mercedes 63 56

2 laps

     2   Spun off Mercedes Mercedes
dnf United Kingdom L. Hamilton Mercedes 44 15

43 laps

     1   Power Unit Mercedes Mercedes
dnf Netherlands M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1 3

55 laps

     1   Rear brakes Red Bull Red Bull
View full results  

2024 F1 Australian Grand Prix report

Polesitter Verstappen led the charge to Turn 1, with Carlos Sainz holding on to second in the Ferrari after a straightforward start to the race.

But Sainz got a great run on Verstappen as the DRS was deployed on lap 2, passing the Red Bull driver into Turn 9 to hit the front for the first time.

Sainz was already starting to break away when smoke started pouring out of Verstappen's Red Bull on lap 3, sending him tumbling down the order. The Dutchman came into the pits at the end of the lap to retire the car, blowing the race wide open.

Hamilton, who started on softs, was the first of the frontrunners to switch to hard tyres, triggering a chain of pitstops. 

McLaren pitted Oscar Piastri first in order to cover George Russell, but it compromised team-mate Lando Norris, who dropped to fourth after all the drivers had completed their pitstops. This also promoted Charles Leclerc to second, behind Ferrari team-mate Sainz.

On lap 17, Hamilton began to slow down with what he reported to be an engine issue, forcing him to park the car to the side of the track.

The virtual safety car was briefly deployed, which allowed Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso to make a cheap pitstop and jump to fifth place.

At the front, Sainz started rebuilding his lead over Leclerc, extending his advantage to six seconds by lap 30.

McLaren, meanwhile, asked its drivers to swap positions, giving Norris a stab at chasing Leclerc for second.

The strategy appeared to pay off, with Norris getting within 1.5s of Leclerc and forcing the Ferrari driver to make an early stop to ditch his old hard tyres.

Norris pitted at the end of lap 41, rejoining the track 3.5s behind Leclerc but on much fresher tyres. However, he couldn't really make any inroads into Leclerc's lead as the race finish drew closer, with the Monegasque driver doing more than enough to stay comfortably ahead.

Sainz took the chequered flag after 58 laps with a winning margin of 2.3s after nursing his tyres in the final laps, while Leclerc crossed the line in second to complete a memorable 1-2 for Ferrari.

Norris claimed the final spot on the podium in third, with home hero Piastri crossing the finish line in fourth.

Sergio Perez didn't feature in the podium battle after starting the race from sixth, having picked up a three-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying.

The Mexican driver couldn't step up on a day team-mate Verstappen was forced out by technical issues, finishing fifth.

Russell was chasing Alonso for sixth on the final lap when he suffered a big crash at Turns 6-7, with his Mercedes turning over after smashing the barriers.

With Russell retiring in spectacular fashion, Alonso took sixth under VSC conditions, while Lance Stroll made it a double points finish for Aston Martin in seventh.

Yuki Tsunoda opened his points tally of 2024 with a strong drive to eighth, as Haas duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen completed the top 10.

Williams driver Alex Albon, who took over Logan Sargeant's chassis after a  crash in FP1, could only muster an 11th-place result in Melbourne.

RB's Daniel Ricciardo struggled to 12th on home turf, while 13th was the best Pierre Gasly could manage in the Alpine after picking up a five-second time penalty for crossing the white line at the pit exit.

It was torrid outing in Austria for Sauber, with a wheen gun problem consigning Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu to 14th and 15th positions, only ahead of the Alpine of Esteban Ocon.

2024 F1 Australian Grand Prix fastest laps

   
1
 - 
3
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Lap Time Interval km/h
1 Monaco C. Leclerc Ferrari 16 Ferrari Ferrari 56

1'19.813

   238.066
2 United Kingdom L. Norris McLaren 4 McLaren Mercedes 49

+0.102

1'19.915

 0.102 237.762
3 Spain C. Sainz Ferrari 55 Ferrari Ferrari 48

+0.218

1'20.031

 0.116 237.418
4 Australia O. Piastri McLaren 81 McLaren Mercedes 54

+0.386

1'20.199

 0.168 236.920
5 United Kingdom G. Russell Mercedes 63 Mercedes Mercedes 53

+0.471

1'20.284

 0.085 236.669
6 Mexico S. Perez Red Bull Racing 11 Red Bull Red Bull 47

+0.575

1'20.388

 0.104 236.363
7 Spain F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14 Aston Martin Mercedes 52

+0.680

1'20.493

 0.105 236.055
8 Canada L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18 Aston Martin Mercedes 49

+1.117

1'20.930

 0.437 234.780
9 Denmark K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team 20 Haas Ferrari 44

+1.269

1'21.082

 0.152 234.340
10 France P. Gasly Alpine 10 Alpine Renault 51

+1.277

1'21.090

 0.008 234.317
11 Japan Y. Tsunoda RB 22 RB Red Bull 46

+1.321

1'21.134

 0.044 234.190
12 Germany N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team 27 Haas Ferrari 46

+1.332

1'21.145

 0.011 234.158
13 Australia D. Ricciardo RB 3 RB Red Bull 46

+1.426

1'21.239

 0.094 233.887
14 China Z. Guanyu Sauber 24 Sauber Ferrari 49

+1.514

1'21.327

 0.088 233.634
15 France E. Ocon Alpine 31 Alpine Renault 45

+1.541

1'21.354

 0.027 233.557
16 Finland V. Bottas Sauber 77 Sauber Ferrari 48

+1.609

1'21.422

 0.068 233.361
17 Thailand A. Albon Williams 23 Williams Mercedes 46

+1.805

1'21.618

 0.196 232.801
18 United Kingdom L. Hamilton Mercedes 44 Mercedes Mercedes 11

+2.631

1'22.444

 0.826 230.469
19 Netherlands M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1 Red Bull Red Bull 3

+3.302

1'23.115

 0.671 228.608
View full results  

2024 F1 Australian Grand Prix tyre history

   
1
 - 
3
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4
1 Spain C. Sainz Ferrari 55 Ferrari Ferrari
M : 16
H : 25
H : 17
 
2 Monaco C. Leclerc Ferrari 16 Ferrari Ferrari
M : 9
H : 25
H : 24
 
3 United Kingdom L. Norris McLaren 4 McLaren Mercedes
M : 14
H : 27
H : 19
 
4 Australia O. Piastri McLaren 81 McLaren Mercedes
M : 9
H : 31
H : 20
 
5 Mexico S. Perez Red Bull Racing 11 Red Bull Red Bull
M : 14
H : 21
H : 23
 
6 Spain F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14 Aston Martin Mercedes
H : 18
M : 25
H : 18
 
7 Canada L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18 Aston Martin Mercedes
M : 9
H : 30
H : 22
 
8 Japan Y. Tsunoda RB 22 RB Red Bull
M : 9
H : 27
H : 22
 
9 Germany N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team 27 Haas Ferrari
H : 17
M : 18
H : 23
 
10 Denmark K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team 20 Haas Ferrari
M : 7
H : 26
H : 24
 
11 Thailand A. Albon Williams 23 Williams Mercedes
M : 6
H : 21
H : 30
 
12 Australia D. Ricciardo RB 3 RB Red Bull
S : 5
H : 24
H : 28
 
13 France P. Gasly Alpine 10 Alpine Renault
M : 17
H : 24
H : 16
 
14 Finland V. Bottas Sauber 77 Sauber Ferrari
M : 9
H : 29
H : 21
 
15 China Z. Guanyu Sauber 24 Sauber Ferrari
S : 6
H : 30
H : 22
 
16 France E. Ocon Alpine 31 Alpine Renault
M : 9
H : 7
H : 26
H : 22
17 United Kingdom G. Russell Mercedes 63 Mercedes Mercedes
M : 8
H : 37
H : 11
 
18 United Kingdom L. Hamilton Mercedes 44 Mercedes Mercedes
S : 7
H : 8
   
19 Netherlands M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1 Red Bull Red Bull
M : 3
     
View full results  
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