The Australian Grand Prix had many surprises. But the best one is the 1-2 podium for Ferrari and it was an absolute masterpiece.
The Australian Grand Prix celebrated a new winner on its track. Carlos Sainz, who debuted in F1 in 2015 in Melbourne, did something heroic this past weekend. The Spanish driver was at the hospital 16 days ago for appendicitis and Ollie Bearman replaced him at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. It was unsure if he could drive on the Albert Park track, but on Friday he stepped into the car despite some pain.
Since the start of the race weekend, both Ferraris showed good pace. Charles Leclerc was the fastest driver in FP2, keeping Max Verstappen behind. In Qualifying, Verstappen was way too fast and conquered another pole, but Carlos Sainz was right behind him in P2. Leclerc had some issues during Q3 and ended up in P5, then promoted to P4 after Perez’s penalty.
But the real magic happened on Sunday when Melbourne was painted in red.
El matador and il predestinato
Carlos Sainz did an incredible job for the whole race, both mentally and physically. On lap 2, he capitalised on Max Verstappen’s braking problems and gained first position. Since then, he had a comfortable race and managed his tyres for all the stints. He started on medium compounds and then pitted for hards on lap 16 and then pitted again on lap 41. Extending his stints, Sainz maintained his position and controlled the race until the checkered flag.
Putting this on repeat for the rest of the day 🤩🏆#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/GtV8xr2Z4p
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 24, 2024
Leclerc’s race was also impressive. The Monegasque did an undercut on Lando Norris on lap 9 for hards and climbed closer to his teammate. His pace was very constant, the strategy was perfectly executed so he was able to keep his P2 ahead of the McLarens. Not only that, but he concluded his race in Melbourne with an extra point for the fastest lap. With that, he demonstrated how fast the Ferrari could be at Albert Park.
On the last lap, the Australian Grand Prix ended under a Virtual Safety Car due to George Russell’s crash. The incident, luckily, didn’t cause any harm to the British driver, but his car was in the middle of the track and a Safety Car was therefore necessary.
The two Ferraris crossed the finish line close to each other with an amazing double podium.
One for the history book
The 1-2 finish in Australia was Ferrari’s 86th double podium. The previous one was in Bahrain in 2022, with the same drivers. In that case, the roles were reversed, with Charles Leclerc on the highest step. It was also the 244th win in Formula 1 for the Cavallino. The last double podium at the Australian Grand Prix for the Scuderia was with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello twenty years ago, now.
Sainz has now scored 1022 points in his career, while his third win in Ferrari has allowed him to match champions like Juan Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill and Jody Scheckter.
Traditions 🤝 pic.twitter.com/Zp3kAMMfQZ
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 25, 2024
The Scuderia scored every point possible this weekend, with the two drivers on the podium and Leclerc’s fastest lap. This brought Charles Leclerc to P2 in the Championship, with a 4-point gap to the leader Max Verstappen. For the Constructors’ Championship, Scuderia Ferrari are also P2, with 93 points, also 4 points behind Red Bull. Sainz is currently 4th, behind Sergio Perez and 11 points behind Verstappen, but he also didn’t take part in the GP in Jeddah.
Obviously, Max Verstappen and Red Bull are not to be underestimated. Ferrari has a lot of work to do, especially now.
But it was a race to remember for Ferrari and its fans, who can finally dream again.
