Miguel A. Herguedas

Updated Sunday, March 24, 2024-23:44

  • Chronicle Sainz's crushing victory in Melbourne

  • Carlos Sainz The keys to his express recovery

  • World Cup 2024 Verstappen, leader

An FIA official approached to dissuade him, but he did not listen to reason. No one was going to deprive him of the hug with his mechanic this time. Neither the fatigue after 58 laps, nor the discomfort in the abdomen due to his recent appendicitis operation.

Carlos Sainz

launched yesterday to celebrate in style with those close to him, those who never let him down.

Rebecca Donaldson

, his girlfriend, Carlos Sr. and his cousin, who acts as his representative, enjoyed it like never before in Albert Park. The third victory with Ferrari was the wildest, the most vindictive.

To know more

Fernando Alonso.

Sanctioned with 20 seconds for a "potentially dangerous" maneuver

  • Editor: MIGUEL A. HERGUEDAS

Sanctioned with 20 seconds for a "potentially dangerous" maneuver

A few minutes after uncorking the champagne on the podium, under the strains of the Spanish anthem, Sainz indulged in a joke that was very serious. "I'm still out of work for next year, so I guess this will help. But this is also for me, to know that when I have a winning car, I can do it. I did it last year in Singapore and here, even away from my physical fulfillment, too. To the right of him,

Charles Leclerc

was smiling at Ferrari's first double in Australia in almost two decades. When asked if he does not value his partner enough, the Monegasque responded by saying that everyone knows Carlos' worth. "He doesn't say it, but I'm sure many team managers have contacted him."

Of course Sainz has started talks to resolve his future. There is no shortage of offers, because his conditions are too valuable to go unnoticed. Just yesterday he once again recorded them from the second lap, when he unceremoniously overtook

Max Verstappen

. Since he took over the race, he summoned all his physical and mental strength. In the seven laps that he ran with the same tires and strategy as Leclerc, he outperformed his closest rival by 186 thousandths on average. Once installed in the lead he remained focused, with an astonishingly constant cruising pace. It was not simply a matter of taking advantage of the abandonment of

Mad Max

, victim of a brake failure.

"Confident and dominating"

In fact, everything always seemed under control for Sainz during his three runs. He started on the medium tires before pitting on

laps

16 and 41 to put on the hard tires both times. His meticulous tire management thwarted any surprises. A year after its terrible degradation problems, Ferrari seems to have found the formula to take care of Pirelli tires. As an example, the race pace of the SF24 (1:21.458) was the best on the grid, 93 thousandths faster than

McLaren

, 54 hundredths ahead of

Red Bull

and nine tenths compared to

Mercedes

.

Sainz's speed was evident in the first and last sector, where he surpassed

Sergio Pérez

by three and five tenths, respectively. An encouraging fact for the Maranello engineers. "What happened this weekend shows that you should never give up. It is a victory that tastes like glory, because I always felt confident and dominant, the way I like it," concluded the Spaniard. To the relief of his family, yesterday they did not have to suffer until their last breath, like last year in

Marina Bay

or two years ago in

Silverstone

.

Today, with the same triumphs as Leclerc since they shared a garage, Carlos' level as a driver has nothing to envy of other paddock

idols

. Especially since his Saturday vulnerability seems like a thing of the past. At the moment, after the two qualifying sessions that he played (Bahrain and Australia) he already has a 75 thousandths advantage over Charles. Likewise, the Madrid native has a symbolic advantage over who they call

Il Predestinato

in there . Because it has been he, precisely, who has broken Verstappen's two best streaks, author of nine consecutive victories.

Sainz, driving the SF24, on Sunday in Albert Park.AFP

Curiously, like the last World Cup, Sainz's success coincides with his arrival at

Suzuka

, an event awaited with maximum expectation, given the difficulties it poses at an aerodynamic level. Just six months ago, Verstappen made up for his debacle in Singapore with a devastating display in Japan, resolved with a 19-second margin against Lando Norris. The Japanese track seems like the best test bed to evaluate Ferrari's updates.

Frédéric Vasseur

,

team principal

, will have to influence what was noted in Melbourne, where the SF24's formidable cornering was not incompatible with the performance on the straights. In fact, despite mounting heavier wings thinking about the last sector, Sainz reached a maximum of 327 km/h, quite close to Pérez's (332 km/h).

Therefore, there were no shortage of reasons yesterday for Ferrari's celebration, which toasted its first double since the 2022 Bahrain GP. Since the start in Sakhir, the

Scuderia

has confirmed itself as the main candidate to destabilize Red Bull. Everything fits, at least for the moment. The engineers understand their car better every week, the strategists execute the plan neatly and the mechanics deliver in the

pit-stops

. In Australia, McLaren wanted to reverse the hierarchy before encountering reality. Meanwhile, Mercedes sailed into no man's land.

Yesterday, Sainz was elected best driver of Sunday, with 38% of the votes. The second popular recognition after his podium in Bahrain. 11 points behind Verstappen in the World Championship, with one race less, Carlos can boast of another milestone at Ferrari, where he has already equaled four champions such as

Juan Manuel Fangio

,

Mike Hawthorn

,

Phil Hill

and

Jody Scheckter

, who also won three grand prizes. dressed in red