Record numbers of visitors are expected to descend on Albert Park for this year’s Australian Grand Prix, but thanks to the incredible dominance of 2024 world champion Max Verstappen, the biggest stories are likely to be off the track.
The Red Bull striker has looked unstoppable this year, taking easy wins in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to open the season – with Ferrari a very distant second in the seemingly hopeless race to close the gap and create real competition for the driver and constructor crowns.
But off the grid, Red Bull has been embroiled in controversy thanks to team boss Christian Horner’s ‘sexting’ scandal.
The controversy continues to dominate talk in the paddock, with the woman at the center of the drama recently criticizing the way the team’s internal investigation into the matter was handled and appealing the investigation’s findings.
With pundits and fans firmly convinced that only disaster can stop Max Verstappen from winning the world title again, the biggest story in Melbourne will be Red Bull boss Christian Horner’s ongoing ‘sexting’ scandal.
A highlight for Aussie fans will be how local hopes Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo fare in Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race.
Piastri – racing in his hometown GP for the second time – is showing great promise with McLaren, while Ricciardo’s problems so far this season have left many pundits worried this could be his last year on the grid.
Australian former F1 star David Brabham believes the 22-year-old will overshadow his compatriot’s on-track performance due to his mental approach, which has seen him compared to all-time greats Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher.
“I would put Oscar in the Prost and Schumacher category, he is 100 percent dedicated to acting and doesn’t care about the other things,” he said Nine.
“Some drivers like the fluff – Daniel, I think, likes the fluff… you can see that that makes Daniel go up and down a little bit and you can see that Oscar is flatter and more consistent.”
Australian phenomenon Oscar Piastri (pictured with girlfriend Lily Zneimer) has been compared to legends Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher by a former F1 star from Down Under
Ex-racer David Brabham believes Piastri’s demanding mentality will see him overshadow the on-track achievements of struggling Australian Daniel Ricciardo (pictured)
When does the action start?
The first time most fans will see the stars will be during the driver media conference, which starts at 1.30pm AEST on Thursday.
Expect the Horner situation to be the subject of a barrage of questions for Max Verstappen, whose father Jos has called for the team boss to resign over the drama.
The F1 cars will take to the track for the first practice session on Friday from 12.30pm to 1.30pm AEDT, followed by the second practice session from 4pm to 5pm.
On Saturday, the third practice session will take place from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM, while qualifying will take place from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
The race itself starts at 3:00 PM and the finish is scheduled around 5:00 PM, depending on how smoothly everything goes. The more often the safety car has to be deployed, the longer the event will last.
How to watch practice, qualifying and the race
All of the above will be broadcast on both free-to-air and pay TV.
Channel Ten’s coverage starts at 12pm (AEDT) on Friday afternoon and runs until 5pm. Saturday’s broadcast starts at 9am and ends at 5:30pm, while Sunday’s action starts at 8:30am and runs until 5pm.
Fox Sports also offers viewers live coverage on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with their broadcast also streamed on Kayo.
What to pay attention to this year
The big question is how much will Verstappen win? Will he be able to pull away from the rest of the field at a speed of one second per lap? Or just 0.7 seconds per lap?
The reigning world champion will pay just $1.20 to win the race, followed by his teammate Sergio Perez at $9 and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at $15 – which amply illustrates how far ahead Red Bull’s car is this year.
There is a theory among some experts that the Bahrain circuit favored Red Bull more than any other race on the calendar, with Saudi Arabia not far behind. placed.
Barring some sort of disaster, the only question surrounding Max Verstappen (pictured) in Melbourne is how much he will win, not whether he will win
Piastri (pictured earlier this month during a race in Saudi Arabia) is in the hunt for a podium finish
Leclerc is a brilliant driver in qualifying and one-lap pace is where the Prancing Horse is closest to Verstappen, meaning the battle for pole position is, on paper, Red Bull’s best chance of finishing second on the race weekend.
Daniel Ricciardo has had a disastrous start to the year. He was overtaken by teammate Yuki Tsunoda in Jeddah and only managed to finish thirteenth in Bahrain.
He is now out of contention to replace Perez at Red Bull and needs a solid result to throw his hat back into the ring.
Oscar Piastri finished eighth in Bahrain, two places behind teammate Lando Norris, and then easily beat him when fourth in Saudi Arabia.
Although the McLaren is not on par with Ferrari in terms of speed this year, the car is good enough to be on the podium if the team adopts the right strategy and no disasters occur during the race.
The 22-year-old has already won the sprint in Qatar last year – making him the first rookie to take the checkered flag in a race in 15 years – and came second in the main race of that Grand Prix, so the talent is certainly there.