Two weeks after undergoing surgery for appendicitis, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz triumphantly returned to win the Australian Grand Prix, while Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen announced his first retirement in two years. Before Mercedes driver George Russell’s last-lap collision created a virtual safety car and facilitated the Spaniard’s triumph, Sainz, the only driver not sponsored by Red Bull to win a race the previous season, managed to hold off teammate Charles Leclerc.
By finishing third for McLaren, Lando Norris prevented teammate Oscar Piastri from being the first Australian driver to finish on the podium in an F1 race.
For the third event this season, Verstappen—the victor in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia—started from pole position but had to retire on lap four due to a brake issue, with flames shooting out of the right rear of his vehicle.
Verstappen’s run of nine race victories came to an end with his first DNF since quitting from Albert Park in the 2022 race.