Carlos Sainz racing [Sainz Australian Grand Prix]

Chloe Reynolds

The Grand Prix returned to Australia’s Albert Park a fortnight ago, with Carlos Sainz claiming victory in the first non-Red Bull win of the season.

Practice One

It was a messy start to the Grand Prix weekend with numerous drivers caught out.

Lando Norris set the pace for McLaren during the first free practice, leading the way ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes George Russell.

However, the weekend’s biggest moment came when Alex Albon took too much kerb on turn seven and crashed into a wall on the side of the track. Albon reported on the team radio that he was fine, but the session was red-flagged.

The big talking point was Carlos Sainz’s return to the grid following appendicitis surgery. Sainz finished the first practice in eighth, while his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc finished fourth.

A few drivers had incidents between turn nine and ten: Russell had a dramatic snap, Valtteri Bottas had a spin and Fernando Alsono took a trip through the gravel.

Home favourites Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo wound up in P10 and P11.

Practice Two

Charles Leclerc finished the day in pole position with the fastest time of the day during practice two. He was closely followed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, and Sainz in third.

Lance Stroll finished in an impressive fourth position, with Alonso coming in fifth with Russell following. Sergio Perez was eighth and Lando Norris was ninth, with Yuki Tsunida completing the top ten.

Practice Three

The third and final Practice finished with the exact same top three as practice two, with Leclerc finishing on pole position and Verstappen and Sainz in second and third.

It was a cooler session at Albert Park, with only a few seconds separating Leclerc and Verstappen on the streets of Melbourne.

The Mercedes pair, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, enjoyed a bit more competition to finish in fourth and fifth.

Alonso came sixth, whilst Red Bull’s Sergio Perez came in seventh. Piastri was the fastest of the Australian drivers as he took eighth for McLaren. The top ten was rounded out by Stroll and Norris.

Albon crashed in FP1 and, without a spare car on hand, Williams made the bold call to put him into Logan Sargent’s car for the rest of the weekend, meaning the American was left watching from the side lines.

Qualifying

The qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix did not disappoint F1 fans.

Verstappen fended off Sainz to maintain his perfect start to the 2024 season. But their was disappointment for Hamilton who had a shock exit in Q2, meaning he started in eleventh position. This is his worst grid position in Melbourne in 14 years.

Verstappen had the tough task of holding off Sainz, as the Spaniard was fastest in Q1 and Q2, before Verstappen upped the ante final session to secure pole.

Perez originally qualified third but was later demoted three places to sixth for impeding Nico Hulkenberg in Q1. McLaren’s Norris, who originally qualified fourth, moved up to the second row instead.

Leclerc came in fifth, followed by Piastri. Qualifying off the front row for the first time since last October’s Qatar GP, Leclerc chose to pit instead of completing the final lap after a slightly wide under break at turn three.

Race Day: Sainz Claims Victory

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took the first non-Red Bull win of the season with an impressive display, taking full advantage of the technical trouble.

Bidding for a record tenth victory in a row, Verstappen got away quickly, but soon reported issues behind the wheel, resulting in a DNF. This gave Sainz the opportunity to make a move for the lead.

Verstappen’s breaks got worse as smoke started exiting the rear of his car, before retiring to the pits for the first time in two years.

In Verstappen’s absence, Sainz went from strength to strength, building up a solid lead over Norris and teammate Leclerc and eventually taking his third triumph of his F1 career.

Leclerc completed an undercut on Norris in the early stages to reach second, for a Ferrari one-two finish, for the first-time since the 2022 opener.

Russell had been pushing to complete a late move on Alonso for sixth but dramatically crashed out, causing extensive damage to the Mercedes and bringing out a virtual safety car to finish.

Williams’ decision to put Albon in Sargeant’s car did not result in points as he finished in eleventh.

Australian Grand Prix Talking Points

The biggest talking point from this weekend of motorsport was Williams’ decision to have Albon take Sargeant’s car for the weekend, after he crashed during FP1. This was a decision that baffled the majority of fans, as Sargeant was punished for Albon’s crash.

The Ferrari one-two finish was also a huge moment that saw victory by Sainz just two weeks after his surgery.

Max Verstappen also had DNF, meaning the current World Champion has not only dropped points but has also broken his streak of ten race wins in a row.

The race weekend returns on the 5th April where the drivers return to the Japan Grand Prix.

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Featured image courtesey of Takayuki Suzuki via Flickr. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.

Football journalism graduate, currently studying a masters in sports journalism

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