An FIA official approached to dissuade him, but he did not listen to reason. No one was going to deprive him this time of the hug with his mechanic. Neither the fatigue after 58 laps, nor the discomfort in the abdomen due to his recent appendicitis operation. Carlos Sainz He went yesterday to celebrate in style with his loved ones, those who never let him down. Rebecca Donaldson, his girlfriend, Carlos Sr. and his cousin, who acts as representative, enjoyed it like never before in Albert Park. The third victory with Ferrari was the wildest, the most vindictive.
A few minutes after uncorking the champagne on the podium, under the strains of the Spanish anthem, Sainz indulged in a joke that was very serious. “I’m still out of work for next year, so I guess this will help. But this also goes for me, to know that when I have a winning car, I can do it. I did it last year in Singapore and here, even far from my physical plenitude, too.” To the right of him, Charles Leclerc He smiled at Ferrari’s first double in Australia in almost two decades. When asked if he does not value his partner enough, the Monegasque responded by saying that everyone knows Carlos’ worth. “He doesn’t say it, but I’m sure many team managers have contacted him.”
Of course Sainz has started talks to resolve his future. There is no shortage of offers, because his conditions are too valuable to go unnoticed. Just yesterday I left evidence of them again from the second round, when I unceremoniously overtook Max Verstappen. Since he assumed command of the race, he summoned all his physical and mental strength. In the seven laps that he ran with the same tires and strategy as Leclerc, he outperformed his closest rival by 186 thousandths on average. Once installed in the lead he remained focused, with an astonishingly constant cruising pace. It was not simply a matter of taking advantage of the abandonment of Mad Maxvictim of a brake failure.
“Confident and dominating”
In fact, everything always seemed under control for Sainz during his three runs. I started on the medium tires before passing through boxes on laps 16 and 41 to ride the hard ones both times. His meticulous tire management thwarted any surprises. A year after its terrible degradation problems, Ferrari seems to have found the formula to take care of Pirelli tires. As an example, the SF24’s race pace (1:21.458) was the best on the grid, 93 thousandths faster than McLaren54 cents ahead of Red Bull and nine tenths with respect to Mercedes.
Sainz’s speed was evident in the first and last sector, where he surpassed Sergio Prez in three and five tenths, respectively. An encouraging fact for the Maranello engineers. “What happened this weekend shows that you should never give up. It is a victory that tastes like glory, because I always felt confident and dominant, the way I like it,” concluded the Spaniard. To the relief of his family, yesterday they did not have to suffer until their last breath, like last year in Marina Bay or two in Silverstone.
Today, with the same triumphs as Leclerc since they shared a garage, Carlos’ level as a driver has nothing to envy that of other idols of the paddock. Especially since his Saturday vulnerability seems a thing of the past. At the moment, after the two qualifying sessions that he played (Bahrain and Australia) he already has a 75 thousandth advantage over Charles. Likewise, the man from Madrid has a symbolic advantage over who in there they call The Predestined. Because it has been him, precisely, who has broken Verstappen’s two best streaks, author of nine consecutive victories.
Curiously, like the last World Cup, Sainz’s success coincides with his arrival at Suzuka, an event awaited with maximum expectation, given the difficulties it poses at an aerodynamic level. Just six months ago, Verstappen made up for his debacle in Singapore with a devastating exhibition in Japan, resolved with a 19-second margin against Lando Norris. The Japanese track seems like the best test bed to evaluate Ferrari’s updates. Frederick Vasseur, team principal, should have an impact on what was noted in Melbourne, where the SF24’s formidable cornering was not incompatible with its performance on the straights. In fact, despite mounting heavier ailerons thinking about the last sector, Sainz reached a maximum of 327 km/h, quite close to Pérez’s (332 km/h).
Therefore, there were no shortage of reasons yesterday for Ferrari’s celebration, which toasted its first double since the 2022 Bahrain GP. Since the start in Sakhir, the Scuderia has been confirmed as the main candidate to destabilize Red Bull. Everything fits, at least for the moment. The engineers understand their car better every week, the strategists execute the plan neatly and the mechanics comply with the requirements. pit-stops. In Australia, McLaren wanted to reverse the hierarchy before encountering reality. Meanwhile, Mercedes sailed into no man’s land.
Yesterday, Sainz was elected best driver of Sunday, with 38% of the votes. The second popular recognition after his podium in Bahrain. 11 points behind Verstappen in the World Championship, with one race less, Carlos can boast of another milestone at Ferrari, where he has already equaled four champions like Juan Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill y Jody Schechterwho also won three grand prizes dressed in red.