Welcome to the Australian Grand Prix – 2024
Verstappen not ruling out Mercedes move
Max Verstappen has not ruled out the possibility of joining Mercedes in the future after Toto Wolff stated he would “love” to have the reigning world champion at the team. The three-time champions future has been in the spotlight following the conclusion of an investigation into Christian Horner, which resulted in allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against the team principal by a female colleague being dismissed.
Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari for 2025 leaves a seat open at Mercedes and in the wake of Verstappen’s win at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Wolff commented that “there is no team that wouldn’t do handstands to have him in the car.” The Dutchman signed a contract with Red Bull until 2028 two years ago
when asked about whether Wolff’s comments affect him said Verstappen “It doesn’t have any impact on me on what I would do. It’s always nice to hear that. Toto and I, we had our little moments but that’s normal between two teams battling for the championship. But the respect has always been there. From my side, it doesn’t change anything.”
Asked if he would ever join Mercedes in the future, Verstappen said: “I don’t know. I don’t know what happens after 2028. I don’t know if I’m going to stay in F1 or continue or sign a new deal? I don’t know that.”
The Dutchman goes into this weekend looking to equal his ten consecutive wins which he only set six months ago. Since his debut in 2015, he has always been with what is now RB or Red Bull.
A lot of Red Bull’s success has been put down to Adrian Newey but technical director Pierre Wache, aerodynamics designers Craig Skinner and Enrico Balbo plus head of performance engineering Ben Waterhouse have also played an instrumental role in the technical department.
Verstappen insists the team are all focused on their performance on the track and is prepared to see out his current contract, but hinted key members of the team must stay.
The Dutchman added, “I’m happy within the team. It’s very important that we try to keep the key players in the team for a longer period of time because that’s what goes with the performances as well.
Hard to trust with no accountability – Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton says there is “no transparency and no accountability” in Formula 1 as the sport continues to be rocked by off-track scandals. The seven-time champion appeared to conflate controversies involving the FIA and the behaviour of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
The governing body finds itself at the centre of two controversies, earlier in the weeks its ethics committee cleared President Mohammed bin Sulayem of any wrongdoing after allegations were made against him of interference in F1 events last year. Bin Sulayem had been accused of interfering with the stewards’ decision to reverse a penalty handed down on Fernando Alonso at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The second incident was at the Las Vegas Grand Prix and surrounded allegations that Ben Sulayem pushed for the FIA not to approve the track certification for F1’s newest venue.
Meanwhile F1 Academy director Susie Wolff for taking legal action against the FIA following its controversial conflict of interest inquiry into her and her husband Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto, last year. Wolff announced her legal case, which is believed to be one of defamation against a number of senior figures within the FIA.
Asked whether Mohammed Ben Sulayem still had Hamilton’s confidence as FIA president, Hamilton said: “(He) never has.”
The Mercedes driver added: “I am incredibly proud of Susie. She is so brave and she stands for such great values and she is such a leader. In a world where often people are silenced, for her to be standing up sends such a great message, and I love that she has taken it out of this world and is fighting it from the outside.
“So hopefully, this stand she is taking now will create change and have a positive impact. And especially for women.” In continuing his remarks, he appeared to reference the controversy surrounding Horner, who was accused of inappropriate behaviour by a female colleague.
Horner has always denied the claims. Red Bull dismissed the complaint after an internal investigation and has since suspended the employee who made them for being dishonest. She has appealed against Red Bull’s decision to dismiss her complaint.
Hamilton added “The message is: ‘If you file a complaint, you will be fired.’ And that is a terrible narrative to be projecting to the world, especially when we’re talking about inclusivity. We need to make sure we are staying true to the core values.”
Hamilton’s teammate George Russell who also is one of the directors of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, said: “You trust that the leaders in the sport have its best interest at heart rather than their own best interests, and that goes back to the transparency thing. If things are transparent and we see the outcome of these cases, we all have a chance to judge for ourselves with all the facts and figures.”
Asked again if he backed Horner, admits an internal power struggle at Red Bull, involving the team principal, the motorsport adviser Helmut Marko, the two main shareholders and Verstappen’s, Max Verstappen refused to give equivocal answers when asked whether Horner had his full support and faith as team principal.
he said: “It is very important that we try to keep the key players in the team for a longer period of time because that’s where the performance is.” But he refused to name who he deemed the key people to be.
The Dutchman reiterated, amid speculation he could leave Red Bull in the wake of the controversy, that it was his “intention for sure to be here until the end” of his contract, which lasts until 2028.
Sainz will not race if not felling good in practice
Carlos Sainz will not race this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne if he doesn’t feel good following practice following surgery for appendicitis. The Spaniard missed the Saudi Arabian GP this month, where eighteen-year-old Oliver Bearman was a late replacement.
Bearman finished seventh on debut in Jeddah but is likely to return to F2 with Sainz fit again. Bearman will return to F2 this weekend, but remains as the team’s reserve driver for Melbourne.
He has recovered from successful appendix surgery but has not spent much time on the simulator or training, putting all of his effort into getting back to fitness.
Sainz said, “First of all, just by seeing me move and the exercises that I’m doing in the gym, everything this tells me I’m fit to jump in the car tomorrow and try “But obviously, I’m not stupid, and if I don’t feel good tomorrow, I will be the first one to raise my hand and say that I need another two weeks until the next race.”
“This together with the FIA is also the plan that we have in place. I have another check with the FIA tomorrow, and they are monitoring my progress.” Sainz was third behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez at the season-opening Bahrain GP. Red Bull also achieved a one-two finish in Saudi Arabia, where Sainz’s team-mate Charles Leclerc was third.
The Spaniard is looking to follow Alex Albon who missed the Italian Grand Prix in 2022 due to appendicitis but was back one race later in Singapore, which is notoriously difficult due to the track layout and hot conditions.
Sainz says he is “proud” of Bearman’s performance even though simulators aid young drivers to get up to speed in modern F1.
Sainz was able to watch the race from the pit wall in Jeddah, reflecting on Bearman’s performance he said, “Really, really good job. I agree with Charles (Leclerc) that it’s also thanks to the way these drivers are prepared nowadays with the amount of simulator time and the amount of testing that we do with the old cars.”
“It’s also possible to do what he did thanks to that, but under pressure with only FP3, he got things done really well and did great.” Bearman’s performance has seen him receive high praise from across the sport.
News in Brief
Ricciardo does not need criticisms
Daniel Ricciardo says he does not need Helmut Marko’s criticisms to make him realise he needs to do a better job. In his collum for Speedweek Marko had wrote “Ricciardo will have to come up with something soon.”
Asked if Marko’s comments were annoying coming ahead of the spotlight of his home race, Ricciardo said: “No, it’s not annoying. I think that’s always a big part of our job. The most important part is the driving, but a big part of it is talking to you guys and obviously hearing [what is said]. When things go well, obviously everyone’s talking positively and when they don’t, they don’t talk so positively. So that’s part of it.”
“unsportsmanlike” conduct are “Bull****”
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu says accusations of “unsportsmanlike” conduct by the team during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix are “complete bullshit.” Kevin Magnussen’s Jeddah race had already been spoiled by a 10-second penalty for contact with Alex Albon when he passed Yuki Tsunoda while running off the circuit.
After the race, the RB team called Haas’s strategy “unsportsmanlike,” while Albon – who was also among those held up – called Magnussen’s pass of Tsunoda “cheeky.”
Komatsu admits that the team didn’t realise that Magnussen had gone off-track to make the pass on Tsunoda, and stressed that had it done so it would have asked him to give the place back.
Talking Points Melbourne
Round three of the season sees F1 head to Melbourne with Red Bull very much in pole position this year, with Max Verstappen taking dominant wins ahead of teammate Sergio Perez in Sakhir and Jeddah.
But twelve months ago, Verstappen took victory despite a chaotic end to the race saw three red flags and multiple incidents as the Red Bull driver emerged unscathed with Lewis Hamilton in second and Fernando Alonso in third.
Meanwhile, the chasing pack behind Red Bull are still trying to close the gap, Ferrari looks most likely to cause an upset. Charles Leclerc qualified on the front row at Sakhir and splitting the Red Bulls on the grid at Jeddah, while the Scuderia finished on the podium at both events.
The focus at Ferrari might have been on Bearman and Sainz over the Saudi Arabian weekend, but that threatened to overshadow what was a clear step forward for the team with their 2024 car. A year ago Ferrari was some thirty-six seconds adrift of the race-winning Sergio Perez in Jeddah. Their highest driver was Sainz in sixth, having started fourth on that occasion.
Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin are pushing hard to understand their new cars and get in the mix for trophies, with the papaya team’s mid-season surge in 2023 a clear example of what can be done from race to race with effective updates.
Mercedes has a slightly more confusing start to the year, as they have shown pace in practice but then not translated that in the race. They will be hoping that the last fortnight will have found some understanding and have “designed some experiments” for Melbourne, that could help them unlock more performance.
A year ago Oscar Piastri was making his first appearance at his home race in Melbourne but did so in an uncompetitive McLaren at the time, as the team only made a clear step forward when they upgraded their car later in the year. But that didn’t stop him picking up his first points with eighth place, taking advantage of a chaotic race to score in front of his home crowd.
Piastri arrives back in Melbourne having won the sprint in Lusail last October and is currently fifth in the drivers with the car in a much stronger place to last season. McLaren starting this season in better shape, although also insists they have more performance to be added to their car shortly, he can target more points this weekend.
As expected, before the season kicked off, the field appeared to be closer than ever, with less than a second and a half covering P1 to P20 during Q1 in Saudi Arabia, meaning just a few tenths can take you from the sharp end to the back.
The forecast for the weekend is cloudy with a chance of rain around 20% across the weekend, with the maximum temperatures around twenty degrees. The wind blowing from the sea with Saturday being the most unsettled day.
Following a two-year break caused by Covid and a redesign aimed at improving overtaking. The last two races at Albert Park have seen plenty of wheel-to-wheel action and we should see more of the same this year, where tyres may also play a key role as Pirelli have brought their softest range to Melbourne.
F1 reverts to the normal Friday to Sunday-schedule for the remainder of the season, apart from Las Vegas in November.
Others won’t “dictate my destiny” – Alonso
Fernando Alonso insists that he won’t let others “dictate my destiny” and will remain fully in charge of his future. The oldest driver in the sport has suggested he will make a decision about his future early on with his priority to remain with Aston Martin.
Lewis Hamilton’s departure for Ferrari has left a vacant seat at Mercedes for next season, while ongoing talk about Max Verstappen’s possible departure from Red Bull could open up another tantalising opportunity for the 42-year-old. However, Alonso remains adamant that he won’t rely on other people making a decision for him and will do whatever suits him.
he said “I’ve been always that way. Sometimes it did help me, sometimes it did hurt me, to be the owner of my destiny. I chose when to go from a team, when to join a team, I chose when to stop F1. And I chose when to come back.”
“And now I will choose what I do next year. I will not follow what others do, and they dictate my destiny. I will do it on my own. For good or for bad, this is the way I am.”
Alonso said that his philosophy was not something that came with age or experience, recounting the decision to leave a winning Renault team for McLaren with a year still to run on his contract with the Enstone team. The Spaniard has a history of making bold but not always the correct decisions.
He says that there has been no progress since then as he is concentrating on improving this season’s car.
Adding “It didn’t change much and it will not change in the next few weeks or races. I don’t want to wait maybe until summer, because I think that will be unfair for me, and for the team, if they have to find more options, and things like that. But I don’t want to rush as well, and to make a decision while my head is not into next year.”
“My head is so focused now on the things that I will love to test on the car after the learnings of the first few events. Everything is so exciting about the performance that if I need to think about next year it’s like, ‘ah, this is not the right time now to think.’”
Alonso reiterated that staying with Aston Martin remains his priority, assuming that he decides to continue in F1 next season. But also suggested that the reason Sebastian Vettel retired because he couldn’t reach an agreement to continue with Aston beyond 2022.
The Weekend Ahead
This weekend Red Bull continues to look like the team to beat, but the question remains how long until the off-track drama begins to affect the performance on track? Max Verstappen has refused to back Christian Horner again, but he has won in a dominant style the opening two races.
It feels like every weekend we are dominated by Verstappen and Horner, but how long can they continue until this boils over on track as we have seen in the passed there are still no real answers to what has gone on. But Verstappen appears to be a driver who never gets affected by things off track.
The circuit is like another street circuit it takes time to rubber in, but making mistakes isn’t as costly here. But the biggest mistakes are punishable as some of the corners which require big braking points are lined with gravel and grass. Despite being a street circuit many of its characteristics are similar to permanent circuits when compared to other street circuits.
However, this, is not a modern circuit many of the run-off areas remain a mixture of grass and gravel meaning mistakes can lead to cars being beached thus leading to virtual and real safety cars during the race. The race normal can show which cars are good all-rounders, as you need a good combination of speed and downforce. It can be hard to overtake, but as with any street circuit, it will evolve rapidly throughout the weekend.
Mercedes and Ferrari look very evenly matched on track, Ferrari are better in qualifying and while they have made progress in races I feel the slight edge is still with Mercedes. Carlos Sainz isn’t certain to race following surgery for appendicitis in Jeddah, if he does it will be good to see how he bounces back while healing, or if Ollie Bearman gets another opportunity how he applies what he learnt last time out!