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The 2024 F1 Australian GP saw a change of face at the top of the podium for the first time in 9 races. This time around, it was Carlos Sainz who won the race and not Max Verstappen, who had to retire very early.
The race in Melbourne was an interesting one from a driver's perspective as there were quite a few who put together an impressive weekend. There were others whose races got compromised and then there were others who didn't have the best of days. In this feature, we will take a look at how every rider fared in the 2024 F1 Australian GP. Let's take a look
Criteria
- Performance in both qualifying and race
- Results achieved compared to the potential of the car
- How many mistakes were made over the weekend
- Relative performance against their teammate
2024 F1 Australian GP: Rating the drivers
Red Bull
Max Verstappen (Started: 1st, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 6
Verstappen was brilliant as usual in qualifying and put together a lap that was good enough for pole position. However, his race lasted nothing more than a couple of laps and hence, it's probably hard to judge what he could have achieved in the right conditions.
Sergio Perez (Started: 6th, Finished: 5th)
Rating: 7
Sergio Perez will be happy to finish the race securely but it's not the kind of result that will make Red Bull happy. The Mexican suffered damage when he overtook Alonso, as a visor tear off damaged his floor. Having said that, one has to question what Perez was doing battling with Alonso in the first place.
Overall, it was still a decent weekend, as he failed to capitalise on a race off weekend for Max Verstappen.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton (Started: 11th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 3
Lewis Hamilton is having a torrid time so far this season. The driver has not had the measure of his teammate at any stage and the F1 Australian GP was no different. Not reaching Q3 was a disappointment, not as big as an early DNF.
George Russell (Started: 7th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 6
Russell can be partially redeemed when it comes to the blame for his crash but not fully, as he should not be making mistakes like that. Except for the penultimate lap shenanigans, it was a strong weekend for him. Unfortunately, that mistake is just too big to ignore.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc (Started: 4th, Finished: 2nd)
Rating: 8
Not Leclerc's best weekend at Ferrari. The driver lacked the confidence in the car that his teammate had. Fortunately for him, he was able to make use of the strategy to jump Norris and secure a P2.
Carlos Sainz (Started: 2nd, Finished: 4th)
Rating: 10
A perfect F1 Australian GP weekend from a desperate driver. Carlos Sainz is a strong driver and when chips fall his way, they do so brilliantly. A perfect all-round weekend where he made a statement in front of everyone.
McLaren
Lando Norris (Started: 3rd, Finished: 3rd)
Rating: 9.5
A solid overall weekend for Norris where he maintained his superiority over Piastri. Many expected Lando's teammate to start beating the Welsh driver but Oscar appears to lack that final step in the race yet again.
Oscar Piastri (Started: 4th, Finished: 4th)
Rating: 7.5
A good overall weekend from Oscar. Having said that, getting outperformed by your teammate in races this regularly is something he might need to start working on.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso (Started: 10th, Finished: 8th)
Rating: 5
A very strong F1 Australian GP for Fernando Alonso before the shenanigans on the penultimate lap. The Spaniard would not be happy as that mistake ruined his entire weekend's worth of effort.
Lance Stroll (Started: 9th, Finished: 6th)
Rating: 7
A rare solid weekend for Lance Stroll. Was great in qualifying and has decent race pace. If he continues doing this well a job, his future is as secure as it could be.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly (Started: 17th, Finished: 13th)
Rating: 7
Gasly had a brilliant first stint where he hung on to Nico Hulkenberg's DRS that dragged his Alpine with him. Once the pitstops were done, the reality sink in as started. falling back.
Esteban Ocon (Started: 15th, Finished: 15th)
Rating: 8
An extremely well executed lap for Q2 even surprised Ocon. The race got compromised when the team called him into the pit with some issue of a visor tear. The fact that he still finished the race not too far behind his Alpine teammate is certainly an indicator of how much pace he had compared to his teammate.
Williams
Alex Albon (Started: 12th, Finished: 11th)
Rating: 7
A bit of an anonymous weekend for Albon. The straight line advantage is gone and at the F1 Australian GP he found out that we using a spare chassis. A decent weekend from Albon. Maybe a better one was on the table.
V-Ca-RB
Daniel Ricciardo (Started: 18th, Finished: 12th)
Rating: 5
Baptism of fire for Daniel Ricciardo as the driver was squabbling around in the back while Yuki Tsunoda got the points. The Aussie's future hangs in the balance as Red Bull is not a team.
Yuki Tsunoda (Started: 8th, Finished: 7th)
Rating: 9
That was a complete weekend from Tsunoda. He proved he can get the results when needed and when the car is capable enough. This was the race where that was true and as a result, we had the Japanese driver pulling through by being brilliant in qualifying and in the race.
Stake F1 Sauber
Valtteri Bottas (Started: 13th, Finished: 14th)
Rating: 6
One can't do much when they have 30 second pitstops in races. A disappointing and forgetful F1 Australian GP for Bottas.
Guanyu Zhou (Started: Pitlane, Finished: 15th)
Rating: 6
Starting from the pitlane and with the same pitstop issues as Bottas, Zhou couldn't achieve much either at the F1 Australian GP.
Haas F1
Kevin Magnussen (Started: 14th, Finished: 10th)
Rating: 7.5
A brilliant F1 Australian GP race weekend from Magnussen. Just like his teammate, he kept his nose clean at the start, continued to pick away at slowly made his way through the field to finish P10.
Nico Hulkenberg (Started: 16th, Finished: 9th)
Rating: 8
An impressive F1 Australian GP for Nico Hulkenberg makes it 3 points in 2 races for the driver. These are the kind of races that help when it comes to showing a level of maturity. The first stint from the German sealed the deal for him and from that point onwards it was all about managing. Another good drive overall for Nico.
