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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Joey Lynch

Carlos Sainz wins Australian F1 Grand Prix as Max Verstappen retires early – as it happened

Alexander Albon Williams Max Verstappen Alex Albon Lewis Hamilton Red Bull Carlos Sainz Charles Leclerc Ferrari George Russell Mercedes (Person) Joey Lynch Logan Sargeant
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr drives at Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne.
Carlos Sainz won the Australian Formula One Grand Prix for Ferrari following Max Verstappen’s fourth-lap retirement in Melbourne. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

Jack Snape has taken a look at what the what Carlos Sainz’s victory in the Australian Grand Prix might mean for the Formula One championship – and in particular for Red Bull:

And with that, I think I’m done.

A remarkable day in Melbourne. Coming in, the predominant question was if anyone would be able to get close to stopping Max Verstappen from winning from pole for the fourth-straight time and taking out a tenth-successive race. Then, the defending champion was forced to retire on lap three and everything was blown wide open.

Starting from second, Carlos Sainz had overtaken the Dutchman before his retirement and used the clear air in front of him to surge to the win – not bad for a bloke looking for a drive next season and still recovering from having surgery for appendicitis. Indeed, it was a good day for fans of red horses rather than bulls, in general with Ferrari saluting with a one-two finish after Charles Leclerc crossed the line behind him in second.

Mclaren will likewise leave with a pep in their step after Charles Norris and home town boy Oscar Piastri took third and fourth. Lewis Hamilton, though, who joined Verstappen in being forced to retire with mechanical issues, will head to Japan with frustration with his Mercedes undoubtedly only growing.

My name’s been Joey Lynch, thank you ever so much for keeping up with the Australian GP with me. I’ll leave you with Giles Richards’ full report. Thanks and success.

Updated

Giles Richards has wrapped up all the action at the Australian F1 Grand Prix 2024 with a race report:

Sainz speaking on the coverage: “It was a really good race. I felt really good out there. Of course a bit stiff. Especially physically it wasn’t the easiest but I was lucky that I was more or less on my own and I could manage my pace, manage the tyres, manage everything. It wasn’t the toughest races of all.

“Very happy, very proud of the team. Happy to be in a one-two with Charles here. It shows that the hard work pays off. Life, sometimes it’s crazy. What happened at the beginning of the year then the podium in Bahrain, then the appendix, then the come back, and the win. It’s a rollercoaster but I love it and I’m extremely happy.”

Sainz salutes with the Australian GP trophy, the first time a driver other than Verstappen lifted the trophy since… well, Sainz did it back in Singapore last season. It’s the third win in the Spaniards career.

The Dutchman will have to wait to equal his record ten straight wins, with his first opportunity to start a new streak coming in Japan in two weeks’ time.

Updated

Time for the anthems and for the first time in a long time, it’s not the Dutch and Austrian ones ringing out over the track. First, the Spanish anthem for race-winner Sainz, then the Italian anthem for Ferrari.

Side note, Alex Albon’s eleventh-placed finish means that he’s finished outside the points today. A penny for Logan Sargeant’s thoughts.

They’ll be dancing on Lygon St tonight!

How it finished in Melbourne

1. Carlos Sainz (25pts)
2. Charles Leclerc (19)
3. Lando Norris (15)
4. Oscar Piastri (12)
5. Sergio Perez (10)
6. Fernando Alonso (8)
7. Lance Stroll (6)
8. Yuki Tsunoda (4)
9. Nico Hulkenberg (2)
10. Kevin Magnussen (1)
11. Alex Albon
12. Daniel Ricciardo
13. Pierre Gasly
14. Valtteri Bottas
15. Zhou Guanyu
16. Esteban Ocon
17. George Russell
DNF: Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen

Updated

A record crowd has been on hand in Melbourne across this week, nearly half a million punters heading though the gates. And what a way to end it.

“This is amazing,” says Sainz as he thanks his garage. The driver-for-hire goes from missing Saudi Arabia through illness to saluting as part of a historic Ferrari one-two in Melbourne. Who needs an appendix?

Updated

Carlos Sainz wins the Australian Grand Prix!

A virtual safety car is called for after Russell’s crash and that means Sainz can take it easy as he greets the chequered flag with his Ferrari!

It’s going to be a one-two for the Italian team – probably Melbourne’s favourite team – with Leclerc coming through behind him in second.

Updated

57/58: Russell has smashed into the wall! We’re going to finish under a virtual safety car as he gets on the radio to say he’s ok.

Updated

56/59: Sainz is on the radio raising some concerns about his tyres but he’s only got to get through a few more minutes. Leclerc has just set a fastest lap as he looks to protect second from Norris.

55/58: The most fraught battle for positioning remains the fight for sixth, with Russell all over the back of Alonso.

Sainz maintaines his lead from Leclerc, Norris, Piastri and Perez.

54/58: Russell continues to attack Alonso for sixth, with the Mercedes looking like it has the DRS-assisted speed to overhaul the Aston Martin.

53/58: Five laps to go and it remains a Ferrari one-two, with Sainz leading Leclerc. The Mclaren’s of Norris and Piastri come next, followed by Alonso, Russell, Stroll, Tsunoda and Hülkenberg

52/58: Down the grid, the two Haas are doing battle for tenth, with Hülkenberg doing his best to hold off Magnussen for a place in the points.

51/58: Short of disaster, we’re going to get a podium of Sainz, Leclerc, and Norris, with Piastri ten seconds back of his Mclaren teammate in fourth.

50/58: Russell continues to put the pressure on sixth-placed Alonso, who isn’t making much ground on fifth-placed Perez – 17 seconds back.

49/58: Norris has set another fastest lap as he tries to chase down second-placed Leclerc, with the gap now down to less than four seconds.

48/59: With ten laps to go, Sainz leads from Leclerc, Norris, Piastri, Perez, Alonso, Russell, Stroll, Tsunoda, and Hülkenberg.

47/58: Great stat from the broadcast, the last time we had a Ferrari one-two followed by Mclaren was when Kimi Räikkönen, Felipe Massa, Alonso, and Hamilton occupied the top four in Spa in 2007.

46/58: Norris has set a new fastest lap of the race as he tries to chase down the second-placed Ferrari of Leclerc, the gap now four seconds.

45/58: No one-stop strategy for Russell as he moves into the pit lane. Perez moves into fifth and Alonso into sixth, with the Mercedes now with some fresh tyres to chase down the former champion.

44/58: Sainz leads, Leclerc in second and Norris in third. Piastri fourth from Russell, Perez, Alonso, Stroll, Tsunoda, and Hülkenberg.

43/58: Email from Jonathan with one for the F1 historians/trivia heads.

“With Lewis and Max retiring in this race, Alonso is the only world champion still on track. Has there ever been a race with fewer world champions on track? Or fewer total championships than the 2 that Alonso has?”

42/58: So the top four has all pitted twice now, with Sainz leading from Leclerc, Norris, and Piastri. Russell and his crew, meanwhile, are contemplating a one-stop strategy, per the coverage.

41/58: Sainz moves into pit lane. It’s a good stop and he comes out seven seconds clear of Leclerc.

40/58: Norris now makes his stop, with Leclerc moving back on front of him to restore the Ferrari one-two. Sainz can now pit but should re-remerge with his lead still safe.

39/58: Piastri pits and emerges in fifth behind Alonso but is able to stay in front of Russell. Both of those drivers will need to put again.

Leclerc moves into third, 16 seconds behind Norris.

38/58: 20 laps to go and it’s Sainz leading from Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Alonso, Russell, Perez, Gasly, Stroll, and Tsunoda.

37/58: Leclerc has just set a new fastest lap of the race as he attempts to close the gap on the podium places, 13 seconds back of Piastri.

36/58: Sainz continues to maintain a big lead, nearly ten seconds clear of Norris and nearly 15 ahead of Piastri.

35/58: Norris and Piastri had the option to pit but opted to stay out there, with the coverage estimating that the order was to do whatever Leclerc didn’t do.

Perez, meanwhile, has pitted and emerges in ninth.

34/58: Still just the two retirements in Melbourne, Hamilton and Verstappen.

Leclerc is on the radio saying that he’ll need to pit, which he does. He emerges in fourth behind Sainz, Norris, and Piastri and just in front of Perez and Alonso.

33/58: Alonso has been able to stick to the back of Perez ever since he was overtaken by the Red Bull, opening up a large, nine-second gap over seventh-placed Russell.

32/58: Sainz still leads in Melbourne, eight seconds clear of Leclerc. Norris follows, then Piastri, Perez, Alonso, Russell, Stroll, and Tsunoda.

31/58: Verstappen is interviewed, saying that the right rear break got stuck on as soon as the race began, with the damage compounding before his lap three retirement.

29/58: Needless to say, the move to have Piastri move aside for his teammate has gone down with the Australian crowd just about as well as if you’d called Outback Steakhouse traditional Aussie cuisine. Not well.

Updated

28/58: The Ferrari’s still maintain their lead in front but we’ve got a change in third and fourth, as the local Piastri is told to move aside and allow his teammate Norris to overtake. Good soldier that he is, the second-year driver does so.

27/58: Perez finally gets around the Aston Martin of Alonso and into sixth. Alonso and Russell can now focus on their battle as Perez and his Red Bull set their sights on trying to close the gap on the leading Ferrari and McLarens.

26/58: It’s a very large gap between fourth-placed Norris and fifth-placed Alonso -- 11 seconds now. Alonso is being forced to manage his tyres but that’s holding up Perez, who’s trying to gain ground from sixth.

25/58: Sainz has set a new fastest lap of the race, opening up a three and a half second lead on Ferrari teammate Leclerc. They lead from Piastri, Norris, Alonso, Perez, Russell, Stroll, Tsunoda, and Albon.

24/58: After being given teammate Logan Sargeant’s car to compete in the race, Albon is at least doing his bit to justify the vote of confidence by moving into the points. He sits in tenth.

Updated

23/58: A good day for fans of red, as the Ferrari remains in a one-two position, with Sainz and Leclerc leading from the McLaren’s of Norris and Piastri.

Updated

22/58: Russell is now on the radio complaining about his Mercedes as well, a concern for his team with Hamilton having already been forced to retire.

21/58: Perez is now around Russell and into sixth, his sights now set on Alonso. Sainz still leads from Leclerc, Piastri, and Norris ahead of them.

20/58: Perez, the lone Red Bull left in this race, is now monstering the back of Russell, turning on the DRS in his attempt to move up. No luck yet, though.

19/58: Ferrari are now holding first and second in this race through Sainz and Leclerc and the order has come in for them to hold position.

18/58: We’ve gone green again at Albert Park. Sainz leads from Leclerc, Piastri, Norris, Alonso, Russell, Perez, Stroll, and Tsunoda

17/58: What a boon for Alonso, who pushed his car right to its limit but now gets to pit under the auspices of a virtual safety car, emerging back in fifth place behind Sainz, Leclerc, Piastri, and Norris.

16/58: Sainz finally pits, emerging out in second position behind Alonso, who is yet to pit.

Hamilton is experiencing engine failure and is going to be forced to retire but he’s having struggle finding a place to put his car. A virtual safety car has been called for.

Updated

15/58: Perez has emerged from pit line behind Russell and just in front of Hamilton. Sainz is 17 seconds out in front of Alonso. Leclerc in third leads those who have already pitted.

14/58: Sainz, yet to put, is building a nice gap out in front. Behind him Norris and Perez head into the pits, moving Alonso, also yet to pit, into second.

13/58: Perez is pushing his tyres hard to try and build a gap on Russell before he pits from his third-place position but Russell is gaining. Sainz still leads, with Norris second.

11/58: Our race leader Sainz is on team radio saying that he’s going to plan B. He’s yet to pit, neither has Norris, Perez, and Alonso. Leclerc in fifth palce has one stop, as does sixth-placed Piastri.

Updated

10/58: Sainz leads from Norris, Perez, Alonso, Hulkenberg, Gasly, Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, and Stroll.

9/58: Sainz responds to Russell’s pit and heads into the lane itself, seeking to avoid the undercut.

8/58: Russell on his mediums are the latest to pit, with the track taking a heavy toll on tyres even before we’ve gone ten laps.

7/58: Racers are starting to pit now but Sainz remains out there, leading from Norris and Leclerc.

6/58: A huge opportunity now for the rest of the pack. Carlos Sainz, in his first race back after having his appendix removed, is now in the box seat for Ferrari.

Versappen is the first retirement of the Australian grand prix!

Max Verstappen will take no further part in this race after mechanical failure, ensuring that for the first time in ten races we’ll have a new driver atop the podium. It’s his first retirement since the Australian GP in 2022.

Updated

5/58: Sainz leads, followed by Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, and Perez.

4/58: Smoke is bellowing out the back of Verstappen’s car! The right rear brake is on fire! It looks almost certain that he’s going to need to retire!

3/58: Potential problems for Verstappen now, getting on the radio and saying that the car is loose. Smoke is also coming out the back of his car.

2/58: Sainz takes the lead! The Ferrari puts on the DRS and gets around the outside of Verstappen on the lead in to turn nine as a massive roar rings out from the 132k fans at Albert Park.

Verstappen gets on the radio saying that he “just lost the car, really weird”.

1/58: Verstappen keeps the lead through turn one and, miraculously, we don’t have an incident at turn one, lap one, of the Australian GP!

Verstappen leads from Sainz, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, and Perez at the end of lap one.

Updated

Lights Out! We are underway in Melbourne!

We are racing Down Under! Ripper.

Hamilton is starting on the softs today, a bit of a surprise, and it sounds like he’s maybe having some second thoughts; the coverage saying he’s already on the radio questioning the decision as the cars set out on their formation lap.

Sky Sports coverage of the race proper begins by declaring Melbourne the “sporting capital of Australia.” The locals would argue the world but, baby steps.

A few emails coming through saying that the Verstappen and Red Bull dominance is turning F1 into a bit of a borefest. Possibly. It doesn’t look like this has affected crowds in Melbourne, however, with record crowds being reported as attending across the weekend.

Perhaps it will serve as the difference-maker for any international viewer deciding if they want to get up in the wee hours to watch on the telly or not – the inverse of what the Aussie fan normally experiences!

The national anthem of Australia, Advance Australia Fair, is performed.

The Sky Sports coverage quickly notes it was written by a Scottish composer.

Ok, now a few racers on the grid walk. Daniel Ricciardo first and then Carlos Sainz. He’s feeling good in himself after his appendix surgery and feeling good with the car. But now he’s got to face down 58 laps on this Albert Park circuit.

Martin Brundle has now found Sam Worthington. He’s been working, making Avatar movies. Wikipedia tells me there’s going to be five of them!?!? What?!!?

Martin Brundle is on the Sky Sports coverage doing his traditional grid walk and notes that the track is coming in at 36.5 degrees, the warmest that it’s been all weekend.

Oh hey, he’s found Eric Bana; no surprise that the actor is behind fellow Melburnian Oscar Piastri today.

There’s little doubt as to who will be the crowd’s favourites today, with Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo’s starts today representing the first-time ever that the Australian GP will feature two local drivers on the grid.

Piastri, in fact, grew up just 15 minutes from this circuit, and the local coverage has already tried to extract a commitment to performing a ‘shoey’ should he find himself on the podium come the end of the race.

A sign of things to come for Red Bull? It’s not just the F1 that races around Albert Park on these weekends and earlier today Will Brown and the Red Bull Ampol Racing took out the Larry Perkins Trophy.

For those of you unfamiliar with Melbourne, today’s circuit is located almost in the centre of town, snaking its way around the picturesque surroundings of Albert Park Lake, with with Port Phillip Bay and the city’s skyline in the backdrop. A street circuit, the arrival of the race every year forces local football club South Melbourne, who currently compete in the National Premier League Victoria competition – referred to as “the centre of the universe” by some of the league’s followers – to vacate their home at Lakeside Stadium for an extended period of games on the road.

Present Tottenham Hotspur coach Ange Postecoglou came up through the ranks of South as first a player and a coach, his first stomping grounds at Middle Park demolished to make way for the F1 circuit when Melbourne pinched the Australian GP from Adelaide. Unfortunately for the Spurs boss, his attempt to lure Lewis Hamilton to London at the end of the transfer window earlier this year was thwarted by Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton certainly wasn’t happy after qualifying in 11th for today’s race, his pace from practice abandoning as he logged his worst lap time at this circuit in 14 years.

“The inconsistency in the car really messes with the mind,” he said. “There is a long list of things to fix. Our car is on a knife-edge. In the afternoon the wind picks up and the car becomes unstable, but the others can pick their pace up in qualifying and I am not sure why. It didn’t feel the same in qualifying from practice even though we had lighter fuel. It is not a great feeling for everyone in the team but we will keep working away.”

Here’s Giles Richards’ full breakdown.

The podium and most of the top ten ran a one-stop race at this circuit last year, getting their changes from medium to hards out of the way during the numerous safety car and red flags that interrupted proceedings.

This time around, however, most teams are expected to utilise a two-stop strategy, carrying two hard sets and a medium coming in, with most expected to start on the latter.

The Albert Park circuit is notoriously difficult to overtake on, throwing another consideration into the mix for teams – as well as giving an advantage to Verstappen and Sainz at the front of the grid. A “war of patience” is how it’s being described in the lead-up to this one.


Red Bull, of course, isn’t the only one under an off-track spotlight heading into this weekend, with F1 regulator the FIA also coming under the spotlight after Susie Wolff, the managing director of the all-female F1 Academy series, revealed that she was set to file a criminal complaint in response to the regulator launching a conflict of interest investigation against her and her husband, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, last year. Here’s Giles Richards with more.

Alex Albon will start from 12th today but his place on the grid has come at the expense of Williams teammate Logan Sargeant, whose chassis he’ll be using after he wrote off his own during first practice earlier in the week.

With a spare set yet to be manufactured by the team, it decided to give Albon his teammates for the rest of the week, leaving the American to watch from the sidelines. Principal James Vowles insisted was a practical play in pursuit of points, Albon having secured 27 of the 28 points the team grabbed last season, while Sergeant described it as “the hardest moment I can remember in my career.”

Vowles said that he still retained faith in his benched driver, who was the last confirmed for 2024, and that he was closer than ever before to Albon. Of course, taking his car from him and giving it to someone else after they had wrecked their won would serve to undermine that message. Just a tad.

“Everything I do, boringly, is based on data and statistics – nothing more than that,” said Vowles. “So, it should be based on the driver that is performing the best is the one that you’ll put your backing behind – simple as that.

“In the case of Logan, I haven’t changed my mind. I’ve signed him and I’ve put my full weight behind him because I believe in him. I’d also argue, if you look at his results this year, he’s been within milliseconds of Alex.

“The gap [between them] has closed down as I expected it to, but in the circumstance, he’s not quite on the leading edge, that’s the key behind it is the challenge set to him.”

Of course, the justification put forward by the principal hasn’t stopped the internet having a bit of fun with the situation.

Here’s how Giles Richards saw qualifying yesterday.

The Grid at Albert Park

How they’ll line up behind Verstappen in Melbourne.

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
3. Lando Norris (Mclaren)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Oscar Piastri (Mclaren)
6. Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) (Three-place grid penalty)
7. George Russell (Mercedes)
8. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
11. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
12. Alexander Albon (Williams)
13. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)
14. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
15. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
16. Nico Hülkenberg (Haas)
17. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
18. Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
19. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) (Pit lane start)

Preamble

G’day everyone! Joey Lynch here, welcome to live coverage of the third grand prix of 2024, coming to you from the streets of the best city in Australia, Melbourne. And guess what? It’s Max Verstappen who will start from pole position and as the favourite to take out the chequered flag in today’s race.

You could almost set your watch to it at this point. Today will make it four straight poles for Verstappen, covering the opening two races of this season and the final race of 2023 in Abu Dhabi. The Dutchman has gone from coast to coast in all three of those previous titles and there’s very little reason to believe he won’t do so again at the Albert Park circuit today. Should he do so, he’ll make it ten straight wins in his Red Bull, a run stretching back to Japan last season and equalling his record set earlier in 2023, a run only broken by Carlos Sainz in Singapore.

Indeed, while the saga surrounding Red Bull and its team principal Christian Horner shows no signs of abating as the tour makes its way Down Under, this sits in almost direct contrast with the form of the team and its leading driver when it comes to the actual racing. If there’s a Formula One race to be won, Verstappen and Red Bull have established themselves as the unbackable favourites until proven otherwise.

Making his return after missing the Saudi race with an appendicitis diagnosis, Sainz shares the front row today; quickest in Q1 and Q2 but unable to match Verstappen’s pace in the crunch of Q3. However, if there’s anyone capable of breaking the Dutchman’s hold on top of the podium, it’s probably il Cavallino.

Sergio Pérez was third quickest but after being awarded a three-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Hülkenberg in Q1 he and his Red Bull have been bumped down to sixth, with McLaren’s Lando Norris moving up to take his position. Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and Oscar Piastri in his Mclaren will start from fourth and fifth, with the Australian seeking to improve on his eight-place secured on his home circuit last year.

The other local hope on the grid, Daniel Ricciardo, was eliminated in Q1 for the first time at Albert Park after his fastest lap was wiped away by stewards, sending him down to 18th and the last place on the grid – the Sauber of Zhou Guanyu starting from the pitlane after damaging his latest front wing in qualifying.

Despite showing good signs in practice, it was also qualifying to forget for Lewis Hamilton’s pace abandoned him during qualifying proper as he failed to make it out of Q2, his Mercedes starting from 11th this afternoon – his worst qualifying performance at this circuit since 2010.

Lights out at 3pm AEDT, 4am GMT, 12am EDT

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