24/03/2024
NEWS STORY
Scuderia Ferrari put together a perfect weekend in Australia with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc securing the team's 86th one-two finish, its 244th victory.
It picked up the maximum 44 points thanks to the Monegasque driver also delivering the additional point for the race fastest lap. It means that, for a 59th season, the team has at least one win to its name and is now just four points behind the championship leader, while Charles is the same distance behind Max Verstappen in the Drivers'. Carlos is 11 points down, having missed one race.
Sainz will no doubt remember his third Formula 1 win, all picked up with Ferrari and on the Scuderia's all-time winners list it puts him equal with four world champions, Juan Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill and Jody Scheckter. Unbelievably, the Spaniard seemed to shake off any effects of his appendectomy 16 days ago and immediately put Verstappen under pressure. On lap 2, when the Dutchman was in difficulty, Carlos made the most of it to get ahead and then mustered all his physical and mental strength to keep focussed, running at an incredibly consistent pace. He also was one of the best when it came to managing his tyres. He did three stints, starting on the Medium before pitting on laps 16 and 41 to take on Hards both times. He pitted after his closest pursuers and always had the situation under control, only easing off when he was in the third sector on the penultimate lap, when the race was neutralised after a spectacular crash for George Russell, from which he emerged unscathed. As the icing on the cake, Carlos won the fan vote for "Driver of the Day."
Charles also produced a very strong drive, to take a well-deserved second place, which is very important in terms of the championship. Having started fourth, he pulled off a perfect undercut on lap 9 to get ahead of Lando Norris. Then in the final stint, he finished the job, fending off the Englishman who was on tyres that were six laps newer than his own. In the end, he also ensured he picked up another valuable point by setting the fastest race lap.
Carlos Sainz: "What a rollercoaster! I'm extremely happy! I felt good in the car right from lap 1 and after overtaking Max (Verstappen), when I was in free air, I started setting a strong pace that took me all the way to the finish line, bringing home the first win of the season. I'm also happy that George is OK after the heavy crash.
"The team deserves this one-two, we did a fantastic job all weekend, from FP1 to the last lap. We executed a perfect race, nailed the strategy and the mechanics were incredible delivering precise and quick pit stops every single time.
"Congratulations to everyone! Let's carry this momentum to Japan! Vamos!"
Charles Leclerc: "It was a really good weekend for the team. We maximised our points and left nothing on the table, bringing home a 1-2 finish and the fastest lap.
"Carlos did a solid job today. On my side, I had a good first stint and we managed to get ahead of Lando (Norris) during the pit stop. I struggled a bit with graining on my first set of Hards and had a stronger pace on the last stint on the second set of Hards, managing the gap to Lando.
"We've started out the season with three weekends in which we have made the most of our potential, which feels really good and is a testimony to all the hard work that our team has put in over the past months."
Fred Vasseur, Team Principal: "Today, I want to congratulate the whole team, because everyone did a perfect job and this one-two is the reward for the amazing work which began last season and is now ongoing both at the track and back in Maranello. Of course, Carlos deserves a special mention because a little over two weeks ago he was undergoing surgery. Now it's as if that never happened and he managed to stay focussed throughout, to round off a sensational weekend.
"Charles also produced a solid performance because, after a less than perfect qualifying, he had to manage the tyres, but he was able to fight back thanks to the performance he got from the car. He did really well in the first and last stints and the fastest race lap he picked up right at the end confirms the progress we have made in terms of tyre management.
"We have been quick all weekend right from the first free practice and I think we have made a good step forward compared to where we were one year ago, when we left Melbourne having failed to score points. We were not disappointed with our results in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, nor are we getting carried away because of this one-two finish. We must continue with this approach in the coming races because that's the only way we are going to get the results we want."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Melbourne here.