“I have smoke, fire, fire!”: drama for Verstappen, who has to retire due to braking problems in Melbourne, Sainz and Ferrari benefit | formula 1

Max Verstappen completed every grand prix for two seasons. After a fuel leak, also in Melbourne at the beginning of 2022, he finished 43 races in a row, all including World Cup points, of which 35 were victories. A bizarre statistic that has been mentioned several times in Australia in recent days, to once again emphasize its consistency.

That impressive series came to an end after five rounds. Already overtaken by Carlos Sainz, who had left the fire brigade, Verstappen reported for the first time after three laps that something was wrong with his car. Another lap further there was something for everyone to see: smoke, right rear. So braking problems. “I have smoke, fire, fire, fire, my brakes,” reported Verstappen, who had to completely lose the pace towards the pit lane.

When driving in, flames came out of his right rear brake. They were still fighting the fire with all their might, but Verstappen already got out. Realizing that his Sunday was quickly over. Third of the season, tenth win in a row. No hat trick for Verstappen, but a rare failure. The first, in two years. Nice for the championship, terrible for the three-time world champion, who remained resigned. “Of course I knew this day would come one day.”

“My rear brake on the right side was actually stuck right from the start. And then it becomes a kind of handbrake. The temperature kept rising, to the point that it was on fire,” said Verstappen, who already felt in the first meters that this was not going to be his Sunday. “I already felt in the first round that something was wrong. Of course, I didn’t immediately know that it was because of the brake, but I could tell from the balance of the car that something was wrong.”

“Of course we saw what happened, but not yet why it happened. Finding an answer to this is the most important thing in the near future. Of course I knew this day would come one day, and unfortunately today it has happened. We had a great two-year run, of course. But some things you simply have no control over.”

Who then won in Melbourne? Carlos Sainz. Two weeks ago, he spent seven days in bed after an appendectomy, and Sainz returned with a spectacular victory in Melbourne. Of course made possible by Max’s failing car, but Sainz had a top weekend without an appendix anyway. Strong in the free practice, strong in qualifying and the DRS had barely been activated when the Spaniard flew past Verstappen, who made a small mistake. Replaced in Jeddah by Ollie Bearman, he made a flashy return in Albert Park with his third F1 victory after Singapore (2023) and Silverstone (2022).

It was a bit of a shame that he had to drive past the checkered flag under a virtual safety car, after a late crash by George Russell. Directly behind the overjoyed Sainz, Charles Leclerc signed on behalf of Ferrari for the first one-two punch since Bahrain 2022, when the gentlemen divided the positions just the other way around. The Scuderia then continued to play a role in the World Cup for a while and after this spectacular Sunday, the title battle is again exciting after three races. Leclerc approaches within four seconds of Verstappen, Sergio Pérez (fifth) is five points behind his teammate.

The podium ceremony was already being prepared, the reports had already been sent, when George Russell shocked the 103,000 Australian F1 fans in the penultimate lap with a gigantic crash. He briefly lost his Mercedes, shot through the gravel and ended up in the middle of the asphalt with the car on its side and a lot of damage. A dramatic Sunday for Mercedes, who also saw Lewis Hamilton drop out after seventeen laps. “I have an engine problem, guys,” Hamilton reported to the technicians on the pit wall. Hamilton was unable to do much more than park his car in a safe position in Albert Park. With his head down, the seven-time world champion had to return to the paddock. For example, the Australian Grand Prix had to do without the two best drivers of the last seven seasons early on.

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