by After two races in the Middle East in the space of two weeks, Formula One returns with the Australian Grand Prix, which runs from Friday 22 March to Sunday 24 March.
Once again the track hosting the race is the Albert Park Circuit, as it has done since 1996. We have had a different winner every year since 2019 (the race did not take place in 2020 and 2021).
The chances of that happening again look slim, with Max Verstappen exiting the championship after four rounds already.
What time does practice, qualifying and the race start?
Friday 22 March
First exercise: 1.30am-2.30am GMT
Second practice: 5am-6am
Saturday 23rd March
The third practice: 1.30am-2.30am
Eligible: 5am GMT
Sunday 24 March
Australian Grand Prix 2024: 4am
What is the latest news?
Mercedes is planning to ‘experiment’ with its 2024 car at the Australian Grand Prix, according to road-side engineering director Andrew Shovlin.
The teams are fourth in the teams’ standings and have had another difficult start to the season, their best race result behind Bahrain and Saudi Arabia was George Russell’s fifth in Sakhir.
“We are definitely collecting data from Jeddah,” Shovlin said. “We are also looking at data from the Bahrain race [and the] Bahrain Test and we’ll come up with a plan for how we tackle free practice in Melbourne. But it is not based directly on what we did in Jeddah.
“There is a lot of work going on within the aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics department.
“We’re trying to design some experiments there that will give us some guidance that will be good for performance.”
“The balance was not great. So those very fast corners, the walls are not particularly far away – so the ones where the driver wants a lot of confidence – and often we were sneaking in with too much softening if they really leaned on the tires.
“And you can easily imagine how unnerving that is for the drivers. Now, that was a factor in quality and the race.
“While qualifying we were also suffering a bit with the bounce. That was less of a problem in the race. The car has more fuel. You are going a little slower. And that seemed to settle it, and there was no such question.
“And then the big one is that we don’t really have enough grip. So that’s one of the things we’re working hard on this week, because Melbourne has similar corners.
“So we’re doing a lot of work to try to understand why we didn’t seem to catch some of our closest competitors.”
Who won the Australian Grand Prix last year?
Like 18 other races out of the 22 from 2023, Max Verstappen was the winner in Melbourne. Lewis Hamilton scored a rare second place for Mercedes, his best result of the season and Fernando Alonso on the podium for Aston Martin. The race was full of action, ending with a couple of late stops and a massive restart crash. Only 12 drivers took the checkered flag.
Australian Grand Prix circuit length, length and race distance
First Grand Prix: 1996
Number of laps: 58
Circuit length: 5.278km
Race length: 306.124km
Race lap record: 1 minute 20.235 seconds (Sergio Perez, 2023)
How to watch the Australian Grand Prix on TV and streaming
As in recent years, every practice session, qualifying and race is live on Sky Sports F1 this year.
If you don’t want to take out a full sky subscription you can access the 2024 F1 season via Now TV which has 12 Sky Sports channels for £26 a month with a six month minimum.
If you want extended highlights Channel 4 is the broadcaster to visit, with their qualifying program on Saturday and their race program on Sunday. You can also subscribe to Now TV on a race-by-race or month-by-month basis.
If you’re outside the UK you can probably subscribe to F1TV F1 itself, which you can do with a monthly subscription.
What are the current positions?
What are the odds for the winner of the race?
Max Verstappen 2/1
Sergio Perez 15/2
Charles Leclerc 11/1
Lewis Hamilton 33/1
George Russell, Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso 40/1
Who are the previous Australian Grand Prix winners?
Results since 2000
2023: Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2022: Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2019: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
2018: Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
2017: Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
2016: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2015: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2014: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2013: Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus
2012: Jenson Button, McLaren
2011: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
2010: Jenson Button, McLaren
2009: Jenson Button, Brown
2008: Lewis Hamilton, MacLauren
2007: Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
2006: Fernando Alonso, Renault
2005: Giancarlo Fisichella, Renault
2004: Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
2003: David Coulthard, MacLaurent
2002: Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
2001: Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
2000: Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
