Will Daniel Ricciardo take a point during the Australian Grand Prix in 2024?
And already the third race of the season, tempus fugit. After two races in the sandbox, one thing is certain: Verstappen will be champion again this year. Red Bull is supreme, especially on Sundays. However, Max took pole position in the first weekend, just like yesterday.
We have to be honest; today there probably won't be much different. Due to a grid penalty, Perez has to start from P6, so it may be a bit exciting whether the Mexican can take P2 again. However, it is a good start for Verstappen at the front and then he drives home.
What are we going to look at then? Well, to the battle for the podium and points of course. Is a point within reach for the honey badger from P18? We will see!
Start
Sainz has a slightly better start than Verstappen on the front row. But it is not enough to take P1. Max dives first into the first corner and is on his way to victory number 20 in 21 races. Sainz joins as leader of a red-orange train. It's VER-SAI-NOR-LEC-PIA. Behind them, Russell outpaces Perez for P6. Not so convenient for the Mexican, who has no time to lose in his podium hunt.
Then in round two we see something very special. Sainz passes Verstappen for the race lead. That's not what we're used to. But Max says he lost the car. So that explains it. It will make up for it. Or…Huh? Is that smoke near the stern of the RB20? That thing is more bulletproof than a 1994 Honda Civic?
The last time Verstappen had a technical problem in a race was 40 races ago. But it's happening to him now. It seems like a bank of the V6 has a problem. Or is there a brake stuck now? Anyway goes FAR off his gas. What a sudden sensation. Now it will be an exciting race for victory.
Perez will suddenly be extra disappointed about his grid penalty, because he is stuck behind Russell. The top 4 are off. Ricciardo makes an early pit stop and Hamilton also comes in for new rubber. They hope for a safety car where they have already completed their stop. Bottas also comes in but has another problem with a wheel that does not want to go into the pit. It's a shame because the Finnish adoptive Australian actually rode around in the top 10 with Sauber's soapbox.
Mid Race
Most drivers arrive quite early. Only Sainz, Norris, Perez, Alonso, Hülkenberg and Gasly continue. For Alonso that makes sense; he started on the hard tires. If Norris and Perez do stop, waiting for the moment does not seem to have been the best choice. Norris falls behind Leclerc and teammate Piastri. Perez returns to the track just ahead of Hamilton in tenth. However, he is now behind Stroll.
Sainz stops and comes back onto the track just in front of Leclerc. Alonso and Hulkenberg are lucky because Hamilton drops out. The seven-time champion has a problem with his engine and causes a Virtual Safety Car. ALO and HUL can therefore save themselves about six seconds of lost time on their pit stops. ALO returns to the track in fifth position, Hulkenberg is narrowly outside the top 10, but can now start hunting for newer tires than his rivals.
Will the Ferraris fight hard for the win? Not yet. Leclerc briefly comes within Sainz's DRS range, but does not really attack. Sainz now also has the 7 laps fresher tires, so it makes more sense for him to drive away from the Monegasque. Team red has a welcome 1-2 in its hands.
However, Perez is now cutting through the field fairly quickly back to P6. Can Sergio show strong pace on the hards in the RB20? Meh, the pace isn't really there. PER does come closer to ALO. But the four before that actually gain time on SP11.
At McLaren they then anger the home fans by letting Lando Norris pass Piastri. It is understandable in itself. Norris has fresher tires than Piastri and than Leclerc, who is only two seconds ahead of him. But the former colony will not like that their man has to step aside for a British man.
Perez needs at least P3 to overtake Max in the World Championship. But the Mexican falls back. Alonso rejoins the only RB20 still in the race. And despite older ties, Piastri is disappearing further and further on the horizon. Leclerc is also having a hard time. He has lost eight seconds to Sainz and notices that his tires are exhausted. Ferrari brings in the Monegasque for his second stop.
LEC returns to the track just before PER and ALO. It's exciting, but the order remains the same. Perez then retires a lap later and returns to the track in…ninth. Is this a sign that Red Bull is not as dominant everywhere as expected? Or is it just the Perez factor and the Mexican now has another one after two solid weekends bogey?
At Sauber, after the slow pit stop for Bottas, they now also have a slow pit stop in store for Zhou. Unbelievable. The Chinese returns to the track two seconds behind the Finn. They are 16th and 17th, fifteen seconds behind Ocon. After this top weekend, Sauber deserves a Kick against the Stake.
Finish
Norris comes in on lap 41 and drops back to P3. He has 16 laps to make up five seconds on Leclerc. For Perez, P5 seems to be the maximum achievable. Russell is driving in front of him, but we don't want him to stop anymore. The Astons are also in the top 10 again, but with 1 Red Bull and 1 Mercedes on the sidelines, there is a fierce fight for the last places in the top 10.
Tsunoda and Hulkenberg have the best credentials for this. But Albon and Magnussen are on the fence. The Dane then passes Albonio after a number of tries. The British Thai does his best in his teammate's car, but it seems to no avail.
If Russell does indeed stop, he will fall back to P7 behind Alonso. That will be the only real battle within the top 10. The rest appear to be settled. Norris has the fastest race lap, but does not really come close to Leclerc. Russell then really tries to attack Alonso, but the Mercedes has no straight-line speed. And finally, RUS babbles into the wall. That ends the race.
A resounding 1-2 for the Scuderia and the Tifosi. Norris is eliminated as number 3. Piastri drives to P4, Perez takes ten points with P5. The Mexican is now five points behind Max in the World Cup and is therefore a true champion candidate. P6 and P7 are for Aston Martin with ALO and Stroll. Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Magnussen take the last points. Good news for their teams in the battle with Williams and Sauber.
Anyway, Max won't win all the races this year. But is this also a real turning point in Red Bull's dominance? Time will tell…
Pos | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 |
Carlos Sainz Jr.
|
25 |
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 |
This article Formula 1 result: Australian Grand Prix 2024 first appeared on Autoblog.nl.
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