Charles Leclerc wins Australian Grand Prix, second victory of the season

Charles Leclerc has completed a dominant weekend in his Ferrari after converting his pole position into a comprehensive triumph in the Australian Grand Prix.

Leclerc extended his lead in the drivers’ championship on Sunday while claiming his second win of the season following victory in the season-opening race in Bahrain.

He was able to hold off Red Bull rival Max Verstappen during the opening laps and defended well mid-race under safety car conditions to pull away for a decisive 20.524-second victory.

Sergio Perez overcame a slow start to take second ahead of the Mercedes’ combination of George Russell, who secured his first podium finish for the season, and Lewis Hamilton.

McLaren pair Orlando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth and sixth.

Verstappen, the world champion, endured another frustrating race when a mechanical failure ended his hopes while he was running second 39 laps into the 58-lap race.

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Quickest car all weekend

Leclerc became the first Ferrari driver since Fernando Alonso in Singapore in 2010 to complete a racing “grand slam” comprised of winning pole position, leading wire-to-wire and also posting the fastest time.

The drivers’ championship leader, who pitted on Lap 22, posted a fastest lap of 1 minute, 20.260 seconds with a final-lap flourish and was clearly the quickest car all weekend, which he described as a pleasing surprise.

“Honestly, what a car today. Of course, I did a good job all weekend, but it was not possible without the car,” he said.

His teammate Carlos Sainz, who finished on the podium in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, had less luck in a testing weekend.

After an issue in qualifying resulted in him starting from ninth, he dropped back further in the field with a slow start and then lost control on the second lap, ending his race.

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