Carlos Sainz Jr from Spain secured a victory for Ferrari in the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship, ending Red Bull’s hopes of an undefeated season. Sainz took advantage of a brake issue that forced Max Verstappen to retire, overtaking Red Bull’s challenge early on and claiming his third career win. His teammate Charles Leclerc followed closely behind, securing a 1-2 finish for Ferrari. McLaren also had a successful race, with Lando Norris achieving his best result at Albert Park since 2014 and clinching a spot on the podium.
The race saw some changes in the starting grid, with Logan Sargeant being replaced by Alex Albon and Zhou Guanyu starting from the pit lane. This resulted in a total of 18 drivers competing in the race. While most drivers opted for the medium compound tires, Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo chose the soft compound. Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg, on the other hand, went for the hard compound.
At the start of the race, Verstappen and Sainz had a similar launch from the front row, with Verstappen defending his position on the inside. Norris managed to hold off Leclerc, while George Russell passed Sergio Perez, who had been penalized for impeding during qualifying. Alonso initially dropped down the order but then regained a position.
Sainz was shadowing Verstappen and used the Drag Reduction System (DRS) to make a bold move around the outside of Turn 9 and take the lead. Verstappen, facing stability issues in his car, eventually had to retire as his right rear brake started smoking. He was forced to pit and end his race prematurely.
The Dutch driver aimed to achieve his tenth victory, equaling the record, but for the second time in three years, Verstappen failed to finish the race in Melbourne.
Mercedes took a risk by putting Hamilton on soft tires early on to recover ground from his starting position. He had to pit to change tires on the eighth lap.
The seven-time champion switched to hard tires, but struggled to warm them up enough and had a minor incident at Turn 1.
Meanwhile, Russell had been using the more durable medium tires, but Mercedes also brought him in for a pit stop a lap later, prompting Leclerc and Oscar Piastri to do the same.
Perez was the next car ahead to make a pit stop at the end of the 14th lap and came out just ahead of Hamilton. Hamilton attempted a move at Turn 3, but ultimately failed.
Hamilton’s race would come to an end a few laps later, as he reported a power unit failure and had to stop between Turns 9 and 10, becoming the second to retire.
The Virtual Safety Car was deployed due to Hamilton’s stranded Mercedes, giving Aston Martin the opportunity to bring Alonso in for a pit stop with minimal time loss. Alonso emerged in fifth place.
Leclerc moved up to second place after Norris made his pit stop and closed the gap to Sainz to less than a second. However, he received instructions over the radio to maintain his position behind his teammate.
Despite being on medium tires compared to Perez on hard tires, Alonso was unable to prevent the Red Bull driver from overtaking him with the help of DRS at Turn 9 on lap 27, dropping to fifth place.
Piastri was struggling with tire wear after his pit stop early in the race, and McLaren used team orders to allow Norris to move up to third and challenge Leclerc in the Ferrari.
Sainz was able to use his much newer tires to increase his lead at the front to nine seconds, prompting Ferrari to bring Leclerc in for a second pit stop for fresh hard tires on lap 34.
McLaren initially planned to bring one of their cars into the pits, but both remained on track. Leclerc emerged in front of the battle between Perez and Alonso.
Red Bull positioned Perez on a strategy that required two pit stops, with the first stop on lap 35. Unfortunately, this caused the Mexican driver to drop to ninth position. Meanwhile, Sauber faced another issue with a wheel nut problem involving Zhou.
Piastri had fallen behind Norris and his situation did not improve when he braked too late at the penultimate corner, Turn 14. This mistake resulted in a lock-up and a loss of four seconds.
On lap 39, Piastri made a detour to the pits to change his worn hard tires. Norris did the same on the following lap, also opting for a tire change.
Sainz had instructed his race engineer not to put him under pressure. As a result, he was called into the pits at the end of lap 41. When he returned to the track, he had a five-second advantage over Leclerc.
Mercedes initially left Russell on track, hoping he could complete the race without making a second pit stop. However, this plan was abandoned when Russell pitted on lap 45 and returned to the track in seventh place.
During the classification, Gasly was reprimanded for crossing the pit lane exit line. Unfortunately, he repeated this infraction during the race, resulting in a five-second time penalty.
Russell was aggressively chasing Alonso for sixth place, but ended up pushing too hard and hitting the barrier at Turn 7. This incident left Mercedes with no points.
Sainz had previously secured the last non-Red Bull victory in Singapore six months ago. Now, he is responsible for ending Red Bull’s winning streak and Verstappen’s recent successes.
Leclerc closely followed his teammate to achieve a victory for Ferrari, marking their first 1-2 result since the opening race of the 2022 season in Bahrain. Norris secured McLaren’s first podium of the season.
In his second home race, Piastri crossed the finish line in fourth place, securing a significant number of points for McLaren. Perez, the only remaining Red Bull driver, had a disappointing fifth place.
Alonso secured sixth place, with his teammate Lance Stroll finishing seventh. Yuki Tsunoda, starting from eighth position, secured Red Bull’s first points in the 2024 season.
Nico Hulkenberg continued his promising start to the current season by finishing ninth. He led his teammate Kevin Magnussen, resulting in a double score for Haas.
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Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton secured an exciting victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix this Sunday. The British driver from the Mercedes team overtook his rival Max Verstappen from Red Bull on the last lap of the race to secure first place. It was an intense and thrilling race, with several incidents and exciting overtakes.
Hamilton started on pole position, but Verstappen had a great start and took the lead early in the race. The two drivers engaged in an intense battle throughout the race, with several position changes and moments of high tension. However, Hamilton showed his skill and determination by overtaking Verstappen on the last lap and crossing the finish line in first place.
With this victory, Hamilton extends his lead in the world championship standings. The British driver now has a comfortable advantage over Verstappen, who is in second place. With only a few races left in this season, Hamilton is getting closer to winning his eighth world title.
In addition to the battle between Hamilton and Verstappen, the Brazilian Grand Prix was also marked by other exciting moments. Brazilian driver Sergio Perez, from the Red Bull team, achieved an impressive third place, securing a spot on the podium to the delight of local fans. Meanwhile, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc had a tough race, suffering from mechanical issues and finishing outside the points.
The next race of the Formula 1 season will be the Mexican Grand Prix, which promises to be another thrilling battle between Hamilton and Verstappen. Fans are eager to see who will emerge victorious from this intense competition and whether Hamilton will be crowned once again as world champion.
