It was nearly impossible to take your eyes off the race during the 2024 Australian Grand Prix thanks to a series of stunning turns. Max Verstappen, the reigning champion, grabbed pole position in the Saturday qualifications and went about his business as usual, while Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, who started second on the grid ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren, justifiably stole the show. These are the top five moments from the Australian Grand Prix in 2024.
F1 Australian Grand Prix Highlights (Hit): Viva Carlos Sainz!
Carlos Sainz’s comeback was ideal, considering he had to withdraw from the last Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to an appendix surgery. With the checkered flag at the Australian Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver—who will also be available for hire next season—demonstrated why he is among the world’s best racers. Despite being the first to accelerate when the lights went out, Verstappen of Red Bull was closely followed by the Spaniard, who appeared to be breathing down his neck the entire way. On the second lap, Sainz passed the Dutchman, and the rest is history, as they say. Fortune rewards the bold. Following the completion of the race.
After finishing the race at Albert Park, Sainz summed up his last weeks saying, “ Life sometimes is crazy, what happened at the beginning of year, then the podium in Bahrain, then the appendix, the comeback, the win… it’s a rollercoaster but I loved it and I’m extremely happy.”
With this victory, Sainz moves up to fourth in the driver’s championship standings. He has already won two grand prixs, at Silverstone in 2022 and Singapore in 2023.
F1 Australian GP Highlights (Miss): Max victory goes up in smoke
Apart from the right brake issue which forced Verstappen to retire early, the Red Bull car and the champion looked like a force to reckon with. With all fairness the Ferraris did look have the pace, but sadly, the mechanical glitch played a party pooper and deprived everyone of a wheel-to-wheel battle between the Verstappen and Sainz. It’s fair to say, both the drivers looked like a league above the rest in Melbourne. So can only a driver error or a mechanical issue will be able to stop the Verstappen juggernaut? We will soon find out as the season has only begun.
F1 Australian GP Highlights (Hit): 1-2 finish for Ferrari
Ferrari received a significant lift as the team finished 1-2 in Melbourne after two years. Charles Leclerc earned a well-earned second place, and Sainz emerged victorious from the race, leaving the Ferrari garage beaming. Since everything was focused on Mercedes and, more recently, Red Bull, it’s safe to say that Scuderia Ferrari has not been a real title challenger in the past decade.
With promising winter test, the Prancing Horse managed to get the car set up, race strategy or quick pitstop and the pace spot on. Ferrari is now second in the Constructors Championship just four points behind Red Bull.
F1 Australian GP Highlight (Miss): Alonso receives 20 second penalty
F1 Australian Grand Prix: Alonso’s 20-second penalty is a highlight (miss)
Fernando Alonso and George Russell fought for sixth place, but the Mercedes driver crashed out on the final lap in Turns 6 and 7. This was a shocking end to the race. The FIA race stewards issued a 20-second penalty to the Aston Martin driver for driving in a “potentially dangerous” way. Alonso stated that he intended to approach Turn 6 more slowly to improve his exit from the corner. Unfortunately, Russell had no time to respond as the Spaniard slowed 100 metres earlier than usual during the race and lightly applied the brakes, causing him to run wide and lose control to avoid colliding with anyone.
With a twenty second penalty, Alonso was demoted to eighth place promoting his teammate Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda from RB.
F1 Australian GP Highlight (Hit): Double Whammy for Haas
After a horrendous 2023 season, Haas has made quick progress in the last three races. Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen placed ninth and tenth, respectively, to help the race team earn three valuable points at the Australian Grand Prix. The Haas team is ranked seventh in the Constructor’s Standings with a total score of four points. Magnussen came very close to earning points at the Bahrain Grand Prix, finishing in 12th place, but his German teammate Hulkenberg finished tenth in Jeddah, earning a valuable point.
