By Joe Murphy
Max Verstappen yet again proved his dominance in Formula 1, comfortably winning the second of successive seasons and helping give Red Bull the perfect start to 2024.
Checo Perez yet again stood on the podium and was again joined by a Ferrari as in Bahrain, although this time it was Charles Leclerc who managed to register his best finish of the season to come home in third. This achievement was overshadowed by his debuting teammate Oliver Bearman, who gained four places to finish seventh in his first Grand Prix. A truly successful ‘job interview’ indeed.
Oscar Piastri endured much of the afternoon behind Lewis Hamilton but eventually got by and registered some good points for McLaren, Lando Norris finished slightly further down the road. Speaking of Mercedes, they seemed to struggle again and were unable to unlock their true pace, with both drivers achieving points but finishing a long way off the podium places. Another driver who struggled was Fernando Alonso in his Aston Martin who couldn’t replicate his mastery of Fridays qualifying when it mattered. This capped a miserable day for Aston Martin who also saw Lance Stroll crash out in the early stages.
Kevin Magnussen had more penalties than a rugby game in the Six Nations but it turned out to be a tactical masterclass from Haas who used the Dane to get Nico Hulkenberg a point ahead of the rest of the midfield. Albon couldn’t get by and Daniel Ricciardo had a spin.
There was also more misery for Alpine who somehow suffered worse fates than in Bahrain a week prior, as Pierre Gasly failed to even complete a single lap of the race on Saturday afternoon.
A fortnight until the next Grand Prix gives us time to ponder whether anyone is even in the same league as Red Bull. It has been a very comfortable start and not the best in terms of entertainment or competitiveness. All eyes to Australia to find out who can take it to the Charging Bulls.
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