Melbourne (AFP) – The Spanish Carlos Sainz, from Ferrari, won the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday, March 24, in a race in which triple world champion Max Verstappen had to retire due to a mechanical problem.
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Sainz, who underwent surgery for appendicitis two weeks ago, finished the race 2.3 seconds ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, while McLaren's Lando Norris came in third.
It was a very good race, physically it was not the easiest, but I was largely alone, so I was able to manage the pace, manage the tires, declared Sainz.
At the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, the day was disastrous for Verstappen, nicknamed “Mad Max”, who could not achieve a tenth consecutive victory.
Verstappen had to exit his smoking vehicle after being passed by Sainz on the second lap.
“I've got smoke, blue smoke, fire, fire,” he said on the team radio before abandoning the race after what appeared to be a problem with the rear brake.
“As soon as the start light went out, the right brake blocked, so the car was difficult to drive from the beginning,” explained “Mad Max”, who had not retired in 43 Grands Prix.
The Dutch driver continues to lead the world championship, but Charles Leclerc moved up to second place by just four points, 51 points to 47.
It was also a bad race for Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes. The Briton, a seven-time world champion, suffered an engine failure on lap 17.
Double for Ferrari
Like in Singapore in September last year, where he ended Verstappen's first series of ten victories, Carlos Sainz, who underwent appendicitis surgery fifteen days ago, did not tremble and achieved his third victory in F1 in Australia. after Singapore in 2023 and Silverstone in 2022.
Winning ahead of Leclerc, the duo gave Ferrari its first one-two finish since the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix.
“It feels good, especially for the team,” said Leclerc, who finished ahead of Briton Lando Norris, third at the wheel of a McLaren.
The other McLaren driver, the Australian Oscar Piastri, qualified fourth in a race marked by the impressive accident of the British George Russell of the Mercedes team.
When he was driving just behind the Spaniard Fernando Alonso, Russell crashed into a wall before ending up on the left side of his car, which came to a stop in the middle of the track.
It was an accident without physical consequences for the driver, but it rounded off a GP to forget for Mercedes.
Earlier, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who is expected to replace Sainz at Ferrari next year, had to retire with an engine problem.
Pérez, anonymous
Alonso, for his part, finished in sixth place, behind the Mexican Sergio Pérez, but was penalized 20 seconds for “dangerous driving” in Russell's accident and fell back to eighth place.
The fifth place of 'Checo' Pérez and the ten points added to his team in the constructors' classification do not hide a disappointing weekend for Red Bull, which had started the season with doubles in Sakhir and Jedá.
“We didn't have a good balance in the car,” declared the Mexican, who tiptoed through the Grand Prix. “It was a bit of survival mode with the degradation (of the tires) we had and we were not up to par with either Ferrari or McLaren,” added 'Checo'.
Pérez also justified his poor race with “the penalty on the grid.” Third in the standings on Saturday, the Mexican received a three-place penalty for having disturbed the German Nico Hülkenberg.
In the World Championship standings, the leader continues to be Verstappen with 51 points, four more than Leclerc (47), who surpasses Pérez in the standings (46), while Sainz is fourth (40).
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