The Melbourne Grand Prix is this Weekend And Vroom Vroom

Get revved up 🏎️

If you are an F1 fan this is probably all you’ve talked about in class this week. But Formula One is in Australia with the Melbourne Grand Prix happening this weekend.

Formula One in general has had a big year so far with the news that Lewis Hamilton is leaving Mercedes and now the excitement is about to land down under.

When is it, and what are the current rankings?

Practice for the Australian Formula One 2024 begins at 12:30pm on Friday, 22 March and will run until 1:30pm on Saturday. Qualifying races will run from 4pm to 5pm on Saturday, 23 March.

But the actual Grand Prix will start at 3pm on Sunday, 24 March.

Current rankings:

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 51 points.
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – 36 points.
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 28 points.
4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 18 points.
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 16 points.
6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 15 points.
7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 12 points.
8. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 12 points.
9. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 8 points.
10. Oliver Bearman (Ferrari) – 6 points.

Who are the Aussies in the Melbourne Grand Prix?

Racing in their home country are Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo.

This is the first time since 2022 Daniel will be racing on his home track. It comes after past F1 champion and Aussie driver Alan Jones suggested he was “past his best”. Daniel was dropped by McLaren at the end of 2022 and is now racing with Red Bull’s sister team, RB (formerly AlphaTauri).

The other Aussie is McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who made his first appearance in the Melbourne Grand Prix only a year ago. He ended up placing eighth and picked up his first points.

He’s back in Melbourne after finishing fourth place in Saudi Arabia, so he will definitely be looking to pick up more points this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes.

In February Lewis Hamilton announced he was leaving Mercedes and will be joining Ferrari in 2025 and subsequently made F1 fans everywhere spit out their morning cereal in shock.  

He was with Mercedes for 11 years but decided “the time is right for me to take this step and I’m excited to be taking on a new challenge.”

This will be his last Melbourne Grand Prix with Mercedes.

Will Max Verstappen retain his crown?

Winner of the last Melbourne Grand Prix and current world champion, Max Verstappen is currently in the lead this season.

There’s currently 15 points between him and second place but fans will be keeping their eyes peeled to see if someone else could beat him.

How to watch Melbourne Grand Prix in Australia?

If you want to catch all the F1 action, and you don’t live in Melbourne, you can watch the races on Foxtel, Kayo or Sunday’s race will be broadcasted on Channel 10 and streaming service 10 Play.