Wo Smoke rises, a fire must blaze. In any case, there will have been heated discussions on Sunday at the first debriefing of the Australian Grand Prix in the Red Bull Formula 1 racing team: Another zero lap for world champion Max Verstappen, as at the start of the season in Bahrain. And again Charles Leclerc won in his Ferrari, this time ahead of Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull and the Mercedes driver George Russell. His teammate Lewis Hamilton was fourth ahead of the two McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo.
“That was the first win where we were able to control the gap,” said Leclerc, “we managed everything well, especially the tires. If things continue like this, we’ll have a chance of winning the World Championship.” He now leads the drivers’ standings with 72 points after three of the planned 23 races. Verstappen is already 47 points behind.
“Two failures, that’s unbelievable. It’s not good for the championship. We were good for two years in terms of stability. But now it’s a disaster. But I didn’t have a chance today either, the tires didn’t go well,” Max Verstappen told Sky TV. The conspicuous tire wear on the champion can also be related to the driving style: “I also have to see what I’m doing wrong in the car.”
For Ferrari, the race started only halfway as planned. While Leclerc won the starting duel thanks to his pole position against Max Verstappen, the Scuderia more or less lost sight of their second driver. Carlos Sainz jr., who was ninth in qualifying on Saturday due to an interruption of the unlucky team, dropped back to 14th place on the first lap. That also had to do with the choice of tires.
The hard rubber initially did not offer the desired grip compared to the softer ones, but would have carried the Spaniard further up to the first pit stop than the competition, which was largely equipped with the soft version. That was the strategy. The Spaniard destroyed them. Too fast in turn nine, ride out on the third lap. There he sat in the gravel bed, the wheels were spinning. Closing time at lunchtime.
While Sainz scowled through the paddock, the field picked up speed again after the first safety car phase to recover the Ferrari. Nicely compacted, but drifting apart again at the top. That was because of the world champion team, Mercedes. Chief driver Hamilton worked his way up from fifth to third at the start, past the second Red Bull with Perez at the wheel.
But the Brit’s Silver Arrow is still too slow for top positions, dragging the pace with Perez and his team-mate Russell and the McLaren on their heels. When Perez finally shot past, the racing team launched a concentrated attack on Leclerc, two against one with all the tactical finesse. But the Monegasse didn’t let himself be caught. On the contrary, he pulled away from the world champion, lap after lap, increasing the lead to seven or eight seconds, as if he were going for a drive in Albert Park.
“The front tires are off,” Verstappen called into the on-board microphone before his pit stop (19th). After switching to the harder compound, he promptly responded with a fastest lap. Ferrari took no chances and provided Leclerc with the same type of tire on lap 23. It looked like a comparatively comfortable afternoon if it weren’t for the four-time world champion from Germany.
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