Leclerc must be regretting his mistake in qualifying on Saturday, as he was expected to be the sole contender against Max Verstappen for pole position. While Sainz couldn’t surpass the Dutchman, he did manage to secure a spot on the front row with his Ferrari. When the brakes of the Red Bull RB20 caught fire, Sainz was there to take advantage.
Leclerc tried to show his sportsmanship after the race, but his body language on the podium revealed his disappointment. He congratulated his team and teammate, stating in parc ferme, “I’m genuinely happy for him [Sainz] and the team. It’s valuable points. We entered the weekend with the goal of maximizing our points, and we couldn’t have done better.”
In Ferrari’s post-race press release, Leclerc further commented, “It was an excellent weekend for the team. We maximized our points and left nothing on the table, achieving a 1-2 finish and the fastest lap. Carlos performed well today.” He continued, “On my side, I had a strong first stint and managed to overtake Lando (Norris) during the pit stop. I struggled a bit with tire graining in my first set of Hards, but had a better pace in the last stint with the second set of Hards, maintaining the gap to Lando.”
“We’ve started the season with three weekends where we’ve fully utilized our potential, which feels fantastic and is a testament to the hard work our team has put in over the past months,” concluded Leclerc.
The winner of five Formula 1 races attributed his poor qualifying result to the balance of his SF-24. However, Sainz was exceptional in Australia, determined to prove his team wrong for replacing him with Lewis Hamilton in 2025.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur reflected on Leclerc’s race, stating, “Charles produced a solid performance. Despite a less than perfect qualifying, he managed the tires well and fought back with the car’s performance. He did exceptionally well in the first and last stints, and his fastest lap at the end shows the progress we’ve made in terms of tire management.”
“We’ve been fast all weekend, starting from the first practice session. Compared to where we were a year ago, when we left Melbourne without scoring any points, we’ve made significant improvements,” added Vasseur. “While we’re pleased with our results in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, we’re not getting carried away with this one-two finish. We need to maintain this approach in the upcoming races to achieve the desired results.”
Ferrari now sits just four points behind Red Bull, securing second place in the 2024 F1 Constructors’ Championship.