One-man show Down Under: Charles Leclerc in Ferrari’s new miracle car overtakes the hapless world champion Max Verstappen in the Formula 1 title fight. The Monegasque celebrated an unchallenged start-finish victory on Sunday at the first Australian Grand Prix in three years and built massively extended his lead in the Drivers’ World Championship thanks to the renewed failure of Red Bull Star Verstappen.
“That was the first win where we could really control the gap,” said Leclerc, “the car was excellent from the first to the last lap. It’s also very reliable, which is exactly what we always wanted to be after the two difficult ones years it puts a smile on my face.”
Leclerc relegated Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez to second place at Melbourne’s Albert Park. For the 24-year-old Leclerc it was the fourth win overall and the second of the season after the opening triumph in Bahrain.
Verstappen retired in the 39th lap with a defect, for the second time the Dutchman was without points in the young season. Leclerc is now 46 points ahead of the defending champion.
Mercedes youngster George Russell celebrated his second podium of his career in third place. Record champion Lewis Hamilton rounded off the good performance of the Silver Arrows with fourth place. For Mercedes, the place behind Ferrari and Red Bull is actually the new claim after years of dominance. “We don’t run into the paddock beaming. We have so many problems to solve,” said motorsport director Toto Wolff before the start.
Horror weekend for Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel, who had missed the first two races due to a corona infection, made a desolate comeback on his first outing of the season. The four-time world champion hit the wall in the 24th round and was eliminated. Vettel had already caused an accident in the third practice session on Saturday, and on Friday he was also slowed down by an engine failure on the Aston Martin.
Mick Schumacher drove a solid race but couldn’t get past 13th place. The first points of the Formula 1 career were out of reach in the weakest appearance of the strengthened Haas racing team. In the end, Schumacher ended up ahead of his teammate Kevin Magnussen.
Leclerc secured the first Ferrari pole in Australia since 2007 with an outstanding final lap on Saturday. The Monegasse effortlessly defended first place on the grid. Verstappen didn’t lose a place in second either.
Another wheel-to-wheel duel between Leclerc and Verstappen, like in Saudi Arabia, did not develop. With a free ride, Leclerc increased his lead over the world champion with every lap, also because Verstappen made mistakes. Red Bull’s hopes of holding up with a higher top speed on the straights were dashed.
It only got tricky once for Leclerc: At the end of the safety car phase caused by Vettel, Verstappen attacked on the start-finish straight. Leclerc held against it – and promptly pulled away again.
Leclerc confidently managed the lead when Verstappen’s resistance to the material broke completely. “I smell something funny,” Verstappen radioed to the pits. A little later he had to park the smoking car. A marshal rushed to help with the fire extinguisher, Verstappen was served.