In what concluded in a dominating victory for Charles Leclerc, there were significant other stories that unfurled throughout.
Ricciardo finished 14th in Bahrain and retired in Saudi Arabia after missing the Official Pre-Season Test with Covid-19.
On Saturday, Alonso had a reliability issue and crashed out of Q3, claiming afterwards that he had a chance at pole due to his speed.
After missing out in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions, Melbourne was reintroduced to the calendar this year.
On his way to his first win at Albert Park, Charles Leclerc led all 58 laps with Max Verstappen challenging until his retirement.
On Lap 39 of 58, Verstappen was forced to retire, leaving him in sixth place in the drivers' standings, with only 25 points for his Jeddah victory.
Sergio Perez of Red Bull finished second, with Mercedes' George Russell rounding out the podium.
The Monegasque driver put in a scintillating final flying lap which saw him record a time of 1:17.868s.
Medium-tyred runs were first in FP2, with Sainz, the FP1 leader, setting the early pace, before softs were fitted and Leclerc jumped to P1.
The 32-year-old Finnish driver joined Alfa Romeo this season from Mercedes and has had a strong start to the campaign so far.