Leclerc produced a crushing display in Albert Park as Ferrari comfortably had the measure of its rival Red Bull.
The Monegasque driver took his second win of the season by 20 seconds on Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, after Leclerc’s nearest competitor Max Verstappen was forced to retire.
Verstappen never looked like threatening Leclerc on pure pace, the Dutchman admitting “I knew I could not fight Charles, so there was no point to try and put pressure on him.”
But the reigning world champion did get close to overtaking the Ferrari on the second safety car restart halfway through the race.
After a poor getaway out of the final corner from Leclerc, Verstappen managed to pull alongside but failed to complete the pass into Turn 1.
Leclerc explained that his sluggish restart was the result of going off line before Melbourne’s final corner, which meant his tyres were full of marbles and he suffered severe understeer.
“I tried to prepare the last corner as much as possible, staying on the…
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