1 Sainz goes marching in
The question buzzing around the Albert Park paddock after the Australian Grand Prix was whether Carlos Sainz would still have won, had Max Verstappen not suffered his first retirement in two years?
The popular belief was that he would have. Data from practice indicated both Ferraris were able to keep life in their tyres for longer than the opposition. The cooler, autumnal temperatures in Melbourne, combined with the super-smooth track surface meant that graining – where the top of the tyre shreds, rather like a pencil eraser – was more of a factor for the Pirellis than thermal degradation.
“We don’t know what Max’s real pace today was,” said Sainz’s team-mate Charles Leclerc, “but I will say that from FP1, we knew pole position and the race win were possible because we had very good tyre degradation, very good pace.”
Verstappen’s 43-race finishing streak came to an end when he left the grid with a problem with his right-rear brake. Initially it was thought a loose visor tear-off had blocked the duct – as happened to Alpine’s Esteban Ocon shortly afterwards – but in Max’s case, the brake calliper was stuck on.
