Lewis Hamilton suffered an engine blowout to end his Australian Grand Prix – in a race won by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz after Max Verstappen‘s hopes of a 10th successive victory went up in smoke.
George Russell caused late drama when he lost it on the last lap, his car smashing the barrier and spinning round as his Mercedes flipped on to its side.
‘I am OK,’ said the Briton.
Nobody could have foretold Verstappen’s misfortune of the brake failure that struck at the start of the 58-lap event.
He started on pole, but was passed by Sainz, who used his DRS power to seize control of the afternoon 16 days after undergoing appendix surgery. What a star.
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Carlos Sainz recovered from appendix surgery to win the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne
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He was given a helping hand when Max Verstappen’s car caught fire and he had to retire
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Lewis Hamilton’s race also came to a premature end when the Mercedes man’s engine failed
Ring the church bells! For Verstappen was reporting he had lost his car. Then smoke came out of the back rear of his usually impregnable machine.
He retired at the end of the fourth lap, flames now coming from his stricken machine as he pulled into his pit box.
He got out disgruntled, obviously. But he can afford to write off his problem as a likely blip, even if the cheers of the record 132,105 crowd can hardly have warmed him. They were just delighted to see a period of domination like no other in the history of the sport interrupted.
He was furious to be held in the car while his mechanics attempted a pit stop despite him sitting in the midst of a fire.
He remonstrated with performance director Tom Hart in the garage about this point, seemingly saying: ‘F***ing stupid.’
Verstappen visited the pit wall to give his view. All disappointingly cordial at a team that has mastered warring these last few months.
He changed into his civvies and said: ‘The brake stuck from when the lights went off. The temperatures kept on increasing until the point where it caught on fire.
‘Having one brake caliper on is like driving with the handbrake on. I didn’t know at the time but I could feel the balance in the car was off.’
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Mercedes suffered late drama when George Russell crashed into the barrier on the final lap
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With one wheel off his car then flipped onto his side and stewards soon investigated the crash
George Russell suffers crash on last lap of Australian Grand Prix
Of the setback he said: ‘It excites me in a way. I would like to win and we have had many good races in a row and reliability and I knew the day would come where we would retire and unfortunately that day was today.’
Of the crowd cheering, he said: ‘I have a helmet on so I don’t hear that.’
Of the 10 wins in a row that he nearly achieved, the Dutchman added: ‘I’m not interested in records. I just want to win. If it is 11 in a row or it isn’t, it doesn’t matter. The championship is the most important thing.
Lewis Hamilton, however, is enduring the worst star of his 18-season career: seventh, ninth and DNF. Even in 2009, a poor year, he went: disqualified, seventh and sixth – slightly better.
His Mercedes is short of pace and now unreliable. Russell nearly finished seventh before his final-lap crash, hardly great and nothing like a race with the Ferraris to took a one-two with Charles Leclerc second and Lando Norris third for McLaren.
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It was a positive day for Lando Norris (left), who finished 3rd, as he congratulated Sainz (right)
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This was all about Sainz’s resolve, winning just 16 days after having surgery on his appendix
Hamilton is out of sorts, his car a nightmare still after three seasons of non-development. Every change they have sought to bring have been utterly fruitless.
The inquest began before the race ended.
