Guide to 2024 Australian Grand Prix as F1 heads Down Under to Melbourne, Australia for the third round of the season.
Max Verstappen arrives in Melbourne with a 15-point lead over his nearest Championship rival, Sergio Perez, whilst several teams will look to end the Dutchman’s winning run as he chases a 10th consecutive Grand Prix victory to equal his own record from last season.
Now, here is everything that you need to know ahead of 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
Track Guide
Circuit: Albert Park Circuit
Laps: 58
Race Distance: 306.240km
Tyre Compounds: C3, C4 & C5
Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (GMT) |
| Friday 22 March | FP1 | 1:30am |
| Friday 22 March | FP2 | 5:00am |
| Saturday 23 March | FP3 | 1:30am |
| Saturday 23 March | Qualifying | 5:00am |
| Sunday 24 March | Race | 4:00am |
Five Key Pointers
- Although this track hasn’t historically proven Red Bull’s strongest in race trim with just two wins, they start the weekend as firm favourite to collect another victory.
- Perez needs to find his groove in practice more if he is to properly challenge Verstappen for pole position come Qualifying.
- If Carlos Sainz is unable to participate in the whole weekend, Oliver Bearman could get a chance to properly showcase his potential at Ferrari across a full race weekend programme.
- After struggling for pace in Saudi Arabia, Mercedes will be hoping to find a better balance around the streets of Melbourne.
- Having made changes to their technical staff during the last fortnight following a slow start to the season, Alpine will be hoping that this race can start a revival akin to McLaren in 2023.
Last Time Out
Verstappen dominated this race in 2023 amidst chaos which saw red flags after crashes for Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen, which led to chaos on the second standing restart on Lap 57 as Sainz spun Fernando Alonso which caused a serious of incidents behind the pair.
Stewards consequently waved a third red flag which led to confusion with one lap left but opted for a rolling restart to complete the proper 58-lap race distance, as Verstappen led Lewis Hamilton home whilst Sainz received a five-second time penalty for his part in the chaos.
Ferrari subsequently appealed the penalty to no avail as their right of review was denied by the FIA.