Martin Brundle feels Australian GP ‘must have hurt’ 26-y/o ‘outperformed’ driver

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Martin Brundle thinks watching Carlos Sainz win the Australian GP on his return from surgery following appendicitis ‘must have hurt’ his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc.

The Scuderia welcomed Sainz back in Melbourne after the 29-year-old missed the Saudi Arabian GP to undergo an emergency operation. But the Spaniard lapped Albert Park like he had never been away to take full advantage of Max Verstappen retiring due to a brake issue.

Sainz had already overtaken Verstappen for the lead of the Australian GP before the Red Bull racer’s day ended abruptly. The Madrid native seized on the Dutchman going deep at Turn 3 to close up and breeze ahead with the aid of DRS before the entry for T11 on the second lap.

Carlos Sainz winning the Australian GP ‘must have hurt’ Charles Leclerc

Sainz then only had to manage his pace against Leclerc to win the 2024 Australian GP with a Ferrari one-two. He held a 2.366-second margin over the Monegasque at the chequered flag after backing off under the VSC. McLaren star Lando Norris came home 5.904s back in P3.

Leclerc never got close enough to Sainz to challenge his Ferrari teammate for the win at the Australian GP. His hopes for a victory in Melbourne also took a dent on Saturday when Sainz secured a front-row start. Leclerc could only manage fifth in qualifying, but started in fourth.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez receiving a three-place grid penalty dropped the Mexican from P3 to P6. Leclerc took a spot on the second row through the penalty after lapping 0.520 seconds off Verstappen’s pole position time. Sainz was only 0.270s off the 26-year-old’s pole time.

So, given Sainz only underwent surgery for appendicitis two weeks before the Australian GP, Brundle expects being the second Ferrari in qualifying and the race would have been painful for Leclerc. The Monegasque is also the driver Ferrari re-signed for beyond 2024 in January.

Brundle has told Sky Sports: “Leclerc, second in the sister Ferrari, had the good grace to say that Sainz had been the faster driver in qualifying and the race.

“It must have hurt him that his walking-wounded teammate, minus his appendix but carrying some scars, had outperformed him.”

Carlos Sainz F1 wins

The 2024 Australian GP marked Sainz’s third race win in Formula 1, with each victory coming with Ferrari. He stood atop the podium for the first time in the pinnacle of motorsport at the 2022 British GP. Sainz returned to victory lane at the 2023 Singapore GP from pole position.

Only his win in Melbourne last weekend has seen Sainz take a Formula 1 race victory from a starting position other than pole. It was also Sainz’s first race win with Leclerc also standing on the podium. Sainz was also the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix during 2023.

How many races has Charles Leclerc won?

Sainz – who is the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix since Mercedes racer George Russell took the 2022 Sao Paulo GP – is now only two F1 race wins behind Ferrari teammate, Leclerc. The Spaniard now has three victories in 188 entries to the Monegasque’s five in 128.

Leclerc won the Belgian GP and the Italian GP in 2019 during his first season with Ferrari and just his second campaign in F1. The Ferrari Driver Academy product had to wait until 2022 to win in F1 again. Leclerc won the Bahrain GP, the Australian GP and the Austrian GP in 2022.