The 38th Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix is taking place this weekend, returning for the 27th time to Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit.
It’s the third iteration of the Australian Grand Prix since it returned from a three-year hiatus, caused by the global pandemic – with the 2020 race cancelled minutes before Formula One practice was due to begin.
Reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen enters as the favourite, having won 19 of the last 20 Grands Prix and continuing his dominant form where he left off in 2023, once again trailed by teammate Sergio Perez.
For the first time since 2013 when Mark Webber took part in his final Australian Grand Prix, there will be two Australians on the Albert Park grid.
Melbourne-born McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is coming off an eighth-place finish in 2023 (his first championship points), while West Australian Daniel Ricciardo makes his return behind the wheel of a Visa Cash App RB (or RB for short), having been placed on hiatus last year.
It will be the last time Lewis Hamilton fans get to see the seven-time World Champion in a Mercedes-AMG in Melbourne for the foreseeable future, with the winner of 103 Grands Prix off to join Ferrari in 2025 – a team which has won three of the last five Australian races.
This year’s race will be the third time the new-look Albert Park has been used, since extensive renovations throughout the pandemic made the circuit faster and more flowing.
After their first trip to Australia in 2023, the Formula 2 and Formula 3 support categories return in 2024, giving some of the sport’s rising stars a chance to race Down Under.
While Jack Doohan – son of five-time 500cc motorcycle World Champion Mick – is absent from the F2 grid this year, local young guns Tommy Smith and Christian Mansell will be flying the flag in F3.
The Supercars Championship will also feature on the undercard, taking its second round of the season to Melbourne, where drivers of the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro will slug it out across four races – one on each day.
Finally the Porsche Carrera Cup Championship will be in attendance again, with its drivers either looking to continue rising up Australia’s motorsports ladder or trying to make a name for themselves on the global stage in front of European teams.
At present, all four days of the Australian Grand Prix are forecasted to reach a top of 20 to 21 degrees, with partial cloud cover expected – though this is Melbourne and, to paraphrase the great Murray Walker, anything can happen and usually does.
2024 Australian Grand Prix Track Schedule
The Australian Grand Prix runs from March 21 to 24, with the on-track activities running as follows:
Note: Times are in AEDT, the local time zone of Melbourne.
Thursday March 21
- 10am – Gates Open
- 10:30am-11:00am – Porsche Carrera Cup Practice 1
- 11:25am-11:55am – Supercars Practice 1
- 12pm-12:20pm – Ford SuperVan demonstration
- 12:30pm-1:00pm – Porsche Carrera Cup Qualifying
- 1:25pm-1:55pm – Supercars Practice 2
- 2:10pm-2:30pm – Racing Past historic demonstration
- 3:10pm-3:25pm – Supercars Qualifying (Race 1)
- 3:35pm-3:50pm – Supercars Qualifying (Race 2)
- 4:10pm-4:35pm – Ford SuperVan demonstration
- 4:45pm-5:20pm – Porsche Carrera Cup Race 1 (13 laps)
- 5:50pm-6:35pm – Supercars Race 1 (20 laps)
- 7:30pm – Gates Close
Friday March 22
- 8:30am – Gates Open
- 8:50am-9:35am – Formula 3 Practice
- 10:00am-10:45am – Formula 2 Practice
- 11:10am-11:30am – Racing Past historic demonstration
- 12:30pm-1:30pm – Formula 1 Practice 1
- 2:00pm-2:30pm – Formula 3 Qualifying
- 2:50pm-3:35pm – Supercars Race 2 (20 laps)
- 4:00pm-5:00pm – Formula 1 Practice 2
- 5:30pm-6:00pm – Formula 2 Qualifying
- 6:25pm-7:00pm – Porsche Carrera Cup Race 2 (13 laps)
- 7:30pm – Gates Close (except Gates 1 and 8)
- 9:00pm – After Dark Gates Close (1 and 8)
Saturday March 23
- 8:30am – Gates Open
- 9:00am-9:15am – Supercars Qualifying (Race 3)
- 9:25am-9:40am – Supercars Qualifying (Race 4)
- 9:55am-10:20am – Jack and Mick Doohan demonstration laps
- 11:15am-12pm – Formula 3 Sprint Race (20 laps)
- 12:30pm-1:30pm – Formula 1 Practice 3
- 1:40pm-2:00pm – Racing Past historic demonstration
- 2:15pm-3:05pm – Formula 2 Sprint Race (23 laps)
- 3:15pm-3:30pm – Jack and Mick Doohan demonstration laps
- 4:00pm-5:00pm – Formula 1 Qualifying
- 5:35pm-6:10pm – Supercars Race 3 (14 laps)
- 6:25pm-7:00pm – Porsche Carrera Cup Race 3 (13 laps)
- 7:30pm – Gates Close (except Gates 1 and 8)
- 9:00pm – After Dark Gates Close (1 and 8)
Sunday March 24
- 8:30am – Gates Open
- 9:05am-9:50am – Formula 3 Feature Race (23 laps)
- 10:20am-10:55am – Supercars Race 4 (14 laps)
- 11:35am-12:35pm – Formula 2 Feature Race (33 laps)
- 1:00pm-1:30pm – Formula 1 Drivers’s Parade
- 1:35pm-1:50pm – Jack and Mick Doohan demonstration laps
- 3:00pm – Formula 1 Race (58 laps)
- 7:00pm – Gates Close (except Gates 1 and 8)
- 8:30pm – After Dark Gate Closes (1 and 8)
2024 Australian Grand Prix broadcast
If you can’t make it to the track and need to watch from home, here’s how you can tune into the Australian Grand Prix locally.
Fox Sports and its streaming service Kayo will broadcast every day of the Australian Grand Prix, including certain support sessions, in up to 4K on supported devices.
Coverage begins at 11am AEDT on Thursday, 8:50am AEDT on Friday, 8:45am AEDT on Saturday and 8:30am AEDT on Sunday.
You can also watch the Australian Grand Prix without having to pay for a subscription service on Channel 10, with its Friday coverage starting at 11am AEDT and running through to 5pm AEDT, when viewers can switch to 10 Bold.
Its Saturday coverage runs from 10am AEDT to 5:30pm AEDT, while Sunday kicks off at 8:30am AEDT before finishing at 5pm AEDT, or after the race ends. All sessions broadcast on 10 are also carried on its 10Play streaming service.
2024 Australian Grand Prix driver lineup
The only driver in question for the Australian Grand Prix is Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who had his appendix removed on the eve of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix a fortnight ago.
19 year-old Oliver Bearman subbed for the Spaniard, though it is not clear if this will occur again.
- Red Bull
- Max Verstappen (#1)
- Sergio Perez (#11)
- Ferrari
- Charles Leclerc (#16)
- Carlos Sainz (#55, or Oliver Bearman #38)
- Mercedes
- Lewis Hamilton (#44)
- George Russell (#63)
- Alpine
- Esteban Ocon (#31)
- Pierre Gasly (#10)
- McLaren
- Oscar Piastri (#81)
- Lando Norris (#4)
- Sauber
- Valtteri Bottas (#77)
- Zhou Guanyu (#24)
- Aston Martin
- Lance Stroll (#18)
- Fernando Alonso (#14)
- Haas
- Kevin Magnussen (#20)
- Nico Hulkenberg (#27)
- RB
- Daniel Ricciardo (#3)
- Yuki Tsunoda (#22)
- Williams
- Alex Albon (#23)
- Logan Sargeant (#2)
