It's an all-red dawn that wakes up Italy on the first Sunday of Spring.
On the other side of the world in Australia comes a heroic one-two for Ferrari, marked by the perfect race of Carlos Sainz, in triumph just two weeks after the appendicitis operation that prevented him from racing.
Prancing Horse at Albert Park in Melbourne here is the second place of Charles Leclerc who easily gets behind the McLaren of Lando Norris, who finished on the podium ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri.
Sensational retirement for Max Verstappen whose race ended just five laps after the start due to brake problems.
Photo story F1, Ferrari one-two at the Australian GP
Lewis Hamilton is also out, abandoned by Mercedes due to a technical failure and an accident without consequences also for George Russell who overturns on the last lap, destroys the car but emerges unscathed, with the only consequence of ending the GP with virtual safety - car and complete the Silver Star disaster.
A one-two for Ferrari which breaks into the Australian GP approximately two years after the one in Bahrain in 2022 and even twenty years after the last one in Melbourne in 2004 at the time of Schumacher and Barrichello.
And that it would finally be a different race, especially for the fans and men of the Red team, it became clear almost immediately after the green light at Albert Park, which started at five in the morning in Italy.
Video Ferrari triumphs in Australia
From pole Verstappen starts from the front as usual, but on the second lap Sainz overtakes him with momentum and three laps later comes the surprise of seeing the world champion's Red Bull smoke with some flames, forced to abandon the race due to brake problems.
The Flying Dutchman was very angry, as he did not withdraw from Australia 2022, for having put an end to the sequence of 9 victories in a row and 43 consecutive races at the finish line.
From here on, as the first light of day breaks in Italy, Ferrari's is a monologue, with a perfect Sainz and a Leclerc capable of always keeping the McLarens of Norris and Piastri at a distance with both hard and soft tires .
A few laps and the future Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton also has to say goodbye to Melbourne due to an engine problem in his Mercedes.
Pit-stop after pit-stop the Maranello cars remain at the front in control and even the only Red Bull on the track, that of Sergio Perez, who floats between fifth and sixth place, is not scary despite some rising lap times.
Thus we reach the finish line with the Ferraris on parade for a long-awaited double and a Sainz in tears, while talking on the radio with the garage driving his SF24 to get the first applause under the podium.
"Incredible. Thanks Ferrari, thanks guys, thanks Riki (Adami his engineer, ed.), come on, let's go on parade with Charles", the words of the Spanish driver who will leave his place at Hamilton at the end of the year and who after the operation in Jeddah he was in doubt for this weekend in which the third driver Oliver Bearman who had replaced him in Saudi Arabia had once again been forewarned.
And the Red celebration in Melborne is so beautiful for a team victory that brings great enthusiasm to Maranello in a season which, after what we saw at Albert Park, is already making Ferrari fans dream, with Leclerc now just 4 points in the Drivers' World Championship from now former invincible Verstappen.
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