- Ferrari driver leads from pole to take a dominant win
- Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez second with George Russell third
Charles Leclerc took victory at the Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari with an outstanding drive from pole to take a dominant win over Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez. Max Verstappen’s title hopes took a blow as the defending champion was forced to retire for the second time in three meetings. Mercedes made the most of his misfortune, with George Russell securing third place and Lewis Hamilton in fourth, as their car showing its best race pace thus far this season. McLaren’s Lando Norris was fifth.
With the race returning after a two-year absence because of the pandemic, Leclerc was in complete control at Albert Park in front of a capacity crowd revelling in the return of racing. Attended by 420,000 people it was the biggest sporting weekend in Australian F1 history, dwarfing even the 356,000 who were at Silverstone last year.
