Max Verstappen’s early retirement from the Australian GP gave hope to the rest of the field as Carlos Sainz drove Ferrari to victory.
His smoking tires piled up . There is also a score behind the Red Bull garage and above Albert Park Corporate Hospitality pipes and canapés. It’s a sad loss for Max Verstappen fans, but a source of hope for the rest of the Formula One field.
On lap 3 of race number three in 2024, Red’s aura of invincibility will be shattered. Bull. Verstappen has won nine races in a row and looked set for a tenth as he took back-to-back pole wins. Maybe 3 out of 3 by 2024.
But within minutes he was complaining on the radio. He “lost the car” with smoke coming out of his right rear. A moment later, he was in the pit putting out the fire with a fire extinguisher.
On the track, his teammate Sergio Perez was battling Ferrari and McLaren. Then the press descended on Verstappen in the paddock. The pit crew pull unused tires out of the garage, and as the car digs into the grass, some tires almost fall onto the camera. The cloud of controversies during the weekend did not go beyond the assailed coach Christian Horner. The signs are bad.
“There’s a long way to go.“ Horner called out to a group of passers-by on the field before the game. However, it was a good trip for the revived Ferrari as Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished first and second in the race, with Leclerc also setting the fastest pace of the race. The red car was competitive all weekend, comfortably holding off Perez’s McLaren and Red Bull on Sunday.
The race ended in yellow after a crash involving George Russell. Mercedes finished essentially without points after Lewis Hamilton was forced to retire early in the race. Hamilton struggled all weekend except for the first quarter and started outside the top 10 in what was his final Mercedes appearance in Melbourne before leaving for Ferrari last season. He was very comfortable on the back of his teammate’s bike after his DNF. At Albert Park, a British driver waves to VIPs before sliding on his scooter for a ride around the park.
Another day on the driving merry-go-round. Sainz celebrated the checkered flag after suffering a puncture on the backstretch. The Spaniard had his appendix removed two weeks ago and missed the tournament in Saudi Arabia. He will leave Ferrari at the end of the season to make way for Hamilton. “Life is a rollercoaster,” Sainz said on the radio at the time of his victory.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz celebrates on the podium after winning the F1 Australian Grand Prix ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in Melbourne. Photo: Mark Peterson/Reuters
The return of the red jerseys to the court is welcome, but this year’s celebrations are a little different. Fans who stepped onto the track while the cars continued to stop were fined $17,000 after last year’s crackdown. The crowd that filled the main street was no longer there, and from the stands on the other side you could already see the podium. The style of the model 1 will continue. Hollywood actors Zac Efron and Eric Bana, as well as Netflix icon Guenther Steiner, hit the ground running and were very involved on the first day of the week a few hours before the start of the race.
Most importantly is to drive Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piatri walked to the garage shortly before the race. “Get Danny,” shouted a local fan after Ricciardoasked for an autograph in an orange McLaren polo shirt from someone with “PIASTRI” emblazoned on the shoulder..
