Verstappen the man to beat in Melbourne, top of the midfield in close fight

Who will stop Max Verstappen? That has been the big question before the start of a Grand Prix weekend for over two seasons. Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver won the opening races of the 2024 season comfortably, and, in advance, there is no reason to believe that Verstappen will not win the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Behind the three-time world champion, however, there is still plenty of excitement to look forward to.

It is admirable how Verstappen is performing this season. Things have been unsettled in his Red Bull team for months, but the Dutchman has been doing his job imperturbably. At times, he seems like a robot; someone who gets into an F1 car, then is faultless and drives the RB20 to another win. Even in 2024, the competition seems to have resigned itself in advance to the fact that Verstappen, combined with Red Bull Racing, is unbeatable and only technical mishaps will keep him from yet another victory.

Even Perez has troublefree races

The RB20 has proved so outstanding in the first few weeks that Sergio Perez - albeit well behind Verstappen - can effortlessly drive to a podium finish. Even Charles Leclerc, in good form, does not manage to keep up with Perez, and it is unlikely to be expected that Ferrari has managed to fine-tune the SF-24 over the past two weeks to such an extent that the big gap to the Bulls has narrowed. Only at Suzuka in over two weeks' time will Ferrari introduce the first, proper updates.

The Italian team does not need much hurry. The proportions are pretty clear in Formula 1 at the moment: you have Red Bull Racing, then a gap and then Ferrari. Behind the Italian team there is quite a gap again, to three teams now fighting for the crumbs. Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin appear to be pretty evenly matched, and in Melbourne, an interesting battle for places five to 10 in particular looks set to ensue.

Australia hopes for home hero Piastri

McLaren in particular will be able to count on the necessary support in Australia when Oscar Piastri drives his home race for the second time. A year ago, the youngster was just starting out in Formula 1. Since then, Piastri has matured and passed Daniel Ricciardo as Australia's best active F1 driver. His team boss, Andrea Stella, thinks McLaren—especially with the home crowd—can provide a surprise.

"We come away from the first double header of the season with good points and strong on-track performances from Lando and Oscar. It’s important we carry this momentum through whilst placing a keen focus on the areas we still need to develop, so that we’re in a position to fight for podiums," said the Italian.

How about Alpine?

Behind the - shall we say - top of the midfield, there is a fierce battle between Williams, Haas, Stake F1, Visa Cash App RB and Alpine. The latter team, in particular, had sky-high ambitions for the season but now realises that getting regular points is already going to be quite a task. "It’s been a tough start to the season. And, actually, it’s been more challenging than we expected," Bruno Famin said. The team know that taking a single point in Melbourne is going to be an achievement of note for this Alpine.

These are concerns that Max Verstappen has none of. The Dutchman is going for his 57th Grand Prix win and, moreover, the 10th in a row. A good starting position will be important for Verstappen—and all 19 competitors—as Albert Park is not known for overtaking opportunities (although there has been an improvement in recent years).