2024-03-24 07:38:27
Carlos Sainz junior in Ferrari won the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. Defending champion Max Verstappen had to retire due to technical problems with his Red Bull.
The Spanish driver returned to the cockpit of a racing car just 16 days after undergoing surgery for acute appendicitis, which prevented him from starting in the previous race in Saudi Arabia.
“It was an amazing race. I felt good. It wasn’t the easiest after the surgery, but I have to thank the team for what a great car they prepared for me. It’s been a rollercoaster this year, but now I’m happy,” said the 29-year-old third Grand Prix winner Prix in the career.
His teammate Charles Leclerc finished second behind Sainz today. Third position was won by Lando Norris in McLaren.
Unlike last year, Verstappen kept the lead in the first corner and immediately began to move away from his rivals.
There were only 18, as Logan Sargeant had to leave his Williams to Alexander Albon after Friday’s first practice. The Thai driver broke his car and, according to the team’s opinion, he had a much better chance of succeeding in today’s Grand Prix than the American.
Albon’s crash in Friday practice:
But already in the second lap, Sainz used the help of DRS and minor mistakes of his opponent, thanks to which he passed the leader of Red Bull.
And it was even worse for Verstappen. Smoke started coming from the car, the driver reported a fire in the rear right brake, and the Dutchman had to bring his machine slowly into the pits
Verstappen’s brake problems:
This happened for the first time since the previous year’s Australian Grand Prix, since then the current Formula 1 champion has scored points every time.
“The right rear brake simply got stuck. We still have to look at the data properly, but simply put, if the brake gets stuck, the race is over,” said Verstappen sadly.
Sainz held the lead ahead of Norris and Leclerc. After the first pit stops, Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren got ahead of Norris.
In the 17th round, another F1 champion dropped out. Hamilton’s Mercedes had an engine failure, and the Briton was left standing outside the track. As a result, the virtual safety car (VSC) procedure was invoked.
That helped Fernando Alonso, who saved a good seven seconds at the pit stop to move up to fifth. At that moment the order was Sainz, Leclerc, Piastri, Norris, Alonso.
Halfway through the race, Piastri was ordered from the pits to drop Norris in front of him. McLaren bosses felt that the Briton with fresher tires had a better chance of attacking the leading Ferrari duo.
Even the second change of tires did not change anything about today’s reign of the red cars from Maranello. In the last lap, George Russell hit the barriers at full speed and the race was finished under (VSC).
Both McLarens, Sergio Pérez in Red Bull and Alonso lined up behind both Ferraris.