Carlos Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari with a superb drive in Melbourne after world champion Max Verstappen’s race ended with a brake blowout after just four laps.
Sainz’s victory was a remarkable comeback for the driver, who is still recovering from appendectomy and is out of contract next season. Sainz made a superb drive to beat teammate Charles Leclerc to second place at Albert Park; This was Ferrari’s first one-two race since Bahrain in 2022.
McLaren’s Lando Norris finished third and his Australian teammate Oscar Piastri achieved an excellent result in fourth. While Lewis Hamilton, who will replace Sainz at Ferrari next season, ended a difficult weekend with an engine failure, his teammate George Russell’s crash in the last lap made Mercedes even more upset. Sergio Pérez finished fifth for Red Bull.
Relating to: Australian Grand Prix: Formula 1 2024 – live
Starting second behind Verstappen, Sainz took full advantage with a controlled drive at the front of the field after the world champion’s nine-win streak came to a fiery end after he was forced to retire from the lead with his right rear brake bursting. bursting and bursting into flames.
The Dutch driver was clearly furious when he exited the car with a mechanical failure that forced him to retire for the first time since Australia 2022. “When the lights go out we can see that the right rear brake is stuck. The handbrake is on,” said Verstappen. The team has not yet released an explanation as to what caused the problem.
This was a remarkable win for Sainz. The Spaniard had undergone surgery for appendicitis just two weeks ago when he was forced to withdraw from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He was still not fully recovered, having lost several kilos, unable to complete his usual pre-race conditioning preparations and simulator work, and admitted that dealing with the intense G-forces at Albert Park after surgery was a unique challenge.
“It’s amazing. Life is a rollercoaster, life is amazing,” Sainz said.
The win opens Sainz’s season with the confident and combative statement of intent that the Spaniard craves. He is determined to stake his claim for a top seat next season and has done so to stunning effect in Melbourne. Sainz and the team will be hugely encouraged by delivering such a competitive performance at race pace and offering the operational calm control and assurance that Ferrari so often lacked last season.
This was Sainz’s third career win and his first in Australia. He was the only driver to deny Red Bull victory with victory in Singapore last season and the first to do so this year. His first win came in 2022 at the British Grand Prix.
Verstappen retained his lead from Sainz at turn one, but on lap two, with DRS active, Sainz overtook the Dutchman and took the lead at turn nine to the roar of the appreciative crowd.
Verstappen said he lost the back of the car, skidding through turns seven and eight, opening the door for Sainz and complaining that the car was “loose”.
He clearly had worse trouble when smoke started billowing from the rear of the car and he started to move backwards across the field. Verstappen crawled towards the pits on lap three and told the team, “I’ve got smoke, fire, fire, brakes.”
On his way to the pits his right rear brake blew out in a cloud of smoke and dust, then he burst into flames as he entered the pit box which burned his tyre. The car was immediately retired.
With the world champion out, the race was wide open; Sainz was leading ahead of Norris and Leclerc, with Pérez in sixth place. The opening pit stops began with Leclerc pitting early on lap 10.
But Sainz was in complete control at the front of the field, content to keep his rubber out for long stretches and open up a solid eight-second lead over Norris, who pitted as Piastri moved up to fourth.
Sainz pitted at the end of lap 16 and Hamilton suffered engine failure on lap 17, retiring from the race and triggering the virtual safety car to end a dismal weekend for the British driver.
While McLaren pulled Piastri aside on lap 29 to replace Norris, who was using newer tyres, the Spaniard continued leading one lap later and on much newer tires than Leclerc.
Relating to: FIA fails to escape scrutiny as indictments cast shadow over season | Giles Richards
On a track where tire management has always been vital, Sainz’s smooth and controlled style was a huge benefit. On newer tyres, Ferrari had opened up a nine-second lead over Leclerc when the Monegasque pitted the Monegasque driver again on lap 34.
Sainz pitted for the final time on lap 41 and rejoined the lead with a comfortable lead over Leclerc and slackening the tyres’ flag for a well-deserved victory completed under VSC after Russell lost his rear and crashed into the rear wall. Fernando Alonso in turns six and seven.
Alonso and Lance Stroll finished sixth and seventh in the Aston Martin. Yuki Tsunoda took eighth place for RB, Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen took ninth and 10th place for Haas. For Daniel Ricciardo, this was a race to forget on home soil as the Australian could only qualify 13th.