FIA Formula 1 World Championship

Oscar Piastri produced a decent run in the ever-important qualifying session as he made it through to Q3 and sealed a third row start for tomorrow’s official Grand Prix.
 
The young Victorian was towards the top of the timesheets for much of the day, as he put the McLaren in P8 for the final practice session in preparation of the afternoon’s qualifying session.
 
Piastri then cruised through Q1 and Q2 before setting one of the best times in the first run of laps in Q3. Unfortunately, Piastri couldn’t maintain his pace for the second run, and although he went slightly quicker, ended up qualifying in P6 alongside Charles Leclerc.

Taking out top spot was Max Verstappen, with Carlos Sainz in P2, while Sergio Perez and Lando Norris originally qualified in third and fourth respectively.

Following the session, Perez was handed a three-place penalty for an incident midway, promoting Norris, Leclerc and Piastri up the order.
 
Qualifying ended up disastrous for fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo, who had done enough in Q1 to progress through to the next stage before having his last lap deleted due to exceeding track limits.
 
The unfortunate error then saw him tumble to P18, which is where he will start tomorrow’s Grand Prix. 
 
The world’s best drivers will again be on track as part of the Drivers’ Parade at 1pm AEDT before the official Australian Grand Prix takes place at 3pm AEDT. 

FIA Formula 2 Championship

The FIA Formula 2 Championship had an epic crash at the start of the race with two of the top contenders colliding shortly after lights out. 
 
At the centre of the incident was Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar, who took advantage of a slow start from the front row and made a move for second spot, only to make contact with teammate Josep María Martí who collided with P2-starter Gabriel Bortoleto.
 
Martí and Bortoleto ended up in the wall, while Hadjar managed to slot in behind polesitter Roman Stanek and move into the lead – a position he held for the rest of the race. 
 
Following a five-lap safety car period, Hadjar enjoyed a strong restart and began to build a buffer over of a five-car battle headed by Stanek.
 
Two of the drivers involved in that battle were Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Richard Verschoor, but the two came together on lap 10, which brought the race to a halt and the field back together again for another safety car.
  
Hadjar survived another restart to cross the line ahead Stanek and MP Motorsports Dennis Hauger – however the Frenchman was handed a 10 second penalty post-race, promoting Stanek to the win.

FIA Formula 3 Championship

The FIA Formula 3 Championship’s sprint race has proved a tough affair for the two Aussies in action, as Christian Mansell finished in P12 and Tommy Smith ended up in P25.
 
After qualifying in tenth yesterday, Mansell started today’s race on the second row and would have had confidence of securing a podium.
 
His hopes of a podium on home soil were dashed early into the race though, as contact early during a couple of skirmishes saw him sustain damage. Mansell could only watch on as he slowly dropped down the order as the race went on.
 
He was able to stabilise himself in the final stint though and eventually crossed the line 12th place. 
 
As for Smith, the Victorian had an extremely positive start and made up multiple positions as the laps counted down, only for a minor lock up to result in an incident with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, causing the Thai driver to retire. 
   
The two Aussies will be back for the championship’s feature race at 9am tomorrow at local time. 

Repco Supercars Championship

The Repco Supercars Championship’s sole race was a tale of two halves, as Broc Feeney eventually won the MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint’s third outing for the weekend.   
 
With Cameron Waters having scored pole position ahead of Matt Payne earlier in the day, the championship was on track for a new race winner for the 2024 season.
 
However, contact between Waters and Payne on the third lap saw both of their races end prematurely, allowing Feeney and Triple Eight Racing teammate Will Brown to slot into the top two spots.
 
The front two’s collision came after Payne passed Waters, who wrestled his way back in front on turn 12 before the two came together shortly after.
 
Upon the restart, Feeney held on to the lead for the rest of the race as Brown found himself in a battle with Chaz Mostert for second place, which led until the final corner of the race.
 
Brown managed to hold on for second place, however it wasn’t all bad for Mostert, as he picked up the race’s fastest lap and the five extra bonus points.
 
The Queenslander will start tomorrow’s race from pole position after edging out Payne and Waters in the Saturday’s second qualifying session.  

Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia 

Harri Jones has only just managed to take out the opening round of the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship despite not winning the category’s third and final race of the weekend.
 
The returning 2022 champion crossed the finish line for today’s race in fourth place having had made a few mistakes throughout the 12-lap affair, however his two wins earlier this weekend proved enough for him to take out top honours.
 
Claiming the victory in today’s race was Dale Wood, who led for much of the race, while Marcos Flack and Jackson Walls rounded out the podium.
 
Wood’s win was enough to seal second spot for the round – just one point off Jones.
 
In the Pro Am class, Adrian Flack added another victory to his productive weekend, which saw him comfortably seal the weekend win overall. 
 
The Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia was the first category to wrap up for the weekend.