Australian Grand Prix: Carlos Sainz, imperial, takes the victory and gives Ferrari the one-two finish

For the third time in three races this year, Max Verstappen starts in pole position this Sunday. Behind him, Carlos Sainz who is barely recovering from an appendicitis operation, followed by Lando Norris, who benefits from Sergio Perez’s penalty to move from fourth to third place. More than 452,000 spectators are present at Albert Park this year, a record attendance. Most of the cars are on medium tires at the start.

The red lights go out, Max Verstappen closes the door on Carlos Sainz who tries to gain the upper hand on the first corner. We remain cautious on this first lap, this circuit being known for its collisions and safety cars. On the other hand, Sergio Perez, relegated to sixth position, lost a place to George Russell. As soon as the DRS is activated, Carlos Sainz takes advantage and overtakes Max Verstappen at turn 9, in front of the amazed eyes of the spectators. The Dutchman tells his team that he has slipped. He lacks rear end, his car suddenly starts to smoke, the problem seems to come from the brakes. He eventually lets the rest of the pack pass and has to stop as his brakes are on fire. Unbelievable but true: Max Verstappen abandons just in the fifth lap. The last time the Dutchman retired was also in Melbourne, two years ago. Back at the garage, Verstappen seems furious with his team.

At the end of the seventh lap, Lewis Hamilton changes his medium tires for hard ones. The Briton missed out in qualifying. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc finds himself sandwiched between the two McLarens, with Oscar Piastri putting the pressure on him. Unfortunately for Valtteri Bottas, he loses precious seconds (again!) during a pit stop. Leclerc and Piastri pit at the same time and switch to hard tires. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz speeds away, one second faster than Norris, and wants to put some distance between him and the McLaren.

Further on, Hamilton makes a mistake on the grass, but recovers, and Perez complains about a lack of grip from his tires. He pits at the same time as Norris and comes out just ahead of Hamilton, who immediately attacks him, but admits on the radio that the Red Bull is very fast. However, the Mexican finds himself stuck behind Stroll, Gasly, and Russell.

A second retirement at the Australian Grand Prix.

New twist at the 17th lap: this time it’s Lewis Hamilton who is forced to retire. He comes to a stop on the grass in the third sector, triggering a virtual safety car. The British driver suffered an engine failure, with his entire system shutting down. A bad day for the world champions.

The green flag is quickly waved and Esteban Ocon heads to the pit, a tear-off having got stuck in his rear wheel, which caused a lot of smoke. He comes out last in the pack. Ahead, Carlos Sainz increases the pace and manages to put 1.4 seconds between him and his teammate. Perez manages to pass Russell and is now chasing Fernando Alonso, who is in fifth place. Like his teammate, the Mercedes driver is amazed by the speed of the Red Bull, which he compares to a rocket. On the 27th lap, Carlos Sainz’s lead over Leclerc extends to 4.5 seconds. At the same time, Perez passes Alonso, the Aston Martin completely helpless.

At McLaren, a team order asks the guy from down under Oscar Piastri to swap positions with Lando Norris, who has a much better pace. A podium finish is at stake for the British team, so they want to give themselves the best chance. The team also asks Norris to try to increase the pace to catch up with Charles Leclerc. The Briton indeed seems faster than the Monegasque. The latter switches to new tires on the 35th lap to make it to the end of the race. He comes out just ahead of Perez but it’s very close, and Alonso, behind the Mexican, takes advantage to close the gap.

Only around twenty laps remain and Lando Norris is heading back to the pit before coming back out behind Charles Leclerc, with a gap of 3.9 seconds. The Briton can aim for second place on the podium. The leader of this race, Sainz, also comes in to change his tires and leaves with a 6-second lead over his teammate to go until the end of this Grand Prix.

A surprise at the end of the Australian Grand Prix for George Russell

Behind, Yuki Tsunoda once again outshines his teammate Daniel Ricciardo: the Japanese driver is in the points, ninth, while the Australian is thirteenth. Things are heating up between Alex Albon, who is driving his teammate’s car, and Kevin Magnussen, just outside the points. The Thai driver must absolutely score a point for his team to save Williams’ honor after the contested decision to sideline Logan Sargeant. Haas is putting maximum pressure on Albon and eventually overtakes him. The two Haas cars are now 10th and 11th, a great achievement for the American team. Spoiler alert: Alex Albon will not manage to score points, finishing eleventh at the end of the Grand Prix.

Lando Norris seems determined to secure second place at all costs, as he continues to set the fastest laps and is over 10 seconds ahead of his teammate. He is just under 4 seconds behind Leclerc, with 10 laps to go. Towards the end of the race, we learn that Pierre Gasly has been given a 5-second penalty for crossing the white line in the pit lane. This doesn’t really change anything for the Frenchman, who is in fourteenth place and out of the points. There are only two laps left when Sainz informs his team that his tires are no longer optimal. At the same time, Charles Leclerc sets the fastest lap.

(New) plot twist on the final lap: George Russell has an accident and ends up overturned on the side across the track. The position of the completely destroyed Mercedes, whose wheels have flipped the single-seater, is very dangerous for the driver, but they settle for a virtual safety car. We’ll leave it at that, and that’s how this race ends in a rather surprising way. Carlos Sainz, displaying fair play, informs his team that he will let Leclerc get closer to him « to celebrate this victory together ». Imperial, from start to finish. It is the third win of his career. Behind, Lando Norris steps onto the third step of the podium, followed by Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez.

The 2024 Australian Grand Prix results