The Australian Grand Prix
, the third date of the 2024
Formula
1 season, was eventful,
which ended with a double podium for Ferrari, with Carlos Sainz at the top and Charles Leclerc as his escort.
The Scuderia's 1-2, however, was not the most outstanding news of the day and went into the background due to the early abandonment of
Max Verstappen
, who arrived with a streak of 19 wins in the last 20 races.
The Dutchman suffered a fire in his
Red Bull
due to a brake problem and after completing only four laps, he barely managed to reach the pits wrapped in a cloud of black smoke and some flames, just as a small explosion and pieces of debris occurred. from his car were flying through the air.
The speed of the Austrian team's mechanics prevented the incident from becoming more serious, because they approached without wasting time with fire extinguishers and put out the fire.
And the current three-time champion was able to get out of the car, without having suffered injuries.
The problem that caused Verstappen's retirement arose as soon as the race began at the
Albert Park
circuit in Melbourne, as the same driver later confirmed.
"
My right rear brake was stuck since the traffic light went out
, so the temperature continued to increase until, of course, it caught fire," explained the Dutchman.
A dramatic day in Melbourne đ”
Max Verstappen's chances of a record-equalling 10th straight victory went up in smoke đ«#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/XyG9RPS31V
â Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2024
Verstappen started at the front
, but in just a few meters he lost first place to Sainz.
Soon, smoke began to be seen coming out of the back of his Red Bull.
The Dutchman tried to continue, but after a couple more laps it became clear that the problem was getting bigger, so he slowed down and just managed to reach his team's box before the explosion.
"I had that moment after the first lap, but then the temperature was already rising and rising, so it only worked as a handbrake. But of course, I didn't know those things were happening. I just felt that the problem "It was that the car's balance was off. The team could see what was happening, but they don't know what caused it," he said.
The retirement ended a streak of 43 races in which Verstappen took the checkered flag.
His last retirement had occurred in 2022, also at the Australian Grand Prix, when a fuel leak prevented him from completing the test.
Gutted đ unfortunately this is part of racing, onward to Suzuka @redbullracing #KeepPushing pic.twitter.com/73h8sN4RXm
â Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) March 24, 2024
"We had a lot of good races in a row, a lot of good reliability. I knew the day would come when I would end up retiring and, unfortunately, it came," lamented the champion.
"I'm disappointed that we couldn't finish the race, because I think we would have had a good chance to win. The balance felt pretty good on the previous lap and I felt confident and like a good improvement compared to what I felt in the runs. that we did in training. But there are things that you cannot control. Now it is important that we understand why what happened happened," he added.
Alonso, incident with Russell and a harsh sanction
Verstappen's surprise abandonment was not the only setback that marked the Australian event.
Fernando Alonso
and
George Russell
were involved in an incident that ended with the Briton out of competition, after suffering a very strong blow against the containment barriers, and with the Spaniard severely penalized: 20 seconds that made him fall from sixth to eighth place.
It was on the penultimate lap, when Alonso was defending sixth place under constant pressure from Russell.
In the video of the sequence you can see how in turn 6, the
Mercedes
was approaching the
Aston Martin
at full speed when the Spaniard seemed to slow down, which caused the Briton, surprised by the maneuver, to lose control of the car. and ended up crashing into the wall.
After the impact, he was left crossed on the track, with the car tilted, and on the radio you could hear him desperately asking for the red flag.
Big impact for George Russell đź
Good to see the Mercedes man walk away unscathed from this crash đ#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/Jsq6RZ1UBS
â Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2024
"Red, red, red, red, I'm in the middle of the track. Red, red, red... I need help," shouted the Briton, trying to avoid receiving a blow from his rivals who were still on the track.
After a long hearing with the stewards, the drivers and the teams, the
FIA
ââdetermined that Alonso altered his driving style in an "extraordinary" way and violated article 33.4 of the sporting regulations that says that "at no time may a car be driven unnecessarily." slowly, erratically, or in a manner that could be considered potentially dangerous to other pilots or anyone else."
And he imposed a 20-second penalty on the Spaniard, which cost him two places in the final classification.
"My opinion is that I went off track and that's my fault, but I was half a second behind Fernando 100 meters before the turn and suddenly he came towards me extremely fast. Suddenly he slowed down drastically and accelerated again and "That took me by surprise," Russell said.
"I don't know if he had any problem or not. We're going to see the stewards, it's a bit strange in a circumstance like this," he added.
Alonso also told his version.
"I was focusing on what was happening in front of me and not behind me. I had some problems during the last 15 laps in the battery, in the deployment. I was struggling a little at the end of the race. I saw Russell's car, I knew he was coming close and I was already five or six laps into the DRS distance, so I was worried," commented the Spaniard.
Russell gets out of the destroyed car after hitting the wall.
Photo Paul CROCK / AFP
"I was just trying to stay ahead. I wanted to maximize my exit speed out of Turn 6 to defend against him. That's what any racing driver would do, and it didn't seem dangerous to me. In Formula 1, with more than 20 years of experience, changing racing lines, sacrificing entry speed to have good corner exits is part of the art of motorsports."
And he closed: "I'm a little surprised by the penalty. It's disappointing to get it for racing hard, but fair. Still, I'm glad George is okay. It wasn't nice to see his car in the middle of the track."