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24 March 09:54
24 March 07:41
ALONSO INVESTIGATION OUTCOME:
Fernando Alonso has been demoted to eighth in the race standings from sixth after the incident involving Mercedes' George Russell on the last lap. The suspicion had been that Alonso had brake tested his rival. The Aston Martin driver has also been handed three penalty points.
24 March 07:39
Sainz wins Australian Grand Prix ahead of teammate Leclerc
Carlos Sainz surged to victory in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday to snap Red Bull's winning start to the season after three-time world champion Max Verstappen sensationally failed to finish.
The Ferrari driver, who had appendicitis surgery just two weeks ago, took the chequered flag 2.3 seconds ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, with McLaren's Lando Norris a bold third.
- AFP
24 March 07:27
STANDING OVATION FOR CARLOS SAINZ!
As the race ends with the safety out, it's a Ferrari 1-2 with Sainz and Leclerc.
'P1, baby, P1!' the Spaniard says over the team radio. Driver for hire for in 2025???
The Italian stallions have given Formula One a weekend's reprieve from Red Bull dominance.
Norris finishes in third for McLaren.
24 March 07:24
YELLOW FLAG!
Virtual safety car invoked as George Russell comes pip in the dogfight with Alonso as Russell crashed on the final lap.
Meanwhile, it is Carlos Sainz's day at Albert Park, and steady as she goes as the race ends with the safety car.
24 March 07:19
LAP 51/58
JUST AN ASIDE: No Aussie has finished in the top three on home soil and currently Norris, in third has only taken a tenth out of Leclerc in second, and is ahead of the Aussie in question, Piastri, in fourth with podium just out of reach.
Meanwhile, George Russell has Fernando Alonso in his sights for the battle of P6...
24 March 07:12
LAP 47/58
Russell has pitted with his tyres already 36 laps old. This bumps Perez to fifth and Alonso in sixth, but the with fresh tyres, Russell will be good to chase Alonso for P6.
Meanwhile Sainz giddy's up with a personal best. Norris is in third and at a gallop himself is closing the gap as Leclerc has to keep the McLaren at bay.
Gasly has been handed a five-second time penalty for a pit lane exit infringement.
24 March 06:52
LAP 34/58
The man who doesn't have a seat on the grid next season, Carlos Sainz that is, leads the race by eight seconds.
His teammate, Leclerc, is the man bracing for a battle with McLaren's Norris, but has to pit as the tyres begin to give. Norris and Piastri will have to pit soon...
24 March 06:45
LAP 29/58
MCLAREN TEAM ORDERS
Piastri told to move over for his teammate Norris, whose tyres have been struggling as he's had to put up with the Australian's dirty air. Norris third, Piastri in fourth. That had to hurt.
24 March 06:41
24 March 06:40
HALFWAY!
LAP 24/58
Sainz is leading and has just set the fastest lap. With Hamilton also out, there are points for the taking in the midfield positions.
AS IT STANDS: Sainz is leading from Leclerc, Piastri in third from Norris. Tsunoda and Albon are the midfield runners in the top 10.
24 March 06:36
LAP21/58
It's hot and tyre degradation is an issue. Ferrari, enjoying a 1-2 in Sainz and Leclerc, have advised their drivers not to fight here. McLaren are in the wings and could seize the day for a podium finish today.
Meanwhile, Perez picks off Russell for P6, using DRS on the run down to Turn 9.
24 March 06:32
UPDATE:
Three-time world champion Max Verstappen was forced out of the Australian Grand Prix on lap three Sunday with smoke billowing from a rear wheel on his Red Bull.
The Dutchman started from pole but was passed by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz on lap two before the smoke appeared and he limped to the pits.
"I have smoke, blue smoke, fire, fire," he said on the team radio before retiring.
Verstappen emphatically won the opening two races of the season as Red Bull took one-twos in both and was red hot favourite to make it three wins in 2024.
He had also been aiming to match his own record set last year of 10 consecutive wins - one more than Sebastian Vettel in 2013.
- AFP
24 March 06:28
LAP19/58
ENGEN FAILURE!
Hamilton's Mercedes gives up the ghost as he reports engen failure over the team radio. The virtual safety car is out and it might be a good time for a cheap pit stop opportunity.
Alonso pits for the mediums, as does Gasly and Hulkenberg.
And the virtual safety car is over.
24 March 06:23
LAP 12/58
Sainz leads from Norris and Perez, with Alonso in fourth all yet to pit.
Leclerc has been in and has just overtaken Gasly, then Hulkenberg to tuck into fifth.
Piastri in hot pursuit as he also passes Gasly.
In other news, Red Bull's Sergio Perez says on team radio: 'I think we overdid it on the tire'.
It's going to come down to tire management. Perez and Norris pits.
And it's the hard tire that's meant to be.
24 March 06:20
24 March 06:16
LAP 8/58
Hamilton and Albon pits, with the former returning to the race in 14th. The other Mercedes of Russell also pits, as it looks appears even the mediums are struggling to hold up.
Meanwhile, home favourite Oscar Piastri is putting Charles Leclerc under a bit of pressure in a battle for third place.
24 March 06:10
LAP6/58
UP IN SMOKE!
The reigning champion looks in a world of trouble, with the right rear brake on fire as he pits. And it looks like that's the end of Verstappen's Australian Grand Prix.
24 March 06:08
Verstappen reports on the team radio: 'I lost the car. It's really weird.'
Followed by, 'the car loose' and there is a bit of smoke coming out of the Dutchman's Red Bull.
24 March 06:05
LIGHTS OUT!
The race is one, with Verstappen in the lead and Carlos Sainz behind and Sergio Perez pushing early from sixth.
And DRS enabled after one lap.
24 March 06:03
As the formation lap gets under way, all three compounds are in consideration with some uncertainty over the right way to go.
Hamilton and Ricciardo are going for quick starts on the softs, but expect an early change due to high degradation at Albert Park.
Most of the drivers are on mediums, with the exception of Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg who are on the hard compound.
24 March 05:21
IT'S RACE DAY DOWN UNDER!
It's the third round of the Formula One season and the circus is at Albert Park in Melbourne. Max Verstappen starts in pole ahead of Carlos Sainz, who has made quite the return from appendicitis a fortnight ago. Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez, was handed a three-place grid drop for impeding Nico Hulkenberg in Q1 and starts in sixth. That means Lando Norris (McLaren) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) benefit by taking up the second row. Meanwhile, Williams have only one horse in the race in Alex Albon due to Williams not having a spare chassis, which means Logan Sargeant sits out this race. A sluggish performance in qualifying from Mercedes sees Lewis Hamilton down in 11th on the starting grid.
22 March 13:14
Williams down to one car for Australian GP after Albon crash
Williams driver Alex Albon will use teammate Logan Sargeant's car for the rest of the Australian Grand Prix weekend after he destroyed his chassis in a high-speed crash during practice on Friday.
Albon hit a wall then bounced onto another one via the kerbs towards the end of the first session at Melbourne's Albert Park.
He was not hurt but was unable to compete in second practice, with the team confirming late Friday the chassis was badly damaged and that they did not have a spare.
Team principal James Vowles said Albon had a better chance to score their first points of the season during Sunday's race, meaning Sargeant was sidelined.
"While Logan should not have to suffer from a mistake that he did not make, every race counts when the midfield is tighter than ever," he said.
"So we have made the call based on our best potential to score points this weekend."
Sargeant said missing out was "the hardest moment I can remember in my career".
"I am however completely here for the team and will continue to contribute in any way that I can this weekend to maximise what we can do," added the US driver.
Anglo-Thai driver Albon, who scored 27 of the team's 28 points last season, said he was gutted about the situation.
"Logan has always been a consummate professional and a team player from day one, and this won't be an easy one for him to take," he said.
"At this point though, I cannot dwell on the situation and my only job now is to maximise our potential this weekend."
- AFP
22 March 11:15
Hamilton slumps to 18th in Melbourne practice as changes backfire
Despondent seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton bemoaned one of the "worst sessions for a long time" after changes made to his Mercedes backfired Friday in Melbourne.
The British star finished ninth in the first practice for the Australian Grand Prix, but slumped to 18th in the second session to be 1.5 seconds adrift of Ferrari pacesetter Charles Leclerc.
"I obviously don't feel great. We had one of the worst sessions I've probably had for a long time," said Hamilton, who is leaving at the end of the season to join Ferrari.
Mercedes changed his car's setup between FP1 and FP2 in a bid to improve the high-speed cornering problems and bouncing that dogged him in Saudi Arabia.
But Hamilton said it made matters worse.
"We began the day on the front foot and in FP1, the car generally felt good. The first run was actually the best the car has felt so far this year," he said.
"To continue our learning, we made some big changes into FP2 and unfortunately, that made the car worse.
"It was tough but there are positives we can take from the first session. We will be working hard overnight to make improvements ahead of tomorrow."
Teammate George Russell fared better, finishing sixth, and felt he could have made the top three.
- AFP
22 March 10:39
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc went quickest ahead of world champion Max Verstappen in second practice at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday, with Carlos Sainz third barely two weeks after surgery.
24 Mar