Leclerc wins Australian Grand Prix as Verstappen hits trouble again
Charles Leclerc won the Formula One Australian Grand Prix on Sunday – the first time F1 has visited Melbourne since the 2020 event was cancelled.
The story of the race
The Monegasque not only won the race, but he dominated from start to finish. Pole, fastest lap, every lap, victory – it was the first grand slam of his career and the first for Ferrari since Fernando Alonso in 2010.
Sergio Perez came in second and brought at least a little bit of joy to the Red Bull team. His teammate Max Verstappen withdrew from the race on Lap 39. The Dutchman was running second when he pulled over on the outside of Turn 2 and reported smelling a “weird fluid.” For the current champion, this is the second DNF in three races.
The current constructors’ world champion, Mercedes, will leave Australia as the biggest scorer. George Russell was a big gainer under the second safety car (caused by Vettel’s crash) finishing third (from his P6 qualifying position). This is his first podium with Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton lost out on a podium by just two seconds, finishing P4. But together, they helped moved Mercedes up to second place in the constructors’ championship.
Both McLaren drivers had a fantastic weekend. Lando Norris reached fifth place, and with only four-tenths of a second behind him, Daniel Ricciardo crossed the finish line in the sixth place. A double top-six finish secured the team much-needed points throwing them to fourth place in the constructor’s championship.
Seventh-placed is Esteban Ocon. This year, the Frenchman has finished in the top seven in all three races. However, his teammate Fernando Alonso did not have a race to remember. The Spaniard started on hard tires and lost hard-earned time because of the Safety Car in the 22nd lap. He ended up last on the grid. However, Valtteri Bottas made great use of the circumstances on the track, reaching eighth place in his Alfa Romeo and collecting four points. Ninth was Pierre Gasly securing his first points ever in Australia.
Alexander Albon scored his first points for Williams finishing in P10 after making a pit stop for the first and only time on the last lap of the race. His clever tactic left Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu (P11), Stroll (P12), Schumacher (P13), Magnussen (P14) out of points.
Yuki Tsunoda began 13th on mediums and contended for the last points-paying place momentarily, but he eventually finished 15th. After his qualifying collision, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was 16th.
Carlos Sainz’s nightmare weekend
Carlos Sainz was the first DNF of the race alongside Vettel and Verstappen. He had a disappointing weekend, falling considerably behind the championship leaders.
Sainz himself was good enough — in fact, his practice pace suggested he’d be a strong contender for pole position. However, due to an issue with starting the car, he could not leave his garage in time to complete his full set of qualifying laps, placing him ninth on the grid.
Problems persisted, with a steering wheel malfunction on the grid, causing him to change it before the start. However, he claimed it was incorrectly adjusted and was the reason for his poor start, tumbling down to 14th by the end of Lap 1. He then skidded off the road at Turn 9 and was stranded in the gravel.
Things aren’t looking good for Aston Martin
With serious reliability difficulties and a lack of racing pace, Aston Martin has had a bad start to the season. In Melbourne, the situation was similar to that in Bahrain and Jeddah. Both drivers had their own terrifying situations.
Sebastian Vettel: Engine failure in the FP1, 5000 euro fine for riding a scooter back to the paddock without permission, unable to complete FP2, major accident in FP3 with almost missing Qualifying.
On race day, he slid onto the rumble strip on Lap 22 and wobbled off the track, colliding with the barriers in Turn 5. The front wing was destroyed, and Vettel’s race was over in a flash.
Lance Stroll: Crash in FP3, penalty for creating a reckless accident with Latifi’s Williams in Qualifying, five seconds penalty for weaving on the straights during the race.
With Albon finishing tenth and taking the first point of the season, Aston Martin is the only one without a point in 2022.