The third round of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship began on Sunday with the Australian Grand Prix, a race in which Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen was not the dominant driver for the first time.
The race started like any other race, with Verstappen leading at the start, but then his car suffered some problems and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, having missed the previous round in Saudi Arabia due to appendicitis surgery, managed to capitalize. The Ferrari man was the first to cross the finish line and was closely followed by teammate Charles Leclerc.
Despite retiring at the Australian round, Verstappen remains in the lead in the points count and is still the driver to beat. The young Dutchman, who is seeking his fourth title in a row, set two records last season: the most wins in a single season with 19, and the most consecutive wins in a season with 10. With the 2024 season set to host a record 24 races, more records could certainly fall if Verstappen’s dominance recovers again.
Fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez finished second in the first two races but only fifth in Australia, partly due to a grid penalty imposed in qualifying that saw him start in midfield.
Just like Perez, Sainz and Leclerc fought for the podium, but are still off Verstappen’s pace. McLaren is just behind Ferrari in terms of performance. Drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris also fought for the podium.
Mercedes-Benz AMG, on the other hand, failed to deliver. The team, made up of drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, has struggled with the car in high-speed corners. And in Australia, Hamilton was forced to retire due to power unit problems, and Russell also failed to finish due to an accident.
Fortunately, there is still plenty of time for teams to make changes and for drivers to catch up to current leader Verstappen, as there are still 21 races left this season.
Below are the 2024 F1 Drivers’ Championship standings:
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing – 51 points
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 47 points
3) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing – 46 points
4) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – 40 points
5) Oscar Piastri, McLaren – 28 points
6) Lando Norris, McLaren – 27 points
7) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG – 18 points
8) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin – 16 points
9) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin – 9 points
10) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG – 8 points
11) Oliver Bearman, Ferrari – 6 points
12) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas – 3 points
13) Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 1 point
14) Alexander Albon, Williams – 0 points
15) Zhou Guanyu, Sauber – 0 points
16) Daniel Ricciardo, RB – 0 points
17) Esteban Ocon, Alpino – 0 points
18) Yuki Tsunoda, RB – 0 points
19) Logan Sargeant, Williams – 0 points
20) Valtteri Bottas, Sauber – 0 points
21) Pierre Gasly, Alpine – 0 points
Below are the 2024 F1 Constructors’ Championship standings:
1) Red Bull Racing – 97 points
2) Ferrari – 93 points
3) McLaren – 55 points
4) Mercedes-Benz AMG – 26 points
5) Aston Martin – 25 points
6) RB – 6 points
7) Haas – 4 points
8) Sauber – 0 points
9) Williams – 0 points
10) Alpine – 0 points
Below are the race winners of the 2024 F1 season:
Bahrain Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Australian Grand Prix –Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Japanese Grand Prix – TBA
Chinese Grand Prix – TBA
Miami Grand Prix – TBD
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – To be defined
Monaco Grand Prix – TBD
Canadian Grand Prix – TBA
Spanish Grand Prix – TBA
Austrian Grand Prix – TBA
British Grand Prix – TBA
Hungarian Grand Prix – TBA
Belgian Grand Prix – TBA
Dutch Grand Prix – TBA
Italian Grand Prix – TBD
Azerbaijan Grand Prix – TBD
Singapore Grand Prix – TBA
United States Grand Prix (Austin) – TBA
Mexican Grand Prix – TBD
Brazilian Grand Prix – TBA
Las Vegas Grand Prix – TBA
Qatar Grand Prix – TBD
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – TBD