2024 F1 AUSTRALIAN GP RACE analysis by Peter Windsor

Max Verstappen retired his Red Bull early in Melbourne when a right rear brake assembly exploded...and victory went to Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, the driver who will be replaced in 2025 by Lewis Hamilton. Thanks to his excellent tyre management in the opening stint, Sainz was able to run with a significant new-tyre advantage as the race unfolded, enabling him to beat his Ferrari team-mate, Charles Leclerc, with relative ease. Ferrari's one-two was mirrored by a three-four finish for McLaren-Mercedes; and Sergio Perez was an uninspired fifth in the other Red Bull, ahead of the two Aston Martins, an excellent Yuki Tsunoda (Visa RB) and the two, equally-impressive, Haas-Ferraris.
Note: after this video was posted, Fernando Alonso was penalised for causing Mercedes' George Russell to crash heavily on the penultimate lap at Turn 6. Telemetry showed that, with Russell only half a second behind him, Alonso lifted the throttle more than 100m earlier than he ever had before and then downshifted before going up a gear and accelerating again. Russell, in perhaps the understatement of the year, described the moves as "erratic". For his part, Alonso explained that he was trying a different approach to the corner - a slower entry for a faster exit. Bearing in mind that no racing driver should play with entry speeds when another car is right behind, Alonso's 20sec penalty dropped him to P8 (but conveniently elevated Stroll to P6). It can also definitely be said to be lenient. It should be remembered that a similar incident, involving Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher, resulted in the death of a track marshal at Albert Park in 2001.
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Alternative race stats courtesy of Aleš Norskŷ:
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