Sainz's first emergencies and Alonso's radio that could change his luck in Melbourne

• Alonso's lament "You are speechless"

• Chronicle Leclerc is exhibited in Melbourne on a disastrous Sunday for Sainz and Alonso

• Australian GP Qualifying and times

• World Cup 2022 Leclerc, outstanding leader

No driver likes to attend his teammate's big party, but

fulfilled yesterday with the professionalism that the moment demanded and posed with

and the rest of the Ferrari team.

In the middle of that bubbling euphoria, from a discreet background, the man from Madrid continued to think about his fateful weekend in Melbourne.

"I have to be hard on myself. I made a mistake," he admitted bluntly, referring to the spin that cost him his first retirement after 31 consecutive races reaching the finish line.

The end of the longest streak in the entire grid.

Since the start of the World Championship, Sainz has spoken clearly about his suffering at the wheel of the SF-75, with which he does not finish showing off that softness that earned him the nickname of

.

For three races he has tried to put on track a car that Leclerc already manages to extract all its potential from.

After suffering excessively on the soft tire in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Carlos did feel more comfortable this weekend, but the chain of errors, started by his team on Saturday, ended up taking its toll.

"You have to be more perfect," he acknowledged yesterday, while he inside cursed his miscalculation with tires that were too cold.

Leaving Australia emptyhanded is a step back for Sainz, completely oblivious to the role of simple Leclerc's squire.

Of his ambition and his rejection of any conformism they are more than aware in

's garage .

"My hope is that he returns to the top and we see a very strong Carlos, who knows how to push Charles to the limit from the next race," the Ferrari boss said yesterday.

However, it was also Binotto who questioned the Spaniard's version of the failure in the steering wheel configuration that had left him stuck at the start.

If he wants to convince everyone in there, Sainz must react urgently.

Irresistible Leclerc

Within two weeks, tens of thousands of

paralyze Imola, hoping never to wake up from this dream.

Leclerc's numbers, with 91% of the points in his box, only pale before

's full victories in 2004. And not only that.

His 34-point advantage over

already represents a difference that nobody managed during the last championship.

For a decade, no Ferrari driver had led the World Championship by more difference than a victory represents.

And to go back to the last

, like Leclerc's yesterday at Albert Park -with

, fastest lap and victory leading from the start to the checkered flag - you have to go back to the 2010 Singapore GP. The protagonist of both successes was called

.

Today, the reality in Alpine for the two-time champion is far from ideal and this weekend in Australia has simply delved into the constants of what has been an ugly start to the championship.

To the breakage of the oil control ring that caused his accident on Saturday, with the consequent pain in his thumbs, we had to add the misfortune of a race where Alonso felt trapped, without options to squeeze his car.

Double frustration, given the improvement reported by the A522 since Friday.

Or triple, if we stick to what the Asturian handled in his head.

Alpine's luck could have changed on lap 24, after

's accident and the appearance of the

.

Then, Alonso was running fourth, with hard tires, while his rivals had already passed through the

.

So he saw an ideal opportunity to renew the tires.

"Negative, Fernando. Don't go in," they then warned him over the radio.

"Okay. I guess our career ends here," replied the man from Oviedo.

"There is still a long way to go and there will be plenty of opportunities," they added from the wall led by

.

Some predictions that could not materialize.

"The car has been very competitive over the last two weekends and we left empty. It's hard to explain," concluded the Spaniard, with 18 points less than

, his teammate.

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• Fernando Alonso

• Carlos Sainz Jr.