A record crowd is expected to descend on Albert Park for this year’s Australian Grand Prix – but thanks to world champion Max Verstappen’s incredible dominance in 2024, the biggest stories are likely to unfold off the track.
The Red Bull ace has looked unstoppable this year, taking easy wins in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to open the season – with Ferrari a distant second in what was a seemingly desperate race to close the gap and create real competition for the crowns drivers and manufacturers.
But off the grid, Red Bull is mired in controversy over team boss Christian Horner’s ‘sexting’ scandal.
Controversy still dominates discussions in the paddock as the woman at the center of the drama recently criticized the way the team’s internal investigation into the matter was conducted and launched an appeal against the investigation’s findings.
With pundits and fans convinced only disaster can stop Max Verstappen from winning the world title again, the biggest story in Melbourne will be Red Bull boss Christian Horner’s ongoing ‘sexting’ scandal.
A highlight for Australian fans will be how local hopefuls Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo perform in Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race.
Piastri – competing in his hometown GP for only the second time – shows great promise with McLaren, while Ricciardo’s struggles so far this season have many experts fearing this could be his last year on the grid .
Former Australian F1 star David Brabham believes the 22-year-old will eclipse his compatriot’s achievements on the track with his mental approach, comparing him to all-time greats Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher.
“I would put Oscar in the Prost and Schumacher category – he devotes himself 100% to the game and doesn’t worry about other things,” he said. Nine.
“Some drivers love fluff – Daniel, I think, loves fluff… you can see Daniel being a little up and down because of that and you can see Oscar being more flat, consistent.”
Australian phenomenon Oscar Piastri (pictured with girlfriend Lily Zneimer) has been compared to legends Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher by a former F1 star from Down Under
Former driver David Brabham believes Piastri’s demanding mindset will see him eclipse the on-track achievements of struggling Australian Daniel Ricciardo (pictured)
When does the action start?
The first time most fans will get to see the stars is at the drivers’ press conference, which begins on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. AEST.
Expect Horner’s situation to be the subject of a series of questions for Max Verstappen, whose father Jos has asked the team principal to step back from the drama.
The F1 cars will take to the track for the first practice session on Friday from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. AEDT, followed by the second practice session from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
On Saturday, the third practice session will take place from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., with qualifying from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The race itself will start at 3 p.m. and the finish will be around 5 p.m., depending on how well things go. The more often the safety car must be deployed, the longer the event will last.
How to watch practice, qualifying and the race
All of the above will be broadcast on both free and pay TV.
Channel Ten’s coverage begins at midday (AEDT) on Friday and continues until 5 p.m. The Saturday broadcast begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 5:30 p.m., with the Sunday broadcast starting at 8:30 a.m. and continuing until 5 p.m.
Fox Sports will also offer viewers live coverage Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with their broadcast also streaming on Kayo.
What to watch out for this year
The big question is how much will Verstappen win? Will he move away from the rest of the peloton at the rate of one second per lap? Or only 0.7 seconds per lap?
The reigning world champion pays just $1.20 to win the race, followed by teammate Sergio Perez at $9 and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at $15 – amply illustrating Red Bull’s car lead this year .
There is a theory among some experts that the Bahrain track favored Red Bull more than any other race on the calendar, with Saudi Arabia not far behind – meaning that the behavior of the cars at Albert Park could provide a more accurate indication of the status of the teams. put.
Barring disaster, the only question surrounding Max Verstappen (pictured) in Melbourne is how much he will win, not if he will win.
Piastri (pictured racing in Saudi Arabia earlier this month) will be looking for a podium
Leclerc is a brilliant driver in qualifying and one-lap pace is where the Prancing Horse is closest to Verstappen, meaning the battle for pole position is, on paper, Red Bull’s best chance to finish second on the race weekend.
Daniel Ricciardo had a disastrous start to the year, beaten in Jeddah by teammate Yuki Tsunoda and only managing to finish 13th in Bahrain.
He is no longer in contention to replace Perez at Red Bull and needs a strong result to put his hat back in the ring.
Oscar Piastri finished eighth in Bahrain, two places behind teammate Lando Norris, then easily beat him when he finished fourth in Saudi Arabia.
Even though the McLaren is no match for Ferrari in terms of pace this year, the car is good enough to make the podium if the team adopts the right strategy and does not suffer any disasters during the race.
The 22-year-old already won the sprint in Qatar last year – making him the first rookie to take the checkered flag in a race for 15 years – and finished second in the main race of this grand prix, the so the talent is definitely there.