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Spain’s Carlos Sainz has won the 2024 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Ferrari teammate Charles Lelerc of Monaco finished second with Britain’s Lando Norris third and Australia’s Oscar Piastri fourth at Albert Park.
World champion Max Verstappen was forced out of the race early with mechanical failure while Lewis Hamilton and George Russell also failed to finish on a dramatic afternoon of Formula 1.
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It was a remarkable drive from Sainz, just two weeks after missing the previous race in Saudi Arabia due to an emergency appendectomy.
“I would recommend all the drivers to take it out this winter,” Sainz joked.
“Maybe they can go faster as well… very happy, very proud of the team, it shows that the hard work pays off and life sometimes is crazy, you know.
“What happened at the beginning of the year and then Bahrain and then the appendix, the comeback, the win, it’s a rollercoaster but I loved it and I’m extremely happy.”
Sainz, who started on the front row alongside Verstappen, kept his place into turn one, but passed the Dutchman on lap two at turn nine for the lead and took control once his rival retired two laps later with a fiery mechanical failure.
Verstappen had won the first two F1 races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and was on a nine race winning streak.
It was the third F1 win for the 29-year-old Sainz and his first in Australia.
Sainz does not have a drive secured for the 2025 season and will be replaced by Hamilton at Ferrari.
The race finished under the virtual safety car, ensuring there was no racing for most of the final lap, after Mercedes driver Russell crashed on turn seven.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez closed out the top five after he was handed a three place grid penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying.
Sainz was thrilled to get his first win since last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.
“I felt really good out there,” he said.
“Of course, a bit stiff, especially physically. It wasn’t the easiest, but I was lucky that I was more or less on my own so I could just manage my pace, manage the tyres, manage everything.”
