Post Grand Prix, we explore key stats, broken records, ongoing streaks, and surprises, highlighting the dynamic shifts seen in Melbourne’s recent F1 race.
As after every Grand Prix, it’s time to delve into the most striking statistics, the records that were shattered, the remarkable streaks that continue, or those that came to an abrupt halt last weekend…
Qualifying
In Q3, Max Verstappen pulled a gap of 270 milliseconds over Carlos Sainz, surpassing the 250 milliseconds that separated the next four cars.
For the sixth consecutive race, Max Verstappen shared the front row with a Ferrari (a nudge to Sergio Pérez…).
However, without his grid penalty, Sergio Pérez would have taken his first top-three start since Miami 2022, nearly a year ago.
Charles Leclerc ended an impressive streak of seven front-row starts, the longest in his career.
For the first time since 2011, there was no Mercedes F1 in the top 6 in Melbourne.
Yuki Tsunoda achieved back-to-back Q3 appearances: a feat he did not accomplish last year.
Only for the fourth time in two years has Lance Stroll outqualified Fernando Alonso.
Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q2 in Australia for the first time since 2010. He was also outqualified by George Russell for the fifth consecutive race.
Starting 13th, Valtteri Bottas secured Kick Sauber’s first Q2 of the year.
Pierre Gasly’s 17th place marks his best qualifying of the year…
Daniel Ricciardo had never been eliminated in Q1 in Australia before.
Guanyu Zhou finished last in Q1 for the second consecutive race.
The Race
A turn of events in F1! Max Verstappen didn’t win and even retired from the race.
Max Verstappen had won his last 18 races when starting from pole – a streak that now ends.
Reliability ended an incredible run for Max Verstappen: 9 consecutive victories (one shy of his personal record) and, notably, the conclusion of a 43-race streak of finishing in the points for the Dutchman.
He will not break (at least not for two years) Lewis Hamilton’s record of 49 consecutive races in the points from Silverstone 2018 to Bahrain 2020.
Max Verstappen’s last retirement was at Australia 2022. Melbourne seems to be his jinx…
Verstappen and Hamilton failed to finish in the same race for only the second time – after their crash in Monza 2021.
Ferrari secured its second 1-2 finish of the decade, after Bahrain 2022 (Leclerc-Sainz). This marks only the 4th 1-2 finish for the Scuderia in 14 years.
It was also Ferrari’s first 1-2 finish in Melbourne in exactly 20 years – Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello in 2004.
Over the past 11 months, only two drivers have won Grand Prix: Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen.
Sainz’s victory was Ferrari’s 10th at Albert Park – setting a new record for the Scuderia.
Sainz also became the first driver to win after returning from an injury or surgery since Gerhard Berger at Hockenheim in 1997.
Leclerc has scored in the last 12 races – his best personal streak, with 5 podiums in 6 starts.
It’s a consistent pattern in F1 history: whenever a team achieves a 1-2 finish in Melbourne, they win both championships (last seen with Mercedes in 2019).
Lando Norris achieved McLaren’s first podium in Melbourne in 10 years (Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button, 2nd and 3rd in Australia, in 2014).
Norris now has 14 career podiums without a win, surpassing Nick Heidfeld’s unwelcome record for the most podiums without ever winning.
Piastri matched the best finish ever by an Australian at home: Webber was also 4th in 2012, and Ricciardo in 2016 and 2018.
Two Ferraris and two McLarens in the top four places: the last occurrence was in Belgium 2007, with Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa (Ferrari 1-2) followed by Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. Old school…
A historical quirk: George Russell has never finished a Grand Prix won by Carlos Sainz (Silverstone 2022, Singapore 2023, and Australia 2024).
Fernando Alonso has scored in every race this year.
Yuki Tsunoda has already beaten his best result of 2023, which was a 7th place.
For the first time in 62 Grands Prix, no Mercedes F1 car scored points.
The last time Mercedes failed to score points was in Azerbaijan in 2021.
Nico Hulkenberg has scored points in his last four Australian Grand Prix appearances. After 20 point-less races, he has scored in the last two.
Haas F1 also achieved a double points finish – the first since Austria 2022 (Mick Schumacher 6th, Kevin Magnussen 8th).
12th place for Daniel Ricciardo… yet, it’s his best result of the year!
F1’s Melbourne GP: Records, Streaks, and Surprises. F1’s Melbourne GP: Records, Streaks, and Surprises. 2024 F1’s Melbourne GP: Records, Streaks, and Surprises
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