A first double retirement in five years made Wolff want to "punch himself on the nose”. The outlook at Mercedes, the former titan of Formula One, is decidedly gloomy down under.
But to the front for the time being. Carlos Sainz’s victory at the Australian Grand Prix was down to two factors: first, Max Verstappen’s surprise mechanical fault, on a weekend when Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey was not on-site at Albert Park. A right rear brake fault resulted in the three-time world champion’s dramatic departure from proceedings four laps into the 58-lap race. Out of nowhere, we all had a grand prix on our hands.
Factor number two: Ferrari. Fred Vasseur and his team of engineers have unlocked something different this year. A car with potential, definitely capable of competing with Red Bull over one lap, if not quite yet over a full race distance. With Sainz leading home a one-two finish – the Scuderia’s first since Bahrain in 2022 at the start of the current set of regulations – Ferrari are now just four points off Red Bull in the constructors’ standings. Leclerc trails Verstappen by the same margin.
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin March 25, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin March 25, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
DON'T GET SHIRTY
With the first peek of summer comes the inevitable tutting about men walking around without a top on. Oliver Keens has had enough, and gets his feelings off his (bare) chest
Why don't airlines agree on cabin baggage allowances?
Q An idea I had yesterday in Alicante airport: why don’t all the airlines do the right thing and standardise cabin baggage? All of them have different rules and different-sized frames to fit a cabin bag in.
Your job is safe - it is your partner who should worry
Google and OpenAI just unveiled chatbots that can see, hear, speak – and even flirt – like humans. With interest in virtual companions surging, Anthony Cuthbertson looks at the effect this could have on our relationships with each other
Sound and the Fury: Usyk's legend confirmed - he can ignore noise of a rematch.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk fought to a bloody, exhausted and brutal standstill in a battle for far more than the various championship belts they paraded at the end.
Verstappen holds off Norris to claim victory in Imola
Max Verstappen held off a dramatic Lando Norris fightback to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Klopp bids farewell with final day win over Wolves
Liverpool sent departing manager Jurgen Klopp on his way with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Wolves as the Anfield faithful finally bade an emotional farewell to their beloved boss after eight and a half years.
Gunners end season with win as title dreams vanish
As the Arsenal fans sang joyously, you wouldn’t necessarily have thought they had just finished second.
City cement place as one of England's greatest teams
And so, some 136 years after the foundation of the Football League, England finally has a team who have done the quartet.
Diddy apologises for attack on partner caught on video
Sean “Diddy” Combs has posted an Instagram video apologising for beating his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, in the wake of footage of the 2016 incident being released.
Gantz to quit if Netanyahu fails to make plan for Gaza
The Israeli prime minister is under mounting pressure from his war cabinet over his approach to the conflict with Hamas
