During the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, on March 24, Spanish driver Carlos Sainz of Ferrari controls his vehicle. (AP Image)
Sydney, Australia —After missing the last race in Saudi Arabia due to an emergency appendectomy, Carlos Sainz of Ferrari broke Red Bull’s winning run in Formula 1. The Spaniard took advantage of Max Verstappen’s early retirement to win the Australian Grand Prix in just two weeks.
Starting alongside Verstappen in the lead, Sainz maintained his position through the first turn but overtook the Dutchman at turn nine on lap two. He then took over when his competitor retired two circuits later due to a flaming mechanical failure.
Verstappen was on a nine-race winning streak after winning the first two Formula One races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Ferrari’s first 1-2 finish since the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix came from Sainz finishing ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris of McLaren secured his first podium at Albert Park by finishing third.
Oscar Piastri, an Australian who is a teammate, came in fourth.
Lewis Hamilton will take over for Sainz at Ferrari starting in 2025, and the driver was ecstatic to win his third career race against all odds and his first since the Singapore Grand Prix the previous year.
He remarked, “I felt really good out there.” Naturally, I felt a little stiff, especially in my body. Although it wasn’t the easiest, I was fortunate to be able to control everything—my pace, the tires, and everything else—because I was essentially on my own.
“You know, sometimes life is insane. It’s been quite the roller coaster, starting with the beginning of the year and ending with the podium in Bahrain, the appendix, the return, and the victory. However, I adored it.”
Ferrari’s performance and ability to challenge rival Red Bull during its dominant phase gave Leclerc hope as he finished on the podium for the second straight race.
“We had very good tire degradation and very good pace, so we knew that pole position and the race win were possible,” he remarked. That’s a really positive indication. Nonetheless, two of the first three races showed that Red Bull had the advantage, indicating that there is still more work to be done.
The fact that Norris managed to secure his first podium since Brazil last year, he claimed, wasn’t surprising.
“I would say no when you take out a Red Bull,” he remarked. “I believe we’ve moved at a decent clip this weekend. Yesterday, we assembled everything quite smoothly. On Friday, we had a good long run at a high fuel pace, so I wouldn’t say we had no chance.
Following George Russell’s crash at turn seven, a virtual safety car ensured that there was no racing for the whole of the last lap. Russell drove a Mercedes. Sergio Pérez of Red Bull completed the top five, moving up just one spot from his starting position in sixth after receiving a three-place grid penalty for obstructing Nico Hülkenberg during qualifying.
For the second consecutive race, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso finished sixth after outpacing his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll. However, Russell and the Spaniard will square off against the FIA stewards in the race for sixth place on the last lap.
Following an engine failure on lap 17, Lewis Hamilton, Russell’s teammate, also failed to finish, breaking Mercedes’ impressive run of reliability and giving the team their first double non-points score since the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
After placing eighth, Yuki Tsunoda, a driver from Japan, gave RB, the squad that was once known as AlphaTauri, its first four points of the season.
After the Austrian Grand Prix in 2022, the American team Haas secured its first double points finish. Hülkenberg and colleague Kevin Magnussen finished ninth and tenth, respectively, to round out the top 10.
With Leclerc in second place, Verstappen’s advantage in the drivers’ standings has shrunk from fifteen points to four. Leclerc has 47 points, while Verstappen has 51.
