Thank You Australia ✔
The top 10 in Melbourne 🇦🇺#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/TP4qRBc83Y — Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2024
AUSTRALIAN GP Final Positions
CARLOS SAINZ WINS THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 🏁
THE SPANISH TAKES VICTORY IN THIRD RACE OF THE YEAR
🚨 LAP 58 🟨
RUSSELL CRASHES ATTENTION!
AND THERE IS A VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR
THREE LAPS TO GO!
1 Carlos SAINZ
2 Charles LECLERC +3.413
3 Lando NORRIS +6.501
LAP 55
FERNANDO ALONSO HOLDS SIXTH PLACE OVER RUSSELL AND TRIES TO MAINTAIN HIS POSITION IN FRONT OF THE MERCEDES WHICH IS +0.347
LAP 52
1 Carlos SAINZLEADER 2
2 Charles LECLERC +5.248
3 Lando NORRIS +8.807
4 Oscar PIASTRI +19.794
5 Sergio PEREZ +32.588
6 Fernando ALONSO +48.880
7 George RUSSELL +49.895
8 Lance STROLL +60.500
9 Yuki TSUNODA +64.896
10 Nico HULKENBERG +68.848
11 Kevin MAGNUSSEN +71.507
12 Alexander ALBON +75.440
13 Daniel RICCIARDO +77.302
14 Pierre GASLY
15 Valtteri BOTTAS
16 GuanyuZHOU
17 Esteban OCON
18 Lewis HAMILTON-- OUT
19 Max VERSTAPPEN-- OUT
THE TIFOSI CELEBRATE A POSSIBLE 1-2
Inside the final 10 laps of the race and its still a 1-2 so far 🤞 @Carlossainz55 - P1@Charles_Leclerc - P2#AusGP 🇦🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/EDVZXgvfIy — Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 24, 2024
LAP 49
10-SECOND PENALTY FOR PIERRE GASLY FOR CROSSING THE PIT LANE LINE AT THE START OF THE RACE
LAP 47
The stewards are going to be busy - Bottas is in trouble, after a loose wheel nut went flying on his pit stop. Gasly is also being looked at for running over the white line on pit lane exit, which is exactly what he did in qualifying yesterday.
FIGHT FOR TENTH PLACE
9 Yuki TSUNODA +58.313
10 Nico HULKENBERG +59.837
11 Kevin MAGNUSSEN +63.701
12 Alexander ALBON +64.909
LAP 45
1 Carlos SAINZ
2 Charles LECLERC +5.143
3 Lando NORRIS +9.875
LAP 42
CARLOS SAINZ PITS AND ACHIEVES A TIME OF 2.6 AND KEEPS HIS LEAD AS RACE LEADER
LAP 40
LANDO NORRIS IS SECOND TO CHARLES LECLERC AND NOW THE MCLAREN IS IN FERRERI'S SANDWICH
LAP 38
1 Carlos SAINZ
2 Lando NORRIS +10.096
3 Oscar PIASTRI +18.052
4 Charles LECLERC +27.371
5 Fernando ALONSO +34.467
6 George RUSSELL +38.696
7 Sergio PEREZ +49.469
8 Lance STROLL +67.917
9 Pierre GASLY +68.282
10 Yuki TSUNODA +70.759
11 Nico HULKENBERG +72.647
12 Alexander ALBON +75.722
13 Kevin MAGNUSSEN +76.892
14 Esteban OCON
15 Daniel RICCIARDO
16 Valtteri BOTTAS
17 GuanyuZHOU
18 Lewis HAMILTON
19 Max Verstappen
LAP 36
MCLAREN
No sign of Norris or Piastri pitting, but Perez does. he swaps to more hard tyres, and comes back out in ninth behind Tsunoda. Right then, what can he do with fresh rubber to rescue Red Bull's race? They look harder on their tyres than Ferrari based on the ones that just came off the Mexican's car.
LAP 34
LECLERC COMES INTO THE PITS AND HAS A TIME OF 2.1 STILL ON HARD TYRES
LAP 31
Fernando Alonso is in DRS on Sergio Perez and is looking to beat him for sixth position.
LAP 28
FERRARI FIGHTS FOR FIRST PLACE. SAINZ IS +4.493 OVER LECLERC
LAP 25
At the moment neither driver has a DRS opportunity over the other. All drivers are over a second ahead of each other
LAP 24
CARLOS SAINZ MAINTAINS HIS LEAD OVER CHARLES LECLERC FOR THE MOMENT.
+1.961 IS THE DIFFERENCE
THE FIGHT FOR THE WIN BELONGS TO FERRARI
LAP 21
1 Carlos SAINZ
2 Charles LECLERC +1.733
3 Oscar PIASTRI +4.163
4 Lando NORRIS +6.481
5 Fernando ALONSO +13.533
6 Sergio PEREZ +18.275
7 George RUSSELL +19.152
8 Lance STROLL +21.935
9 Yuki TSUNODA +23.612
10 Alexander ALBON +27.424
11 Kevin MAGNUSSEN +29.262
12 Nico HULKENBERG +31.304
13 Daniel RICCIARDO +34.436
14 GuanyuZHOU +39.616
15 Pierre GASLY +41.901
16 Valtteri BOTTAS +55.128
17 Esteban OCON +56.110
18 Lewis HAMILTON OUT
19 Max VERSTAPPEN OUT
LAP 17
LAP 17/58
Hamilton is crawling around the track looking for a place to pull over
Looks like engine issues have ended his race ❌
VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/tu77Zcfi86 — Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2024
LAP 16 🟨
HAMILTON EXITS THE RACE AND THE RACE IS YELLOW FLAGGED
LAP 15
CHECO PÉREZ ACHIEVES A 2.8 STOP AND RUNS HARD TIRES TO THE FINISH
LAP 13
Tremendous strategic race now.
The drivers who entered the race have an advantage over those who did not. Even though Norris is second, he will lose position, as he did not stop to change tires.
Sainz is still first
Lap 10
After 10 laps, several drivers pitted.
1SAINZ MEDIAS
2NORRIS MEDIAS
3PÉREZ HALFWAYS
4ALONDO HARD
LAP 8
1 Carlos SAINZ
2 Lando NORRIS+2.796 - -
3 Charles LECLERC+3.608 - -
4 Oscar PIASTRI+4.293 - -
5 Sergio PEREZ+8.255 - -
6 Yuki TSUNODA+10.671 - -
7 Fernando ALONSO+11.319
8 Esteban OCON+15.789
9 Nico HULKENBERG+18.804
10 Pierre GASLY+18.860
11 George RUSSELL+24.872
12 Lance STROLL+8.925
13 Valtteri BOTTAS+13.336
14 Lewis HAMILTON+29.589
15 Kevin MAGNUSSEN+34.876
16 Alexander ALBON+36.145
17 Daniel RICCIARDO+40.935
18 GuanyuZHOU+43.020
19 Max VERSTAPPEN OUT
LAPN 6
FIRE ON VERSTAPPEN'S RIGHT REAR TIRE AND THE TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION RETIRES!
MOMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THERE IS A RACE!
¡MAMÁAAAAAAAAAAA HAY CARRERA!
LAP 5
VERSTAPPEN PITTED AND THE RACE IS OVER FOR HIM!
THE WORLD CHAMPION RETIRES AND MAKES WORLD NEWS
LAP 3
FIGHT FOR FIRST PLACE
1 Carlos SAINZ
2 Max VERSTAPPEN +0.680
LAP 1
CARLOS SAINZ BEATS VERSTAPPEN FOR THE LEAD!!!!!
LAP 1
VERSTAPPEN GOES VERY WELL, HOLDS FIRST PLACE, CARLOS SAINZ IS SECOND, NORRIS WINS THIRD FROM LECLERC
THE RACE BEGINS ⏱
The Australian Grand Prix the third session of the season starts!!!!
Formation lap
Preliminary lap is underway and the race in Australia will be underway shortly.
Can anyone dethrone Verstappen?
The pole winner has won just three of the last ten Australian GPs, while 16 of the 25 races in Melbourne have been won from the front row.
David Coulthard's last F1 victory came at this circuit, with his starting position of 11th, the lowest of any winner at Albert Park.
On the performance with which each driver arrives
As we can see in the following graph, taking Max Verstappen's fastest lap as a reference, no driver putting together his best sectors would be able to beat him. It is striking how close Carlos Sainz could be, as we have already mentioned.
One of Fernando Alonso's trump cards for the race is his slight improvement in tire degradation over previous races. The Aston Martin is not much superior to the cars that will start in front of him, so the strategy will be key for the development of the Grand Prix.
In addition, it is very striking the big difference that we can see between teammates at the bottom of the table. The Alpines are separated by four tenths, the Sauber by five, the Haas by three or the Racing Bulls by seven tenths. 
Carlos Sainz starts at second
"It’s been a tough couple of weeks, a lot of days in bed waiting for this moment to see if I could be here today.
“To make it to this weekend and then obviously to put it on the front row after leading through qualifying I was almost not believing it, especially after how tough it’s been.
"I’m not going to lie I’m not in my most comfortable state when I’m driving out there, but I can get it done. And as far as I can get it done without pain… obviously a lot of discomfort and weird feelings, but no pain, so it allows me to push flat-out.”
Verstappen will start first 1️⃣
The two-time world champion won the pole position and thanks to this he will be first at the start of the race. After being the best in qualifying he said the following:
"Today was a bit unexpected, but I'm very happy with Q3. So far it has been a complicated weekend, (Ferrari) seems very fast in the long runs, so tomorrow will be exciting".
Great day to racing!
It’s Melbourne. It’s Sunday. It’s race day.
LET’S GOOOOO! 🤩#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/Zc3air3vvi — Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2024
Weather in Melbourne ⛅
20°C
Chance of precipitation: 0%.
Humidity: 56%.
Wind: 23 km/h
Welcome back!
Welcome back to the live and real-time coverage of the Australian Grand Prix, corresponding to the 2024 Formula 1 season.
The hour before the race and then the session begins. You will be joined by Esteban Monsalve.
Stay tuned here to follow the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in real time
Don't miss a single detail of the qualifying and the race of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix with VAVEL.com's live updates and commentary from the circuit. Follow with us all the details, commentary, analysis and qualifying from the track and the pits.
How to watch the Australian Grand Prix?
If you want to watch the F1 2024 Australian Grand Prix , your options are: Fox Sports and Sky Sports.
If you want to watch it on streaming: F1 TV and DAZN
If you want to watch it online, VAVEL US is your best option.
What time is the Australian Grand Prix?
This is the start time for qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on March 24 in several countries:
Argentina: 01:00 on Star +
Bolivia: 00:00 on Star +
Brazil: 01:00 on ESPN
Chile: 01:00 on Star +
Colombia: 23:00 on Star + (March 23)
Ecuador: 23:00 on Star + (March 23)
USA (ET): 00:00 on Sky Sports
Spain: 05:00 on DAZN
Mexico: 22:00 on Star + / Fox Sports Premium (March 23)
Paraguay: 01:00 on Star +
Peru: 23:00 on Star + (March 23)
Uruguay: 01:00 on Star +
Checo penalized!
After being called to testify, the race stewards determined that Sergio 'Checo' Perez "unnecessarily blocked" Nico Hulkenberg on lap 13 of qualifying. Due to this interpretation, Checo was penalized with a three-place grid penalty. He will start sixth.
Tires available
Pirelli provides Melbourne with its range of softer tires, C3 (hard), C4 (medium) and C5 (soft).
In addition, the Italian brand has opted for these sets of tires to increase the strategic variety. The fact that this time of the year corresponds to the autumn season in Oceania means that temperatures are quite mild. Therefore, the tires should not suffer too much.
Williams without one of its drivers
"Williams have announced that Alex Albon will take over the car of his team mate Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix weekend, following his crash in Free Practice 1 on Friday morning.
Although unharmed in the incident, Albon was forced to sit out Free Practice 2, as Williams – who confirmed that they have no third chassis available this weekend – assessed the damage to the Thai driver’s #23 machine.
With that damage deemed to have been too significant to continue using the chassis, the team made the call for Albon – who last season claimed 27 of the team’s 28 points to help them to P7 in the constructors’ championship – to take over the car of team mate Sargeant."*
*Official communication from F1 Media
Pole position
Max Verstappen took pole position for the 2024 Australian Grand Prix with a time of 1:15.915. Thanks to this, he took the fastest lap in history in the new regulations of the Albert Park circuit. Second in qualifying will be Carlos Sainz.
For the moment, Verstappen maintains a perfect record in the season with three poles contested and three won.
"A bit unexpected today, but very happy with Q3 - both laps felt very nice. A bit of a tricky weekend so far, [Ferrari] seem very quick in the long runs so that makes tomorrow exciting."
Australian Grand Prix Preview
Red Bull Racing arrives at the Australian Grand Prix with great superiority in the constructors' standings. The Austrian team maintains the line it left in 2023, when it was proclaimed champion of the championship. Likewise, Max Verstappen leads the drivers' world championship with 51 points, followed by his teammate, Sergio 'Checo' Perez, who has 36 units and the third in dispute is Charles Leclerc with 28 points.
Since the modification added for the 2023 season at turn eight, the Albert Park circuit has become faster, a challenge that Red Bull has managed in recent months.
Albert Park Circuit
The Albert Park Circuit will once again host the Australian Grand Prix for the 2024 edition. The circuit's historic fastest lap is held by Sergio Perez with the 1:20:235 he achieved during last year's race.
The 5.278-kilometer layout features 14 corners (9 right-handers, 5 left-handers) with clockwise turns. In addition, the circuit has 4 DRS zones (after turns 2, 8, 10 and 14), a circumstance that will be of great importance in Sunday's race.
Welcome to minute by minute coverage of the Australian Grand Prix!
My name is Esteban Monsalve and I will be your host for this game. We will provide you with pre-race analysis, roster updates, and news as it happens here on VAVEL.com