Melbourne – Leclerc flies away, Verstappen on the mat

That’s already two! Two victories for Charles Leclerc this season in three races, but also two retirements for his main rival Max Verstappen. After two rounds marked by knife battles with the Dutchman, the Monegasque this time had a fairly quiet Sunday, apart from a complicated safety car restart mid-race.

If the avionics rhythm of its Ferrari placed him out of reach of the competition anyway, Leclerc was definitely safe when Max Verstappen, then second in the Grand Prix, was forced to retire on the 41st lap, after what looked like a hydraulic problem. A huge blow for the Dutchman, who is already 46 points behind Leclerc in the championship.

Russell, runner-up in the championship

Thanks to this second victory of the season – his fourth in his career – Charles Leclerc is more than ever leader of the championship. As in the first two Grands Prix of the season, the Ferrari driver won the point for best lap. The only really hot moment experienced by the Monegasque came on the 27th lap, at the time of the second Safety Car restart. On brand new white tyres, Leclerc had the greatest difficulty in warming up his tires and therefore restarted the race. At the first corner, Max Verstappen came close, but the Ferrari's horses allowed him to stay in front.

If Ferrari was smiling at the end of the Grand Prix, on the Scuderia side, it was still a bit of a grimace soup after the 4th lap, marked by the first retirement at Ferrari of Carlos Sainz. Struggling at the start from 9th position, the Spaniard lost five from the first corner. And while trying to make up for lost places, the Ferrari driver lost the car in the very fast turn 9, literally parking it in the gravel trap. It will cost him dearly in the championship.

The little surprise of the day, however, is to the credit of Mercedes. Certainly, the Brackley team benefits from the opposing setbacks, but it is the team which has scored the most points in Australia. Thanks to Lewis Hamilton, 4th, but above all thanks to George Russell, who signed his second career podium, his first at Mercedes. The young Briton, a defector from Williams, is also Leclerc's new runner-up in the championship. 

We will also note the solid race of McLaren, 5th and 6th, after two very difficult first rounds. On the French side, Esteban Ocon et Alpine score points again with a 7th final position. Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) finished in 9th position. Also note the excellent result ofAlexander albon, which marks Williams' first point this year. 

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