Ferrari extends their frustrating start to the season in an action-packed Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park which saw the red flag waved three times bringing the race to a halt.
Their race was bookended by misfortune for both drivers with Charles Leclerc retiring from the race on lap one and Carlos Sainz being struck with a penalty on the last lap of the race.
Max Verstappen’s nearest rival Leclerc has already dropped away from the dutchman with Leclerc only managing to put six points on the board after the first three races, with a 63-point gap opening up after the Australian GP.
On the other hand, Sainz missed out on the opportunity to put points on the board and improve his 5th-place position in the driver’s standings, instead, Lance Stroll has closed the gap after his fourth-placed finish and now sits level on points with the Spaniard.
Ferrari’s pointless weekend means they now sit 30 points behind Mercedes in third and 97 points off leaders Red Bull.
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Charles Leclerc: “It’s the worst start to the season”
Leclerc's disastrous start to the F1 2023 continues after the Monegasque was forced to retire from the race in the first lap.
The Ferrari driver was tagged by Canadian Lance Stroll as he looked to go around the outside on turn three, but instead, he was left stranded on the gravel.
Leclerc said: "I'm not pointing the finger at Lance because I think he had no choice once Fernando [Alonso] slowed down the car the second time, and for me, it was just impossible to see whether Lance was staying behind Fernando or if he was just in between. I obviously didn't think he was there.
"Turn 1, I took it easy; Turn 3 I wasn't really planning an overtake at first on Lance. Then I saw that he had to brake very early because Fernando in front that was braking early. So, I released the brakes and put myself alongside Lance, and then Fernando had to brake even more – so then Lance found himself between me and Fernando – and he couldn't turn in, and we had contact.
"Just extremely frustrating; I mean, it's the worst start to the season ever, really. It is really frustrating."
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Carlos Sainz: “I’m going to say bad things”
Sainz was left frustrated after a long pause as a result of the red flag on lap 56. The Spaniard was dealt a huge blow as he was given a five-second penalty for his collision with Fernando Alonso that saw the world champion spin round.
The penalty meant that Sainz dropped from fourth place on the grid down to 12 leaving Ferrari without a point this weekend.
For some time, it had looked like Sainz may have finished third after discussions about the possibility of using the order in which the cars came into the pits.
The Spaniard was on the team radio voicing his frustration after receiving news of his penalty: “It cannot be. It’s unacceptable. They need to wait until the race is finished and discuss with me. Please, please, please, please, please ask them to wait. Clearly the penalty is too severe.”
After the race, Sainz said: “Yeah, I prefer not to talk right now honestly. I'm too disappointed, I'm going to say bad things. It is the most unfair penalty I've seen in my life so I prefer to go to the stewards now and have a conversation with them and then come back and talk to you guys because now I cannot do it.”
Formula One now has a break until the trip to Baku in four weeks’ time after the Chinese Grand Prix was cancelled. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will take place on April 30th.
