Carlos Sainz wins Australian GP ahead of Leclerc, Verstappen DNF

Jaden Diaz
24/03/2024

It was a historic Sunday in Melbourne today. Ferrari won the race with an extraordinary show of strength, interrupting the dominance of Max Verstappen – whose race was cut short by a retirement. The Maranello team leaves Australia with the Spanish and Italian anthems played on the podium, a great reward for the efforts of Fred Vasseur’s team over winter. It was a 1-2 for the Ferrari SF-24, with Carlos Sainz ahead of Charles Leclerc. An excellent Lando Norris finished on the podium, demonstrating the good competitiveness of the Woking car. It’s almost strange to say it, but at the end of Sunday in Melbourne, the World Championship standings feature the top four drivers within 11 points.

IMMEDIATE TWIST: VERSTAPPEN OUT DUE TO RELIABILITY

The 2024 Australian GP is a start that we will remember for a long time. It was a clean start off the line, with Max Verstappen maintaining the lead after the first lap, though this would be his final lap in first. During the second lap, the Dutchman complained of instability problems at the rear. Before long, Carlos Sainz attacked and overtook Red Bull number 1 to become the race leader.

The sensational twist comes on the third lap, when the smoke coming out of the right rear brake heralds Verstappen’s first retirement in 44 races. His last retirement was coincidentally at Australia in 2022.

GOOD TYRE MANAGEMENT AT FERRARI, HAMILTON OUT

The race, therefore, was a duel between Ferrari and McLaren, with excellent race management by Carlos Sainz on the medium tyre. At McLaren, Oscar Piastri’s early stop to move from medium to hard allows the Australian driver to undercut teammate Lando Norris just before the second twist of the GP, with Lewis Hamilton’s retiring from a reliability failure.

This caused a virtual safety car, which favoured Fernando Alonso, who stopped after briefly leading the race. What made a positive impression in this phase of the race was the excellent behaviour of the Hard tyres at Ferrari, which, during the 18th lap, saw Sainz and Leclerc in front of everyone.

CHANGE OF POSITIONS AT MCLAREN

While the march of the two Ferrari drivers continues, at McLaren, they opted for a swap of positions, with Piastri giving up third place to Norris in light of the English driver’s better pace – which was in line with that of Charles Leclerc’s SF-24. It was a very different afternoon for Red Bull, with Sergio Perez suffering from a lack of pace. At the same time, Verstappen, in the interview pen, stated: “It’s very difficult to digest, but it’s still a sport where the mechanics matter.”

FERRARI CONTINUES THE 1-2 DRAW AFTER THE SECOND STOP

Charles Leclerc was the first of the top four to make the second stop, followed shortly after by Oscar Piastri. This was a delicate part of the race managed perfectly by Ferrari, with the Monegasque being the protagonist of an initial break that allows him to stay ahead of Lando Norris’ McLaren after the English driver’s stop. The impeccable management by Sainz continues, who, after the second round of pit stops, maintains a solid lead over his teammate.

Sainz

SAINZ TRIUMPHS AHEAD OF LECLERC, RUSSELL CRASHES AT THE END

Carlos Sainz triumphed ahead of Charles Leclerc on a Sunday that the Ferrari drivers will remember for a long time. Everything worked perfectly, from tyre management to strategies. Lando Norris’s McLaren completes the podium, finishing ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. McLaren delivered a very solid race in terms of speed and pace.

It almost sounds strange to say it but Red Bull is anonymous, adding to Verstappen’s retirement a fifth place for Perez, who becomes third in the world championship thanks to Leclerc’s fastest lap. On the penultimate lap of the race, George Russell made a mistake while chasing Alonso, ending up in a barrier and thus ending the GP under a virtual safety car. The black weekend is therefore contrasted with a good result from Aston Martin, with Alonso followed by Stroll.

The retirements of Verstappen and Mercedes allowed Yuki Tsunoda to get the team’s first points. Haas secured a double points finish, with Hulkenberg ahead of Magnussen. It was a brilliant day for Ferrari in Melbourne, where Ferrari returned to win a double after two years.

Autore

SEGUICI SU

Podcast