Carlos Sainz and Ferrari stole both a win and headlines after this week's F1 Australian Grand Prix. After a speedy return from appendix surgery just two weeks ago, Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix in his first race back.
It's ironic to think that just a year ago in Australia, Carlos Sainz had dealt with a miserable series of events; and this time around he stands atop the Formula 1 community as a hero and victor of the Australian Grand Prix.
Let's dive into Carlos Sainz's tragic Australian Grand Prix of last year and this year's triumph as the winner in a Ferrari 1-2 in Melbourne.
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Carlos Sainz and Ferrari: Last Year's Tragedy to This Year's Ecstasy
There is much to unpack from the usually chaotic F1 Australian Grand Prix, so let's focus on the winner in this story. In a short sum up from last year's GP in Australia, Sainz was hit with a late five-second penalty that knocked him out from P4 all the way to P12. This occurred because there was a late red flag restart in the race leading to a one lap free-for-all to close out the Grand Prix.
In an overzealous attempt to overtake Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso for a podium finish at turn 1, Sainz accidentally pushed Alonso off track and was hit with a five-second penalty. Due to the race restart, all the racers were within five seconds of each other; this made the time penalty extremely potent. FIA gave Alonso his position back and ended the race with those positions unchanged, except for Carlos Sainz's; who was pushed all the way to the back of the grid, out of the points.
Carlos Sainz and Ferrari Join in a Bittersweet Future
Both Carlos Sainz and Ferrari will be parting ways after this season, and there will be some mixed feelings about the departure. There will be no bad blood for the two as it seems to be best for both moving forward.
On Sainz's end, he will depart Ferrari, although it is early, after putting together a good 2024 F1 season so far. Carlos Sainz is making a solid case for any team on the lookout for another top end driver, not only Mercedes but possibly Red Bull as well.
For Ferrari, although it wasn't ideal circumstances, they got to see what they have in young talent Oliver Bearman, who logged a P7 finish in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix while filling in for the ill Carlos Sainz.
As the Italian Constructor will be making the switch from Sainz to seven-time world champ Lewis Hamilton, Hamilton may not be with the Scuderia for very long; a perfect stop gap to maybe prepare Bearman for the seat in the future.
Ferrari's Outlook for the 2024 and 2025 F1 Season
Ferrari look to have gotten it more or less right in their SF-24 car design. They created an adaptable and well-balanced base to build off of for this year and the next, before the new regulations hit in 2026.
Although Ferrari may not be right there with Red Bull just yet, they have shown that they do have a chance to close the gap to the Austrian team with soon to come upgrades.
If Ferrari could capitalize on Red Bull errors right now, they could potentially keep the points gap close early in the season. And then us F1 fans can really enjoy a battle between the two teams if Ferrari's upgrades go as planned in Imola.
With Carlos Sainz's departure being sad, it looks as though the Spaniard and the Scuderia will give each other a spectacular sendoff season.
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