It’s been a while, but Ferrari are back! Scuderia finished first and second in the Australian Grand Prix, which is proof that they can go wheel-to-wheel with the mighty Red Bull in any race on the calendar.
Carlos Sainz’s Appendicitis sidelined the Spaniard during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but the smooth operator came back better than ever and dominated the Australian Grand Prix.
Sainz started the race in the front row alongside Max Verstappen, who claimed the pole position. But Verstappen’s pole advantage was immediately thrown out of the equation as early as the second lap.
The Spaniard and his Scarlet Ferrari cruised past Verstappen quite comfortably in the second lap and never looked back.
Before the halfway mark, the fans in Melbourne were watching the emergence of Ferrari right before their very eyes, as Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc led the race in first and second, respectively.
With these dominant Australian Grand Prix 2024 results, Ferrari have cut Red Bull’s lead to just four points in the constructor standings, and this SBOTOP writer thinks that this brewing rivalry will only get spicier as the season progresses.
Red Bull’s reliability questioned after two years
Max Verstappen started the race as the pole winner and the Australian Grand Prix 2024 odds favourite, and for most, it felt like this would be just another walk in the park for Max and his RB20. The Flying Dutchman has finished in every grand prix since his retirement from the same race in 2022, proving to be one of the most reliable duos on the track, but this race showed that no one is truly invulnerable to roadblocks.
Verstappen’s car was seen spewing out smoke in the fourth lap of the race as he and Carlos Sainz were battling it out at the front of the pack. Despite the apparent danger, Verstappen still drove like the world champion that he is, and even game race leader Carlos Sainz had a scare at some parts of the track.
The inevitable happened a few turns later, as Verstappen’s Red Bull slowly ailed through the track as he watched every other driver pass him by.
“Of course, we had a lot of good races in a row, a lot of good reliability, and I knew that the day would come that you end up having a retirement, and, unfortunately, that day was today,” Verstappen stated.
“We just had already a very good run of two years, right? I mean, that’s already quite impressive. But of course, you never like to see it happen. But it’s more important now that we understand why it happened.”
This retirement ends Verstappen’s 43-race finishing streak, and his nine-race winning streak is halted by none other than Carlos Sainz. Once again, it’s the Ferrari driver who breaks the Flying Dutchman’s run. Also, Verstappen’s lead in the driver standings has now dwindled down to four points, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has ramped up his production and maintained consistent results since the start of the 2024 campaign.
A forgettable weekend for the Silver Arrows
The struggles continue for Mercedes in Australia, as the former heavyweights failed to get a car to the checkered flag. It was a worrisome sight even before the actual race started, as George Russell only qualified in seventh, while the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton started the race in the 11th spot.
Unfortunately for Merc, things didn’t get better during the race itself. Not even halfway through the race, Lewis Hamilton’s car experienced an engine failure, forcing him to retire from the Grand Prix. Merc have ongoing worries about their power unit, and they came to light during the 17th lap of the Australian Grand Prix.
“It just appeared out of nowhere. It was like a split-second thing,” Hamilton told reporters. “I didn’t feel it coming, it just went in one go.”
“It was definitely frustrating so early in the race; I was hoping to be able to progress forward on a different strategy to everyone. These things happen.”
Hamilton’s retirement puts all the pressure on the shoulders of George Russell to garner some much-needed points in Melbourne.
Russell was putting up a pretty respectable race all throughout and was poised to finish in seventh place to secure chump change for Mercedes. But on turn six, on the last lap of the race, the 26-year-old had a huge crash that ended the race as a contest.
Thankfully, Russell was okay and got out of the crash on his own two feet.
After investigations, the stewards gave Fernando Alonso heavy punishment because of his involvement in Russell’s crash. Alonso was guilty of “potentially dangerous” driving and was slapped with a 20-second post-race penalty.
After the Australian GP, Mercedes stay in fourth place in the constructor standings and are just one point ahead of Fernando Alonso and the rest of Aston Martin.
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