Sainz Seizes Aussie GP Victory After Verstappen’s Exit

Carlos Sainz capitalized on Max Verstappen’s retirement to secure Ferrari’s first victory of the season this Sunday in Australia.

Two weeks after being forced to miss the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to an appendicitis flare-up, Carlos Sainz made a striking comeback this weekend in Melbourne by winning the Australian Grand Prix!

The Spaniard took advantage of Max Verstappen’s early exit, who lost his brakes in the initial laps, to claim his third Formula 1 career victory.

Unchallenged for the win, Sainz crossed the Australian Grand Prix finish line two seconds ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, who completed an astonishing one-two for Ferrari.

Lando Norris secured a podium for McLaren in third place. The Brit outpaced his teammate Oscar Piastri and Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull at the checkered flag. Starting seventh on the grid, Checo couldn’t salvage the day for Red Bull after the team leader’s withdrawal.

Fernando Alonso, finishing sixth, once again earned significant points for Aston Martin early in the season. He ended the Australian Grand Prix just ahead of his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll, who had a solid race.

The top 10 of this third season event was rounded off by Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri and the Haas cars of Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.

Note that the race concluded under a virtual safety car regime after George Russell, battling Alonso for sixth, lost control of his Mercedes and crashed into the wall. His teammate Lewis Hamilton had retired earlier in the Grand Prix due to an engine issue.

The next Formula 1 Grand Prix will take place at the Suzuka circuit in Japan, in two weeks.

2024 Australian Grand Prix F1 Standings:

Pos.	Driver	Team	Diff	Stop
01	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari SF-24	50 tours – 1h20m26.843s	2
02	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari SF-24	+2.366	2
03	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes MCL38	+5.904	2
04	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes MCL38	+35.770	2
05	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20	+56.309	2
06	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24	+80.992	2
07	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24	+93.222	2
08	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01	+95.601	2
09	Nico Hülkenberg	Haas Ferrari VF-24	+104.553	2
10	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari VF-24	+1 lap	2
11	Alex Albon	Williams Mercedes FW46	+1 lap	2
12	Daniel Ricciardo	RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01	+1 lap	2
13	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault A524	+1 lap	2
14	Valtteri Bottas	Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44	+1 lap	2
15	Guanyu Zhou	Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44	+1 lap	2
16	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault A524	+1 lap	3
17	George Russell	Mercedes W15	+	2
18	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes W15	DNF	1
19	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20	DNF	1

Sainz Seizes Aussie GP Victory After Verstappen’s Exit. Sainz Seizes Aussie GP Victory After Verstappen’s Exit

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