F1: Carlos Sainz wins Australian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen retires

Carlos Sainz guided Charles Leclerc into a Ferrari one-two at the Australian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen's F1 dominance stalled.

Sainz overpowered world champion Red Bull to take the lead on the second lap, before the Dutchman retired with brake failure after just four laps.

Leclerc then passed McLaren's Lando Norris at the first pit stop and the Spaniard took control of the race.

The race ended under a de facto safety car due to George Russell's crash.

Chasing Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin in sixth place, the Mercedes driver lost control at Turn 6 on the final lap and crashed, the car coming to rest sideways and hovering in mid-air with its front left wheel landing. Russell was unharmed.

Alonso and Russell were called by the stewards after the race after it was suspected that the Spaniard had braked twice before a corner and then back off the accelerator midway through.

For Mercedes, it was a difficult day to conclude a solemn day, although their status as runners was apparently confirmed. Lewis Hamilton retired after 16 laps with engine trouble.

Norris led Oscar Piastri to a 3-4 lead over McLaren, ahead of Red Bull's Sergio Perez 3-4, but was anonymous on the day and unable to take advantage of Verstappen's retirement.

In front of a record Melbourne crowd of 132,106 (the weekend record was 452,055), Sainz held an intimidating performance just 16 days after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix and being forced to miss the Saudi Grand Prix. He maintained a good mood.

The 29-year-old, who had described a “strange” feeling after the surgery, “feeling like everything inside is moving more than normal”, tracked Verstappen on the opening lap. And after Verstappen made a mistake at Turn 3 on lap two, Sainz managed to pass the Red Bull on the winding “straight” up to Turns 9 and 10.

Verstappen immediately radioed: “We lost the rear, it's strange,'' but the reason soon became clear.

One lap later, he cursed over the radio: “The car is loose.” One lap later, smoke started coming out of his right rear tire.

When Verstappen slowed down and entered the pit lane with his brakes on fire, a chunk from his wheel flew onto the grass.

It was his first retirement since this race two years ago, underscoring Red Bull's strength over the past two years.

This put Sainz in control of the race, and he showed no signs of letting it go.

Sainz was the only non-Red Bull driver to win the race in Singapore last year, finishing ahead of Norris, Lewis Hamilton and Russell.

Now he's the man to stop Verstappen from matching his 10-race winning streak. And just three races into the season, he started the season knowing that he would lose his Ferrari seat to Hamilton at the end of the season.

Sainz had taken precautions against Leclerc from the start of qualifying and was never threatened during the race.

He took advantage of Leclerc being stuck behind Norris in the first stint to build an advantage.

Ferrari introduced Leclerc with a relatively early stop on lap 9, forcing him to undercut in order to fend off Norris, but the strategy was successful as McLaren stopped five laps later and emerged behind Ferrari. .

Sainz stopped on lap 16 and emerged just one second ahead of his teammate, gradually building an advantage that widened to nearly nine seconds by the time Leclerc made his second stop.

Even though Norris couldn't do anything against Ferrari, it was still a strong weekend for McLaren.

The same could not be said for Perez, who was unhappy with Red Bull's decision to run him longer in the first stint.

Although Perez was able to pass Russell and Alonso, there was nothing he could do against the McLarens up front on this day, but it did little to boost his hopes of retaining the Red Bull seat in 2025.

Russell's crash made it pointless for Mercedes to leave Australia, with Aston Martin's Lance Stroll promoted to seventh ahead of RB Yuki Tsunoda and Haas drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.

Alex Albon, who was substituted for the weekend in teammate Logan Sargent's Williams after Friday's big crash, was 11th, leaving the Haas drivers too strong in their quest for points.