Max Verstappen‘s world championship title defence has copped another thumping blow with the Red Bull driver failing to finish the Australian Grand Prix and chief rival Charles Leclerc clinching victory.
The Dutchman was sitting in second on lap 39 when he retired due to a suspected engine failure, slumping to his second retirement from the opening three races of the season.
It appears Leclerc, not seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, will pose the greatest threat to Verstappen’s chase of a second title, so Verstappen’s heart must have sunk again when the Monacan crossed the finish line in first to complete a brilliant drive.
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Verstappen said in a post-race interview with Sky Sports that he didn’t want to dwell on the impact of his early-season struggles on his title defence.
“We’re already miles behind. So, I don’t even want to think about a championship fight at the moment; I think it’s more important to finish races,” Verstappen said.
“Today was in general just a bad day again.
“Not really having the pace; I was just managing the tyres to try to just bring it to the end… I knew I could not fight Charles, so there was no point to try to put pressure on him.
“But, yeah, we didn’t even finish the race, so it’s pretty frustrating and unacceptable.”
Red Bull had done work on Verstappen’s car during the morning and again on the grid and, when that was pointed out in the interview, the 24-year-old made a telling admission.
“I knew there was a problem, so it was always going to be a question mark of finishing the race,” Verstappen said.
Leclerc is leading the world championship on 71 points, and Mercedes’ George Russell (37) and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (33) are rounding out the top three.
Verstappen is sitting in sixth and is three points behind Hamilton, who he defeated in controversial scenes in last year’s title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Leclerc clocked a tick over 1:27.46 at Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit to collect his second win and third podium finish of the season.
It was also the Monacan’s first Australian Grand Prix triumph.
Lando Norris finished in fifth and Australian Daniel Ricciardo picked up sixth to register his first points of the season, as McLaren made a recovery following a terrible start to the world championship.
McLaren was helped by three retirements in Melbourne, with a hydraulic oil leak believed to have caused Verstappen’s retirement, Sainz crashing on lap two and Sebastian Vettel bombing out on lap 23.
Yellow flags were employed after all three incidents as the Australian Grand Prix returned to the calendar following a two-year hiatus in chaotic fashion.
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