Ferrari F1 - Australian Grand Prix 2024 - Preview

Formula 1 arrives in Australia for what will be the first race this year to be held as usual on a Sunday, after the first two rounds of the season were run on Saturday in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Australians love their motorsport and Ferrari is particularly popular here, making for a very special atmosphere.

The Albert Park circuit is spectacular and everything points to it being an interesting weekend.

Carlos Sainz is expected to be back in the car, having had to miss Jeddah with appendicitis and he and team-mate Charles Leclerc will most likely be fighting at the front of the field, as they have done in the first two rounds.

The circuit.

The Albert Park track made its first appearance on the Formula 1 calendar in 1996.

It features plenty of medium to high speed corners, with four DRS zones to provide plenty of excitement.

Turn 1 is a quick chicane with walls on one side and a gravel run-off on the other, making it one of the trickiest sections, especially as it is followed by a long straight, before drivers brake heavily for turn 3, a favourite overtaking spot, as it comes at the end of a DRS zone, but mind out, here too there’s a gravel run-off area lying in wait.

Turns 9 and 10 are definitely among the quickest corners on the track and overtaking is possible here, although drivers can also opt to stay in the slipstream and then give it their all to pass into turn 11, where overtaking carries a bit less risk.