With two Ferraris and two McLaren’s occupying the top of the rostrum you’d be forgiven for thinking that Formula 1 had, somehow, magically been transported back to the late 90s or early 2000s.
This particular order race order came about in no small part as a result of Max Verstappen’s early exit from the 2024ty Australian grand prix. For the first time since the 2022 Australian Grand Prix Verstappen has failed to finish a race. This time the Dutchman was felled by what appeared to be a mechanical failure around the area of the right-rear brake.
Verstappen’s retirement left the Ferrari’s of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in first and second with the two McLaren’s in close attendance. There was every expectation that Leclerc would challenge for, and perhaps even take the lead of the race, but Sainz quickly put an end to any such ideas. From the very start of the race Sainz was clearly in command, clearly quick, and clearly had the beating of his teammate.
It is an especially impressive performance once you remember that just ten days before Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix Sainz was undergoing surgery to remove his appendix. In a broader sense it is a testament to the fitness of an F1 driver and yet another reminder of their extraordinary robustness. It’s an especially impressive display or fortitude and toughness from Sainz too who, lest we forget, does not have a seat for 2025. Sainz himself has described his 2024 season, so far, as a rollercoaster. He’s gone from being told that he’ll not be a Ferrari driver next year, to appendicitis in Saudi Arabia, to the top step of the podium in Australia. Not only has Sainz put his mental strength and reliance on full display but he’s beginning to show every potentially interested team in the paddock just exactly what he is capable of.
In second place Leclerc never looked a serious threat to Sainz and admitted post-race that he simply didn’t have the pace in comparison to his teammate. Lando Norris came home third for the fourteenth podium of his career ahead of Oscar Piastri. Although McLaren showed improved pace, they didn’t quite have enough to make a real fight of it with Ferrari. There wasn’t much to shout for Red Bull as Checo Perez also failed to make an impression on proceedings. He was given a three-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg in the qualifying session. This dropped him from third to sixth on the starting grid from which the Mexican driver never really recovered.
Lance Stroll was classified in sixth ahead of RB driver Yuki Tsunoda in seventh. Despite the question marks over Tsunoda and his ultimate pace the Japanese driver has impressed in a car that isn’t all that impressive. Fernando Alonso was given a contentious post-race 20 second penalty which demoted him to eight overall. The penalty, dubious in its description, was given to the Aston Martin driver for braking 100 meters earlier into turn seven. This, Mercedes surmise, caused George Russell to crash, spectacularly, on the penultimate lap of the race. There was no contact, Russell did not have to take avoiding action and even the FIA admit that
Alonso ‘most likely’ had no intention of causing a crash. It does beg the question then for what exactly Alonso was given a penalty? Slowing into a corner, or on the apex of it, is a defensive maneuver that goes all the way down the karting. Because Russell was caught off guard and couldn’t react quickly enough it is deemed unacceptable? Whichever side you agree with in this case it has set a controversial precedent. Now, if a driver, defending position, is deemed to brake earlier than normal it could well result in a penalty.
Elsewhere, the two Haas drivers, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen were classified in ninth and tenth. The Williams ‘experiment’ didn’t pan out as hoped as Alex Albon was classified in eleventh. What is the Williams ‘experiment’? In Friday practice Albon crashed his car and damaged the chassis beyond repair. Because Williams did not bring a spare chassis to Australia, team principal James Vowels decided to give Logan Sargeant’s car to Albon for the remainder of the weekend. The thinking behind this move being that Albon would be more capable of scoring a point of two for the team – he didn’t. It’s a tough pill to swallow for Sargeant who not only kept his car out of the barriers but how now also learned that he doesn’t have the faith of the team. Formula 1, never a dull moment
