Carlos Sainz overtook Max Verstappen on track and took advantage of the Red Bull driver's DNF to hold off teammate Charles Leclerc to win the Australian Grand Prix.
As Ferrari celebrates ending Red Bull's winning streak again, Verstappen laments race-ending rear brake fire, while bad day for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton retiring with engine failure and George Russell crashed on the penultimate lap.
Carlos Sainz beats Charles Leclerc to win Australian Grand Prix
All three tire compounds lined up on the grid for the race, with the top nine on mediums, followed by Fernando Alonso on the hard Pirelli and Lewis Hamilton on the C5. However, even before the formation lap, the Mercedes driver had expressed concerns that it was the wrong choice.
Verstappen led the line and Carlos Sainz peaked on the inside of Turn 3, with the duo ahead of Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Hamilton ran 10th, passing Alonso thanks to his soft tyres.
On the second lap, DRS activated and Verstappen slid slightly at Turn 7, allowing Sainz to completely cover the back of the Dutchman and storm past him at Turn 9 to take the lead. Verstappen: “Beep!” The car is loose! ”
However, that was the only part of Verstappen's problems as he ran around the track smoking smoke before dropping his performance and position. “There was smoke. Fire, fire, brake fire!” he said before pitting and retiring his RB20 after a rear brake fire melted the right rear.
While Sainz was leading the pack, Verstappen's DNF meant his teammate Leclerc was in the middle of McLaren's sandwich and was forced to give it his all. George Russell moved up to fifth ahead of Sergio Perez, while Daniel Ricciardo, who started 18th, pitted to change from soft tires to a set of hard Pirellis.
Hamilton followed suit on lap seven, dropping to 14th place. Mercedes rolled the dice with Russell's early stop, with Leclerc, Piastri, Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda all making repeated stops. Hamilton was able to undercut Tsunoda with an early stop and move ahead of the RB driver.
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Sainz continued to run in first place, seven seconds ahead of him, while Norris and Perez pitted from second and third. Norris went behind Piastri, but Perez was involved in a battle for position with Hamilton, which Perez took. “Man, that car is fast!” Hamilton said…and his race ended with engine failure
Sainz pitted on lap 16, relinquishing the lead of the race to Alonso, but Alonso still did not stop before Hamilton pitted, utilizing VSC. Esteban Ocon was one of the drivers in trouble, with a tear-off caught in the rear brake duct, forcing him into second place early on.
With VSC disengaged and Leclerc now behind Sainz, Ferrari ordered its drivers to stop. Midway through the race, they had a 1-2 lead over Piastri, Norris, Alonso, Perez and Russell. Russell, who was overtaken by the RB20, called Red Bull a “rocket ship”.
Perez slightly passed Alonso to run fifth, but the Aston Martin did a good job of staying within Perez's DRS and helping drop Russell. McLaren used team orders to put Norris ahead of Piastri, and as Norris was in a hurry to 'push' for position, behind Leclerc, Nico Hulkenberg overtook Kevin Magnussen and ran inside the top 10. did.
On lap 35, Leclerc pitted from second place, but surprisingly both McLarens pitted. Leclerc entered ahead of the battle between Perez and Alonso, giving the Spaniard a glimpse of Red Bull. Perez boxed as well as Hulkenberg and Alex Albon, with the latter fighting for 11th place, with Albon unhappy with the Haas driver's “dangerous” antics.
Piastri stopped in front of Norris on laps 39 and 40 for the McLarens. They closed in on Leclerc, with the British still ahead of his teammate. Sainz pitted one lap late, coming in from first place and exiting in first place, seven seconds ahead of his teammate.
When the final pit stops were made, McLaren ran third and fourth ahead of Perez, Alonso, Russell and Stroll. Russell, who was the last to stop, was on new hard tires with 10 to go. Further back, Hulkenberg was back in 10th, with teammate Kevin Magnussen overtaking Albon for 11th. Pierre Gasly, who was one lap behind, received a five-second penalty for crossing the white line at the pit exit.
Russell, who was chasing Alonso in sixth place, collided hard with the Briton into the wall at Turn 6, causing his Mercedes to come to rest on its side. “It’s okay,” he gratefully reported.
VSC was immediately out and Sainz won the race ahead of Leclerc, Norris and Piastri. Perez finished fifth, Alonso sixth, Stroll, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Magnussen took points, with Norris taking the point for fastest Grand Prix lap.
result
1 Carlos Sainz
2 Charles Leclerc +2.366
3 Lando Norris +5.904
4 Oscar Piastri +35.770
5 Sergio Perez +56.309
6 Fernando Alonso +63.894
7 Lance Stroll +84.818
8 Hiroki Tsunoda +92.922
9 Nico Hulkenberg +106.684
10 Kevin Magnussen +1 lap
11 Alexander Albon +1 lap
12 Daniel Ricciardo +1 lap
13 Pierre Gasly +1 lap
14 Valtteri Bottas +1 lap
15 Zhou Guanyu +1 lap
16 Esteban OCON +1 lap
It didn't end
George Russell Mercedes – Crash
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes – Engine failure
Max Verstappen Red Bull – Rear brake fire
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