Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc wins Australian GP, Perez and Russell take up remaining podium places

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3 years ago

Image Credits - Planet F1

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc won his second race of the 2022 season in comfortable fashion at the Australian Grand Prix after his closest rival Max Verstappen was forced to retire.

Charles Leclerc secured a comprehensive victory at the Australian Grand Prix as the Monegasque extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship standings. The Ferrari driver started on pole position and led the majority of the race.

Image Credits – Sky Sports

He was also able to fend off a few threats from Max Verstappen during the course of the race in Melbourne. Leclerc’s win at Albert Park was his second victory this season after he won the opening race in Bahrain. Leclerc now leads the drivers’ championship by 44 points over 2nd placed George Russell.

How did the rest of the drivers fare?

However, Verstappen was forced to retire his Red Bull on lap 38 after another reliability issue with his car. It was the Dutchman’s second retirement in just three races this season.

Nevertheless, Red Bull did manage to get one of their drivers on the podium as Sergio Perez finished in 2nd place. The Mexican drove a rather lonely race but did have to make a few overtakes on the Mercedes drivers to grab 19 points.

The Silver Arrows will also be rather delighted with their Sunday in Melbourne after George Russell claimed P3 and the final step on the podium. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton managed to cross the chequered flag in 4th place.

McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished P5 and P6 respectively while Esteban Ocon finished P7. Valtteri Bottas got the points for Alfa Romeo in P8 and the Finn was followed by Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon who made up the top 10.