Nineteen drivers will battle it out in the 58-lap race beginning at 3pm today. Here’s what you need to know ahead of the upcoming action at Albert Park.
At a glance …
- It’s the first time since 2013 that there will be two Australian drivers in the race, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and RB’s Daniel Ricciardo.
- Five current drivers have won in Melbourne: Fernando Alonso (2006), Lewis Hamilton (2008, 2015), Valtteri Bottas (2019), Charles Leclerc (2022) and Max Verstappen (2023).
- Hamilton has been on pole in Melbourne a record eight times (2008, 2012, 2014-19).
- Verstappen has won the past nine races and can equal his record of 10 in a row set in 2023. The Red Bull driver set a record of 21 podiums in a season last year, but Michael Schumacher remains the only driver to have stood on the podium in every race of a season (2002).
After qualifying for his second home race in sixth place yesterday, Oscar Piastri will actually start in fifth spot on the grid today … but more on that later.
Hello and good morning sports fans, Formula 1 devotees, or those just coming along for the ride. Today is race day – the main event – at this year’s Australian Grand Prix.
I’m Eliza Sum and I’ll be kicking off our race day blog this morning.
Let’s get to it.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
SMH
