Australian Grand Prix – Leclerc emerges victorious, another retirement for Verstappen

It’s a perfect weekend that ends for Charles Leclerc: the Monegasque driver achieves a hat-trick of pole position-victory-fastest lap, after leading the Australian Grand Prix from start to finish. Leclerc secures his second win of the season and increases his lead at the top of the drivers’ championship. The atmosphere was not the same in the other Ferrari garage of Carlos Sainz. The Spanish driver had his most difficult weekend of the season after finishing ninth in yesterday’s qualifying.

At the start, the Spaniard’s Ferrari fails to take off and drops down to 14th position before, after just two laps, Sainz ends up in the gravel trap, putting an end to all his hopes of climbing back. The Spaniard’s off-track excursion caused the first Safety Car period.

At the start, it was the Mercedes who made the right move by overtaking Lando Norris, with Hamilton coming out of the first corner behind Verstappen and Leclerc. The Silver Arrows showed an interesting pace to gain the upper hand on the rest of the pack and finish third and fourth. However, this result is deceptive as the W13 still seems far behind Red Bull and Ferrari.

New abandonment from Verstappen

Russell’s podium was made possible by the troubles of his competitors, notably Max Verstappen’s retirement. The world champion, just like in Bahrain, didn’t see the checkered flag, betrayed by a problem with his car on the 39th lap. The Dutchman loses valuable points in the championship as he was in second place at the time of his retirement. He currently has 25 points compared to Leclerc’s already 71, and sits only in sixth place in the standings. The reliability of the Red Bull could be the deciding factor in the championship if the Austrian team fails to find solutions.

For Aston Martin, the struggle continues as Vettel had to retire after hitting a wall. Lance Stroll, on the other hand, finishes 12th after a hard-fought race, sometimes pushing the limits, which resulted in a 5-second penalty. The Canadian could have been penalized twice for forcing Bottas off the track. He put up a great fight against Pierre Gasly for several laps, preventing the Frenchman from overtaking. Even Fernando Alonso, who was behind the two drivers, expressed surprise over the radio that Gasly couldn’t get past the Aston Martin driver.

McLaren is doing better!

Both McLaren drivers enter the points for the first time this season. Despite an average start, with two positions lost, Lando Norris takes fifth place, just ahead of his teammate Daniel Ricciardo. It was more challenging for Haas. The strategy of Magnussen, who started on hard tires, did not work out and Mick Schumacher still hasn’t scored his first points in Formula 1.

First point of the season for Alex Albon and Williams.

Williams’ strategic gamble paid off. Alex Albon started on hard tires, like a few other drivers (Magnussen, Alonso, or Stroll). It was a bold choice that proved to be cruel for Fernando Alonso, who couldn’t make it work and finished 17th. However, for Albon, it was the perfect move. The Thai driver managed the wear of his tires perfectly, preserving them until the final lap when he finally made his pit stop while temporarily in 7th place. Albon’s good pace with worn tires allowed him to secure 10th place, earning Williams their first point of the season.