Charles Leclerc dominated the Australian GP to win by more than 20 seconds in an impressive performance from Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull, extending his world championship lead.
see photosLeclerc manages Ferrari’s first fastest laps, poles and wins since 2010
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari dominated the Australian GP as the Monegasque driver extended his world championship lead by nearly 20 seconds with a fourth win of his career. He beat Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who managed P2 for another retirement by defending world champion Max Verstappen, who was in hot pursuit of Leclerc but largely no answer to his pace. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr., who had a terrific qualifying session, retired in the early stages of the race while running the P9 after running wide and crossing the F1-75 in the gravel. That means George Russell at Mercedes came P3 ahead of 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes now sits as P2 behind Ferrari in the constructors ahead of Red Bull.
The McLaren duo of Lando Norris and homeboy Daniel Ricciardo gathered some momentum to get to P5 and P6 respectively. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon came P7, while his teammate Fernando Alonso, who was looking good for a top-five spot for the bulk of the race, managed just P17 after several pit stops. Valtteri Bottas at Alfa Romeo Sauber came P8 ahead of Pierre Gasly at AlfaTauri, who managed P9. Alex Albon at Williams did a great job managing the P10 as he only pitched for a mandatory tire change in the final stages of the race.
The Haas pair were fighting each other this weekend
Guanyue Zhou managed P11 for Alfa Romeo, while Lance Stroll took P12 thanks to a five-second penalty for weaving through the race. Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen did not have happy times for Haas in P13 and P14. Yuki Tsunoda comes to P15 ahead of Nicholas Latifi. In his first race of the season at Aston Martin, Vettel did not finish the race apart from Sainz and Verstappen.
The big underlying theme for the race was Leclerc’s leading speed at the Ferrari which allowed him to get the fastest lap of the race and was voted driver of the day. Ferrari’s pace was impressive, given that there are active rumors that it has major updates in the works at Imola and Barcelona. At Imola, a new floor is expected which is lighter and makes it easier to steer with buoyancy effect. In Barcelona, it is expected to start its engine after completing its reliability verification programme. Mercedes and McLaren have also found some momentum which and now that Mercedes is the P2 in constructors Red Bull will find it difficult to catch up to Ferrari if the 8-time world champions also return to the mix.
Red Bull will be concerned as Verstappen’s retirement points to yet another power unit issue that could mean trouble with the new E10 fuel as it is in its first year as an engine manufacturer.
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
2 Sergio Perez Red Bull +20.524s
3 George Russell Mercedes +25.593s
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +28.543s
5 Lando Norris McLaren +53.033s
6 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +53.737s
7 Esteban Ocon Alpine +61.683s
8 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo Racing +68.439s
9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri +76.221s
10 Alex Albon Williams +79.382s
11 Guanyue Zhou Alfa Romeo Racing +81.695s
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +88.598s
13 Mick Schumacher Haas +1 lap
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas +1 lap
15 Yuki Tsunoda Alphatauri +1 lap
16 Nicholas Latifi Williams +1 LAP
17 Fernando Alonso Alpine +1 LAP
did not finish
Max Verstappen Red Bull Engine
Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin crash
Carlos Sainz Ferrari crash
Mark sheet:
0 notes
1 Charles Leclerc Mon Ferrari 71
2 George Russell GBR Mercedes 37
3 Carlos Sainz ESP Ferrari 33
4 Sergio Perez Makes Red Bull Racing RBPT 30
5 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes 28
6 Max Verstappen Ned Red Bull Racing RBPT 25
7 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine Renault 20
8 Lando Norris GBR McLaren Mercedes 16
9 Kevin Magnussen Den Haas Ferrari 12
10 Valtteri Bottas Finn Alfa Romeo Ferrari 12
11 Daniele Ricciardo aus McLaren Mercedes 8
12 Pierre Gasly FRA AlphaTauri RBPT 6
13 Yuki Tsunoda Jpn AlphaTauri RBPT 4
14 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine Renault 2
15 ZHOU GUANYU CHN ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 1
16 Alexander Albon Tha Williams Mercedes 1
17 Mick Schumacher Ger Haas Ferrari 0
18 Lance Stroll Can Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 0
19 Nico Hulkenberg Ger Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 0
20 Nicolas Latifi Williams Can Mercedes 0
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