Charles Leclerc took a dominant win at the Australian Grand Prix to extend his lead in the drivers’ championship to 37 points after three rounds.
Leclerc led every lap of the race and was rarely threatened by Max Verstappen, who ran in second until an apparent hydraulics problem caused him to come to a halt in the second half of the Grand Prix.
This moved Sergio Perez into second and George Russell up to third, as he took advantage of the first safety car to beat Lewis Hamilton.
Disaster for Sainz
Carlos Sainz was very unfortunate in qualifying due to the timing of a red flag in Q3, caused by Fernando Alonso, so started down in ninth.
It got a lot worse for Sainz as he had a poor getaway and lost more ground on the opening lap. He went for an ambitious move at the high-speed Turn 9, only to lose control of his Ferrari and end up beached in the gravel trap.
The next F1 event is in two weeks at the Emilia Romagna GP in Imola on April 22-24.
Marca
