1104th F1 GRAND PRIX | 87th AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX | 27th GRAND PRIX AT ALBERT PARK
2023 POLESITTER: MAX VERSTAPPEN | 2023 WINNER: MAX VERSTAPPEN
The Albert Park circuit had a makeover ahead of its comeback after a three-year absence in 2022. The 2024 Australian Grand Prix is set to take place on March 24.
2024 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday March 22
Free Practice 1 – 12:30pm Local Time / 1:30am UK Time
Free Practice 2 – 4pm Local Time / 5am UK Time
Saturday March 23
Free Practice 3 – 12:30pm Local Time / 1:30am UK Time
Qualifying – 4pm Local Time / 5am UK Time
Sunday March 24
The 2024 Australian Grand Prix – 3pm Local Time / 4am UK Time
2024 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX: WEEKEND MILESTONES
Michael Schumacher holds the record for most Albert Park victories with four. His record cannot be equalled at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix but Lewis Hamilton could become the fourth driver to have won three Albert Park races, while Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Charles Leclerc or Max Verstappen could become the eighth driver to record multiple Melbourne wins.
McLaren currently hold the record for the most Australian Grand Prix victories, with 11. They could extend the record to 12 wins this weekend, while Ferrari could equal the existing record. Ferrari-power could also equal Mercedes-power for the most wins for an engine manufacturer at the Australian Grand Prix.
Ferrari currently hold the record for most podium finishes at the Albert Park circuit. Their record tally of 20 top three finishes here could be equalled at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix by McLaren – but only if both McLaren drivers finish on the podium with no Ferrari drivers in the top three positions.
READ MORE IN MILESTONES AND RECORDS TO BREAK
WHAT HAS CHANGED AT THE CIRCUIT SINCE LAST YEAR?
There haven’t been many changes to Albert Park since the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. Raised kerbs have been removed at Turns 4 and 10, while a concrete strip has been installed behind the kerb on the exit of Turn 11.
HOW MANY DRS ZONES WILL THERE BE AT THE 2024 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX?
Like last year, there will be four DRS activation zones and two detection points at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 2024 AUSTRLIAN GRAND PRIX
ALBERT PARK TRACK GUIDE
Albert Park, located just a few miles south of central Melbourne, is the venue of the now traditional season opening Australian Grand Prix. The temporary street circuit sees the cars tear through the park, just inches from the surrounding walls.
The Australian Grand Prix was an event for many years before it became a part of the F1 World Championship. This event moved around tracks in Australia on a yearly basis. One non-championship Grand Prix with F1 machinery was held at Albert Park in 1956, albeit on a very different track to the current layout. The 1956 event was won by Stirling Moss, driving for Maserati. The Australian Grand Prix became a fixture on the F1 calendar in 1985, at Adelaide. The race was run successfully there for eleven seasons.
In 1993, negotiations began to bring the Australian Grand Prix to Melbourne and, after two years of preparations, Formula One took to the streets of a rebuilt Albert Park circuit for the first time for the first race of the 1996 season, much to the dismay of the ‘Save Albert Park’ group. The building of the circuit, even though temporary, required trees to be cut down and some facilities to be removed from the park.
The deal was struck mostly thanks to Ron Walker, an Australian business man who held negotiations with Bernie Ecclestone. Following Walker’s death in January 2018, the main straight on the track was renamed the ‘Walker Straight’ in honour of the man who helped to bring the event to the city.
READ MORE IN OUR ULTIMATE TRACK GUIDE
WHO WILL BE IN THE 2024 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX PRESS CONFERENCES?
The world’s media will have the opportunity to talk to the drivers ahead of the on-track action. The drivers appearing in the press conference for this race are:
Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
Logan Sargeant (Williams)
The media will also be talking to prominent members of Formula 1’s teams in a separate press conference over the race weekend. The team members appearing in the press conference are:
Fred Vasseur (Ferrari)
Zak Brown (McLaren)
Peter Bayer (RB)
Alessandro Alunni Bravi (Sauber)
WHO WILL BE THE RACE DIRECTOR AT THE 2024 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX?
Niels Wittich will be the race director at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
WHO WILL BE THE DRIVER STEWARD AT THE 2024 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX?
Each weekend a former Formula 1 driver, or a driver from another prominent series of motorsport, joins the stewards to help judge any incidents from a drivers’ perspective. The Driver Steward this weekend is Johnny Herbert.
WHICH TYRE COMPOUNDS WILL BE USED AT THE 2024 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX?
Pirelli have announced that the C3, C4 and C5 tyre compounds will be used at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix. It’s one step softer than in 2023, when the C2, C3 and C4 compounds were used.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME AT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX?
In a race strewn with Safety Car outings and red flag periods, Verstappen secured his first Albert Park victory – and Red Bull’s first Australian Grand Prix win since 2011.
While GPS issues and a red flag for a stoppage by Logan Sargeant curtailed running in Free Practice 1, rain halfway through Free Practice 2 limited Friday running at Albert Park. There was a further red flag on Saturday morning due to debris from Nyck de Vries’ AlphaTauri.
Max Verstappen had been fastest in the final practice session and his pace converted into qualifying, with the Dutchman securing another pole position. Team-mate Sergio Perez had struggled with multiple trips across the run-off areas in Free Practice 3 and he did so again in qualifying, beaching himself in the gravel in Q1.
Front row starter George Russell clinched the lead from Verstappen at Turn 1 as team-mate Lewis Hamilton challenged the Red Bull into Turn 3, making it a Mercedes 1-2. Further back, Charles Leclerc spun out prompting the first Safety Car period of the race.
The race resumed without incident until Lap 7 when Alex Albon, who had been running in an impressive sixth place for Williams, crashed heavily into the barriers leaving gravel and debris across the track. Russell opted to pit under the Safety Car period – but the red flag was shown one lap later.
Russell’s pit stop left Hamilton at the front of the field when the race restarted. Hamilton stayed ahead of the chasing pack, though Verstappen was soon on his tail with DRS, making a move stick on Lap 12. Russell’s afternoon came to a disappointing end on Lap 18, with him pulling to the side with a smoking engine.
Perez’s comeback from his lowly starting place got underway with a number of bold moves in the midpack. Meanwhile, a wide moment for Verstappen at the penultimate corner cost the Red Bull driver time.
The yellow flags made a reappearance after Kevin Magnussen hit the wall on Lap 54, shedding a tyre carcass in the process. The red flag was shown shortly after, meaning the race was to restart again on Lap 57 for what was to be a two lap shootout.
Any hopes of a two lap shootout came to nothing at Turn 1, where chaos ensued. After a collision between rookies Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries at the opening corner, the two Alpine drivers collided through the next turn after Fernando Alonso was tipped into a spin by Carlos Sainz. The carnage resulted in an immediate red flag.
Positions were set back to how they had been before the previous restart and the race resumed for a single Safety Car-led lap, with the drivers unable to overtake during the rolling restart towards the chequered flag. Max Verstappen secured Red Bull’s first Australian Grand Prix win in 12 years, while Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso completed the podium.
Carlos Sainz was disappointed to be demoted from fourth to 12th at the end of the race as a result of his collision with Alonso, while Oscar Piastri picked up the first points of his Formula 1 career on home soil with an eighth place finish.
WHAT’S THE FASTEST EVER LAP AT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX?
Attending the 2024 Australian Grand Prix? Learn more about visiting Albert Park in the F1Destinations Travel Guide.
