Sainz triumphs in the midst of drama as Verstappen retires and Russell falters.
During Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz secured the first non-Red Bull victory of the year with a strong performance, taking advantage of a mechanical issue that caused Max Verstappen to withdraw in the first few laps.
Verstappen started the race with the pole position advantage from Saturday qualifying, hoping to win a record-tying ten races in a row. However, he immediately reported having problems behind the wheel, and a compromised second lap allowed Sainz to pass him and take the lead.
Verstappen's problems with his brakes worsened from that point on, and when smoke began to come out of the back of his RB20, he pulled off the racing line to let the rest of the race to pass him. Verstappen then made his way back to the pits and retired for the first time in two years.
In Verstappen's absence, Sainz was unstoppable. As the race progressed, he established a comfortable lead over Lando Norris, teammate Charles Leclerc, and home favorite Oscar Piastri, finally crossing the finish line for his third Formula One victory.
Following his high-speed collision in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, which left him stranded in the middle of the Albert Park track in his disabled Mercedes, British driver George Russell was left in a panic.
On the last lap, Russell was battling Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin for sixth place when he lost control of his vehicle behind the Spaniard and drove off course, crashing into the tire barriers at Turn Six.
Alonso was given a 20-second penalty for "dangerous driving" following the race for purposefully slowing down before the turn, which caused Russell's car to spin back onto the track, leaving it stranded on its side as oncoming cars approached at over 135 mph.
Lewis Hamilton, who is currently having his worst start to a Formula One season, retired with an engine failure on lap 17 while running ninth. The crash put an end to a terrible weekend for Mercedes, and Wolff said it was "fair" to question whether he was still the right man to lead Mercedes after neither of his drivers finished and the team was left perplexed by their inconsistent performance.
Here's how the standings is looking after this weekend at Albert Park:
We are heading to Japan in two weeks time. Ferrari is looking really solid, the prancing horse fans are also expecting upgrades for the 4th round and onward. McLaren proves their pace is promising, while Mercedes is struggling even more to extract from the cars. Can any of the team compete with Red Bulls for the rest of the season?
Comentarios