Australia (Commonwealth) _In the first free practice of the Australian Grand Prix on Friday, Lando Norris led the McLaren drivers’ timesheets. However, Alex Albon, the driver for Williams, interrupted the session after he crashed at a well-known bend at Albert Park.
Midway through the practice, Norris recorded a blistering lap of one minute, 18.564 seconds on soft tires. Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion for Red Bull, made a late run at the conclusion, but his time was only 0.018 seconds slower than Norris’s.
Albon locked up and took a hard smash into the barrier at turn six, destroying his Williams vehicle before it drifted to a rest at turn eight, ending the practice in the final twenty minutes with a red light. It happened a year after Albon’s race-day collision at the same corner, which raised one of three red flags. Albon left his car and apologized over the team radio, leaving a large stretch of the track covered with debris.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was surpassed by Mercedes’ George Russell for third place, but it was a concerning session for the Silver Arrows as Russell and teammate Lewis Hamilton both went off course.
Russell locked up at turn ten after complaining early in the practice about vibration in his steering rack. At turn two, Hamilton also lost control and skidded into the grass. At the conclusion of the practice, he reported over the team radio that his car’s floor had sustained damage from another slide.
Carlos Sainz eased back into the Ferrari racing seat after turning the eighth quickest lap, two weeks after undergoing surgery for appendicitis. Yuki Tsunoda raced one second quicker than Sergio Perez of Red Bull for RB, coming in fifth place.
Lance Stroll finished seventh quickest, but Fernando Alonso, his teammate at Aston Martin, could only manage the eighteenth-fastest lap when he skidded into the gravel at turn 10. Later on Friday, the vehicles return to the circuit for the second free practice.
The 2024 Australian Grand Prix, also known as the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2024, is a Formula One motor event that is slated to take place at Melbourne, Victoria’s Albert Park Circuit on March 24, 2024. It will be the 2024 Formula One World Championship’s third round.
Background
For the 27th time in the history of the circuit, the event is scheduled to take place at Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit on the weekend of March 22–24.It will be the 87th edition of the Australian Grand Prix and the third round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship.
Championship standings
Max Verstappen leads the Drivers’ Championship going into the weekend race with 51 points, followed by teammate Sergio Pérez in second place with 15 points and Charles Leclerc in third place with 23 points.In the constructors’ championship, Red Bull Racing is in first place with 87 points, leading Ferrari by 38 points and McLaren by 59 points, respectively.
There are no additional stand-in drivers for the race; the drivers and teams are the same as those listed in the season entry list.Since Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo in 2013, Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull and Oscar Piastri of McLaren will be the first two Australian drivers to compete in their home Grand Prix.
Pirelli, the tire producer, released the three softest tire compositions in their lineup, namely C3, C4, and C5, and teams to utilize at the event include soft
The Australian Grand Prix Corporation was found accountable for safety violations in the race’s 2023 running, thus they removed a long-standing custom that permitted fans to enter the track at any point during the competition. If spectators enter the track, they risk fines exceeding $17,000, expulsion from the event, and bans from participating in future races. For the first time in the event’s history, it sold out.
For the event, there will be three complimentary practice sessions. The inaugural complimentary drill took place on March 22, 2024, at 12:30 local time (UTC+11). Lando Norris of McLaren led the session, followed by Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing and George Russell of Mercedes. Alex Albon of Williams crashed at turn six, causing the session to be temporarily red-flagged.At 16:00 local time on the same day, there will be a second complimentary practice session. On March 23, 2024, at 12:30 local time, there will be a third free practice session.
