Scuderia Ferrari's Carlos Sainz earned the first win of the ongoing Formula 1 (F1) season at the Australian Grand Prix 2024 on Sunday, March 24. Sainz's victory was an advantage after the defending champion Max Verstappen forced early retirement from the race due to a breakdown of his RB19 car.
Carlos Sainz defeated his Scuderia Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris of McLaren to take the top podium of the third race of the ongoing Formula 1 season. Sainz participated in his first race since his return after undergoing surgery for appendicitis. The 29-year-old took a solid lead after overtaking Verstappen and was clear of 2.366s ahead of his teammate Leclerc.
Lando Norris secured the third position, his best in the ongoing Formula 1 season. Home favourite Oscar Paistri of McLaren and Sergio Perez of Red Bull Racing finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Perez secured third pole position, the Italian driver was asked to take the sixth pole after he received third-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg of Haas F1 Team during the qualifying round of the Australian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen's car breakdown prevents him from 10th victory on the trot
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Max Verstappen was in bid to achieve the record-equalling 10th victory on the trot but the abrupt mechanical issue of his RB19 car prevented him from achieving the milestone.
The Dutch driver's car had a break issue but it got worse after the fire started to emit from his rear, which forced him leave the racing line. The team used an extinguisher to douse the fire. However, the fire on the rear of his car wasn't completely extinguished as it continued to burn slow with the smoke.
Therefore, Verstappen couldn't complete the race and forced retirement from the competition. This was for the first in two years, the defending World Champion had to retire from the race due to car related issue.
Mercedes' George Russell suffered a crash
George Russell suffered a crash while taking a turn during the main race of the Australian Grand Prix 2024. Russell was trying to overtake Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin when his car crashed in a high-speed, which caused an extensive damage to Mercedes.
Russell's car pitched on the side in the middle of the racing track after the left side was damaged due to crash. When his team checked on him through microphone, the 26-year-old said he was okay, indicating that he didn't suffer from injury.
This was the second incident of the car crash in the Australian Grand Prix 2024.Earlier, Williams Racing's Alex Albon crashed into the wall while taking a turn during the qualifying round. The car caused significant damage and had to use chassis of his teammate Logan Seagrent for the main race. Thus, the Australian Grand Prix saw 19 drivers on the grid.
Lewis Hamilton sidelined after his Mercedes' engine issue
Lewis Hamilton is yet to make a mark in his farewell season with Mercedes. After failing to make it to top three podium finishes, the seven-time World Champion might have hoped to earn the first win of the ongoing F1 season. However, it was dashed after his car suffered an engine failure.
Hamilton was in top 10 at one point but fell behind after his Mercedes had engine failure in the middle of the race. The British Driver was forced out of the race and was watching his teammate George Russell in the garage.
In the last three races in Bahrain, Jeddah and Australia, Lewis Hamilton couldn't make it to the top five finishes in either of them. This is a cause of concern for Mercedes as Hamilton is currently eight in the 2024 World Drivers' Standings.
