Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc Secure Ferrari's Double in Australia Amid Max Verstappen's Failure

Spanish driver Carlos Sainz of Ferrari claimed victory at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne. This was reported on the official website of the Royal Racing.

At the start of the race, championship leader Max Verstappen from Red Bull held onto the first position under pressure from Sainz. However, his lead was short-lived as the Spaniard overtook him on the second lap, and then Verstappen encountered technical brake problems and had to retire from the race.

After that, Sainz increased his lead over the other drivers. The main battle unfolded for podium places between McLaren drivers Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris, and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Initially, McLaren drivers seemed more promising, but after the first pit stops, Ferrari drivers took the lead. Norris tried to overtake Leclerc, but the latter successfully held onto second place, helping Ferrari secure their first double of the season.

The most impressive moment came on the final lap when George Russell from Mercedes closed in on Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin in a battle for sixth place but took too much risk and went off the track, hitting the barrier. This forced the drivers to continue under the safety car.

Thus, on the podium alongside Sainz were Leclerc and Norris. Ricciardo finished fourth on his home track, while Red Bull's Sergio Perez took fifth place. The top 10 also included Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll from Aston Martin, Yuki Tsunoda from Red Bull, as well as Haas representatives Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.

"It was a really good race; I felt really good. Of course, I'm a bit stiff, especially physically, it wasn't the easiest, but I was lucky to be more or less on my own and could control my pace, manage the tires, control everything. It wasn't the toughest race ever, but yeah, very happy, very proud of the team," said Carlos Sainz after the race.

Meanwhile, after the race, Fernando Alonso received a 20-second penalty added to his race time after stewards decided he was driving "in an erratic manner" while being chased by Russell, leading to the Mercedes driver's crash. This resulted in Alonso dropping from sixth to eighth position.