PREVIEW: Welcome to Day 1 at Albert Park

The opening day of the FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2024 is set to be a big one, with Thursday’s action dominated by the Supercars and Porsche Carrera Cup.

Many eyes will be on the Supercars as they take to the track at 11:25 am for the drivers’ first Practice session for the MSS Security Supersprint.

For the first time, the new Gen3 cars will be exclusively on the Soft race tyre, giving the teams precious little set-up time to make sure that they get it right.

There will be a second 30-minute session at 1:25 pm and then it’s the all-important Qualifying sessions for Race 1 (at 3:10 pm) and Race 2 (at 1:35 pm).

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The first of the four Supercars races, over 20 laps, will take off at 5:50 pm. Chevrolet fans will be looking for points leader Will Brown and Red Bull Ampol teammate Broc Feeney to fly the flag, while Ford pilots Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) and Richie Stanaway (Grove Racing) will not be far away.

There is also the new generation of rising Supercars stars, so watch out for Ford men Matt Payne and Ryan Wood, and Chevrolet pilots Jaxon Evans and Cameron Hill.

For the first time in many a year, the Supercars will be racing flat-out, with no mandatory pitstops. It is set to be a huge challenge for the drivers, so watch out for a new lap record on the soft tyre.

The other competitive class to take to the hallowed track on Thursday will be the Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup. With seven rookies among the 27-strong field, the racing is bound to be fierce, starting with Practice sessions at 10:30 am, Qualifying at 12:30 pm and the opening 13-lap race of the weekend at 4:45 pm.

Former class champion Harri Jones looks like the man to beat. Still, the competition will be challenging, with 2023 Albert Park winners Jackson Walls and David Russell and Supercars endurance drivers Fabian Coulthard and Scott Pye.

You can also add the second-generation drivers of some of the sport's most famous names: Rodney Jane, son of Bob Jane, and Nash Morris, son of Bathurst 1000 winner Paul Morris. And how about brother vs. brother, in the form of Dale and Glen Wood?

Also, there will be a strong battle in the Pro-Am class. Look for Adrian Flack, Dean Cook, and Sam Shahin to be right in the mix.

View Thursday's complete schedule.