MOTORSPORT
Damien Smith
RACING LINES
Sainz convincingly beat Leclerc for his third GP win
As he radioed in on his cooldown lap, “life is a rollercoaster” for Carlos Sainz right now. Two weeks earlier in Saudi Arabia, the Spaniard was benched when appendicitis led to emergency surgery. Teenage reserve Oliver Bearman stepped up and stole the show with an assured grand prix debut in a Ferrari. But in Australia, Sainz was ready to reclaim his seat despite his insides feeling “weird”.
To then outperform his teammate Charles Leclerc and win sensationally, passing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen before a brake fire sidelined the reigning champion for the first time in 43 races, made this a special display – especially in the added context of Ferrari discarding him for next year in favour of Lewis Hamilton.