- Daniel Ricciardo is the only Australian to reach the podium at the Australian F1 GP
- Was later disqualified for violating a technical rule
- Expert believes Piastri could claim first official Australian podium
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The Australian duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri may be no friends with the bookmakers, but a quirk of the Albert Park track could see one of the Australians claim the first local podium in 40 years.
The record books show that no Australian has officially stood on the podium at the Albert Park grand prix since Australia joined the F1 world championship in 1985.
In 2014, Daniel Ricciardo crossed the line in second place at the Australian Grand Prix and even celebrated on the podium. However, his joy was short-lived as he was later disqualified due to a violation of technical rules regarding his car’s fuel consumption.
The Red Bull twins of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are expected to dominate in Melbourne with RB driver Ricciardo (451-1) and Piastri (71-1) having almost no chance of winning their home GP.
Piastri earned his first F1 points at Melbourne in 2023 and is considered a strong chance to finish top of the table in 2024.
Piastri’s McLaren is losing ground to other drivers on straighter tracks due to the drag reduction system, but the windy Albert Park track will suit him just fine.
However, Australian F1 driver David Brabham believes Piastri could surprise due to the nature of the Albert Park circuit.
A key problem with Piastri’s McLaren this season has been the lack of power provided by its drag reduction system.
DRS is a flap located on the rear wing of Formula 1 cars. This flap is activated on designated straights when a following car is within a second of the car in front.
By opening the flap, DRS reduces drag, allowing the following car to reach higher speeds and making overtaking maneuvers easier.
In Saudi Arabia, Piastri was only able to get around 5 km/h extra speed thanks to DRS. The other teams gain around 20 km/h with DRS in the open rear wing position while the dominant Red Bull cars achieve around 30 km/h.
However, as Albert Park is twisty with many terms, Brabham believes Piastri is in a ‘shootout’ with Lando Norris for the final podium spot as the DRS advantage over the other teams will be lost.
“(McLaren’s) car is hopeless with DRS, but in terms of downforce it is very strong at high speeds,” Brabham told Wide World of Sports.
“I don’t know if I’m just hoping for that, but from what I’ve seen so far… McLaren could be quite strong this weekend.”
The man to beat in Melbourne remains Red Bull’s three-time champion Max Verstappen.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo previously finished on the podium in Melbourne, but was later disqualified for a technical problem.
Piastri is also in fine form, earning his first F1 points at Albert Park in his debut race in Melbourne last year.
However, he believes fifth place could be the best Australian fans can expect from McLaren this time around.
“I think being realistic, yeah, being in the fight for third fastest team is probably where we are at the moment,” the 22-year-old said.
“I think we’ve taken a step closer to Ferrari, at least in Saudi Arabia, but we’re still… We don’t have enough at the moment.”
“So I think the fight is probably with Mercedes at the moment for us.” Hopefully we can start to take on a little more challenge later in the year.
“But for now, yes, I think that although I don’t want to lower the hopes of people at home, I think yes, no more than a sort of P5, it will take luck, yes.