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Motorsport

Sport

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 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Pits	Points	Retirement	Chassis	Engine
1	C. Sainz Ferrari	55	58				2	25		Ferrari	Ferrari
2	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	58	2.366			2	19		Ferrari	Ferrari
3	L. Norris McLaren	4	58	5.904			2	15		McLaren	Mercedes
4	O. Piastri McLaren	81	58	35.770			2	12		McLaren	Mercedes
5	S. Perez Red Bull Racing	11	58	56.309			2	10		Red Bull	Red Bull
6	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	58	1'20.992			2	8		Aston Martin	Mercedes
7	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18	58	1'33.222			2	6		Aston Martin	Mercedes
8	Y. Tsunoda RB	22	58	1'35.601			2	4		RB	Red Bull
9	N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team	27	58	1'44.553			2	2		Haas	Ferrari
10	K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team	20	57	1 lap			2	1		Haas	Ferrari
11	A. Albon Williams	23	57	1 lap			2			Williams	Mercedes
12	D. Ricciardo RB	3	57	1 lap			2			RB	Red Bull
13	P. Gasly Alpine	10	57	1 lap			2			Alpine	Renault
14	V. Bottas Sauber	77	57	1 lap			2			Sauber	Ferrari
15	Z. Guanyu Sauber	24	57	1 lap			2			Sauber	Ferrari
16	E. Ocon Alpine	31	57	1 lap			3			Alpine	Renault
17	G. Russell Mercedes	63	56	2 laps			2		Spun off	Mercedes	Mercedes
dnf	L. Hamilton Mercedes	44	15	43 laps			1		Power Unit	Mercedes	Mercedes
dnf	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 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Chassis	Engine	Lap	Time	Interval	km/h
1	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	Ferrari	Ferrari	56	1'19.813		238.066
2	L. Norris McLaren	4	McLaren	Mercedes	49	+0.102 1'19.915	0.102	237.762
3	C. Sainz Ferrari	55	Ferrari	Ferrari	48	+0.218 1'20.031	0.116	237.418
4	O. Piastri McLaren	81	McLaren	Mercedes	54	+0.386 1'20.199	0.168	236.920
5	G. Russell Mercedes	63	Mercedes	Mercedes	53	+0.471 1'20.284	0.085	236.669
6	S. Perez Red Bull Racing	11	Red Bull	Red Bull	47	+0.575 1'20.388	0.104	236.363
7	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	Aston Martin	Mercedes	52	+0.680 1'20.493	0.105	236.055
8	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18	Aston Martin	Mercedes	49	+1.117 1'20.930	0.437	234.780
9	K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team	20	Haas	Ferrari	44	+1.269 1'21.082	0.152	234.340
10	P. Gasly Alpine	10	Alpine	Renault	51	+1.277 1'21.090	0.008	234.317
11	Y. Tsunoda RB	22	RB	Red Bull	46	+1.321 1'21.134	0.044	234.190
12	N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team	27	Haas	Ferrari	46	+1.332 1'21.145	0.011	234.158
13	D. Ricciardo RB	3	RB	Red Bull	46	+1.426 1'21.239	0.094	233.887
14	Z. Guanyu Sauber	24	Sauber	Ferrari	49	+1.514 1'21.327	0.088	233.634
15	E. Ocon Alpine	31	Alpine	Renault	45	+1.541 1'21.354	0.027	233.557
16	V. Bottas Sauber	77	Sauber	Ferrari	48	+1.609 1'21.422	0.068	233.361
17	A. Albon Williams	23	Williams	Mercedes	46	+1.805 1'21.618	0.196	232.801
18	L. Hamilton Mercedes	44	Mercedes	Mercedes	11	+2.631 1'22.444	0.826	230.469
19	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 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4
1	C. Sainz Ferrari	55	Ferrari	Ferrari	M : 16	H : 25	H : 17
2	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	Ferrari	Ferrari	M : 9	H : 25	H : 24
3	L. Norris McLaren	4	McLaren	Mercedes	M : 14	H : 27	H : 19
4	O. Piastri McLaren	81	McLaren	Mercedes	M : 9	H : 31	H : 20
5	S. Perez Red Bull Racing	11	Red Bull	Red Bull	M : 14	H : 21	H : 23
6	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	Aston Martin	Mercedes	H : 18	M : 25	H : 18
7	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18	Aston Martin	Mercedes	M : 9	H : 30	H : 22
8	Y. Tsunoda RB	22	RB	Red Bull	M : 9	H : 27	H : 22
9	N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team	27	Haas	Ferrari	H : 17	M : 18	H : 23
10	K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team	20	Haas	Ferrari	M : 7	H : 26	H : 24
11	A. Albon Williams	23	Williams	Mercedes	M : 6	H : 21	H : 30
12	D. Ricciardo RB	3	RB	Red Bull	S : 5	H : 24	H : 28
13	P. Gasly Alpine	10	Alpine	Renault	M : 17	H : 24	H : 16
14	V. Bottas Sauber	77	Sauber	Ferrari	M : 9	H : 29	H : 21
15	Z. Guanyu Sauber	24	Sauber	Ferrari	S : 6	H : 30	H : 22
16	E. Ocon Alpine	31	Alpine	Renault	M : 9	H : 7	H : 26	H : 22
17	G. Russell Mercedes	63	Mercedes	Mercedes	M : 8	H : 37	H : 11
18	L. Hamilton Mercedes	44	Mercedes	Mercedes	S : 7	H : 8
19	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1	Red Bull	Red Bull	M : 3
View full results

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