Carlos Sainz led Charles Leclerc as Ferrari sealed a one-two finish at the Australian Grand Prix after world championship leader Max Verstappen retired early.
Verstappen was looking to equal his own record of 10 consecutive wins from pole position in Melbourne, but finished just 3 laps before his Red Bull’s brakes jammed and forced him to retire from the race.
Sainz, who returns to action after missing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after undergoing appendix surgery just over two weeks earlier, took full advantage of the opportunity to calm the race down early on. ‘Go ahead to stay away from Leclerc.
The Spaniard, who ended Verstappen’s record-breaking streak in Singapore last year, is the only driver besides the Dutchman to have won one of the last 21 F1 races.
Lando Norris took third to claim his first podium of the season ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, while Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez can put pressure on the leaders by finishing fifth.
Verstappen, chasing a fourth consecutive drivers’ title, remains at the top of the standings but leads Leclerc, who scored an extra point for setting the fastest lap of the race, with just 4 points, with Perez adding an additional point in third.
Sainz is 11 points behind Verstappen in fourth place, but would probably be the world championship leader if not for his absence at this round in Jeddah. Ferrari is four points behind Red Bull at the top of the constructors’ standings. .
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso took advantage of a virtual safety car lock-up caused by Lewis Hamilton’s retirement on lap 17 to finish sixth on track but dropped to eighth after receiving a 20-second penalty for “potentially harmful driving” and abnormal deceleration. Other Mercedes chased him on the penultimate lap.
Russell crashed after squandering control of his car as he temporarily closed in on Alonso on the way to Turn 6, completing a double retirement for Mercedes and ensuring the race ended in a virtual safety car. Alonso was also approved three penalty points in a resolution that came more than 3 hours after the end of the race.
Lance Stroll moved up to sixth after his Aston Martin team-mate’s penalty, while Yuki Tsunoda capped off an impressive weekend by finishing seventh for RB.
Haas duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen finished in the top 10, leading to Constructors’ Championship problems for the team.
Sainz had arrived in Melbourne not knowing if he would finish the weekend after spending most of his time in bed recovering from an appendectomy.
The 29-year-old made it through Friday’s practice before he was able to take second place on Saturday’s grid, but it is still in doubt how he will fare over the total race distance of 58 laps.
In the end he showed no negative effect, jumping to overtake Verstappen on the second lap when the Dutchman’s brake problem left the Red Bull vulnerable.
From there, Sainz’s victory was never in doubt as he pulled away from Lando Norris, before proceeding to build his lead once team-mate Leclerc overtook the McLaren on the first lap of pit stops.
Sainz was able to run longer than the leaders in the first stint, which gave him the merit of having fresher tyres from there.
Leclerc, who finished third in Saudi Arabia in Sainz’s absence, drove a solid run from fourth to seal Ferrari’s first one-two since the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix but failed to put pressure on his teammate.
Sainz’s impressive start to the season comes after Ferrari updated him with Hamilton for the 2025 season, a move that could face scrutiny if the Spaniard maintains his sublime form.
His performances temporarily identify him as the top free agent for the driver market in 2025, with Mercedes looking for a replacement for Hamilton and Perez’s contract with Red Bull expiring.
The way Red Bull governed the first two races while Verstappen led Perez in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia had raised fears that the reigning constructors’ champions could do better than last season, when they all won one of 22 grands prix.
The fears of Red Bull’s rivals only intensified when Verstappen put in an unconvincing practice to comfortably take pole on Saturday.
Everything looked smart as the Dutchman made a smart start to hold the lead at the first corner, but Sainz stayed only a moment on the first lap to stay within the DRS diversity and in the strike zone.
That’s when things suddenly got up for Verstappen, with symptoms of trouble first appearing as Sainz circled the outside of the RB20 into the DRS zone on the way to turn nine to take the lead.
It temporarily became clear that Verstappen had a major problem, as smoke began to pour out of the back of his car, before slowing down and falling down the field.
“What we can see is that as soon as the lights go out, the right rear brake gets stuck,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.
“It just caused some pain and they kept going up, so it was basically driving with the handbrake on as well. “
Perhaps recklessly, he drove the car back to the pits when parts flew amid mini-explosions as the fire in the right rear of the car intensified.
While Verstappen’s driving over the past two seasons has been near-perfect, his remarkable dominance has been bolstered by Red Bull’s brilliant reliability, which has seen him contest 43 races without retiring, the last of which at the same circuit in 2022.
As Perez was unable to disappoint Ferrari and McLaren, neutrals will be hoping the result signals a more competitive name war is on the horizon in the longest 24-race season in the sport’s history.
However, there is no doubt that Verstappen will start as favourites when the season resumes in two weeks’ time at the Japanese Grand Prix, at a Suzuka circuit that has been one of Red Bull’s in recent years.
While Red Bull’s disappointing afternoon may end up being a failure, the poor start to the season by former rivals Mercedes has reached new depths.
After doing a blast in Q2 to 11th in qualifying, Hamilton made some early progress on the comfortable tyres and questioned the decision to use the compound via the team radio as he made his way to the grid.
Any hopes of recovery were temporarily dashed, however, as Hamilton followed Verstappen out of the race when his powertrain failed on lap 17.
The retirement left the seven-time world champion with just eight problems in the first three races of his final season with the team before moving to Ferrari next year and ninth in the drivers’ standings.
After qualifying and finishing ahead of Hamilton in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Russell once again overtook his Melbourne teammate and had another strong weekend chasing Alonso for sixth in the closing stages.
On fresher tyres, Russell applied pressure to the Aston Martin as it temporarily approached Turn 6, before locking up and touching the barriers.
After lengthy meetings with drivers after the race, stewards said Alonso, regardless of his intention, admitted to making a “potentially dangerous” move and incurred a 20-second penalty.
Russell said in his post-race interview with Sky Sports F1: “I’m not going to accuse him of anything until I’ve looked further forward. I was by his side for many, many laps. I was a part of it for a moment before the race. corner. .
“Then, all of a sudden, it slowed down significantly and came back to power. I didn’t expect it and it took me by surprise. That component is my fault. It’s attractive that he called through the stewards. I’m intrigued, “To know what’s going on, they have to say. “
Despite Alonso’s penalty, Mercedes left Australia empty-handed and in obvious festivity with Aston Martin to become the fourth fastest team on the grid, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – 1st: “It was a very smart race. I felt smart there.
“Of course, it’s a bit steep and, especially physically, it’s not the easiest thing, but I’m lucky enough to be more or less alone and to be able to manage my pace, my tyres, manage everything, and it’s not the toughest race of all. .
“But I’m very satisfied, very proud of the team and satisfied to be here in a one-two with Charles. This goes to show that hard work pays off and that life is sometimes crazy.
“What happened at the beginning of the year, then the podium in Bahrain, then the annex, the comeback, the win. . . It’s a roller coaster. But I enjoyed it and I’m incredibly happy. “
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (2nd): “It feels good, especially for the team, of course. It’s amazing to know that we can do this. Carlos had an amazing weekend to return after his surgery. He had a career.
“I had a bit more difficulty in the second stint, with the first stint hard. I didn’t handle the tyres well. But then the last stint was more positive. The first one and the moment were the most productive we could do. “
“In the first stint we had to protect ourselves at the rear, so we stopped a bit earlier and from that moment Carlos was very fast and with my tyres I had problems. I think as soon as we stopped at the first stop, it was clear. Carlos did a “major task all weekend and definitely deserved this win. “
Lando Norris, McLaren (3rd): “It’s a very smart day for us. I’m very satisfied and proud of the team because P3 and P4 are a lot of things in the championship. So that’s the first thing.
“We missed Charles, I think our speed was a little bit better. He overtook us in the first stint, so maybe we have a bit of hope for second place, I think our speed was strong today. “
“But Ferrari and Carlos did a smart job, so hats off to them, they’ve been quick all weekend. I felt smart, maybe today I managed the tyres very well, it was a smart stage. I probably didn’t expect him. ” To be on the podium, so I’m very happy. “
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