Max Verstappen, the reigning F1 champion, dealt with brake issues from the moment the lights went out in Melbourne. He lost the lead to Carlos Sainz Jr. on lap two, and by lap four, a total failure of the right rear brake forced him to abandon the race. It was a disappointing turn for the Red Bull driver, who had secured his third straight pole position of the 2024 season. Despite a strong start, the mechanical failure cut short the run of the driver who had dominated the previous nine Grands Prix.
Defending F1 champion Max Verstappen reported a locked brake from the start of the Melbourne race, and after losing the lead to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. on lap 2, the Dutchman’s right rear brake failed on lap 4, forcing him to retire. Red Bull’s star driver Verstappen made it three pole positions in a row at the start of F1 2024 in Australia, but despite taking the lead off the line, a rear right brake issue he had felt from the start quickly proved terminal, forcing the winner of the last nine grand prix to retire early.
Sergio Perez expressed his belief that Ferrari would have claimed victory at the Australian Grand Prix regardless of Max Verstappen's retirement. Perez noted that Ferrari's overall race efficiency and their successful strategy in handling front tire graining—which they had perfected during practice—gave Sainz a winning edge.
After starting the year with two dominant 1-2 finishes, Red Bull finally saw their streak broken as Ferrari capitalized on the situation. Carlos Sainz led a double-podium finish for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc finishing right behind him. Despite Verstappen's overall speed in the 2024 season, Perez feels that even a perfectly functioning Red Bull RB20 wouldn't have been enough to stop Ferrari at Albert Park.
When Sky F1 questioned whether Ferrari would have won if Verstappen hadn't suffered a DNF, Perez responded with a definitive \"Absolutely, yes.\" Finishing fifth and trailing Sainz by over a minute, Perez explained that tire management was the deciding factor on Sunday, noting that McLaren also seemed a \"step ahead.\" This was reflected in the results, with McLaren's Lando Norris securing third place alongside the two Ferrari drivers.
We didn’t have the pace, unfortunately. Early on we could see that Ferrari and McLaren were a step ahead of us. I think we just couldn’t get the balance in a window. There is some work to do for the coming races. It was a very unique tarmac and throughout the weekend we were not able to manage the best possible grip level, the Mexican driver admitted.
\"We lacked the necessary pace all weekend. The struggle began on Friday, and we simply couldn't get the tire management under control. Now, we need to analyze what happened and ensure we make the right improvements,\" he noted.
In a contrasting view, Red Bull's senior advisor Helmut Marko disagreed with Perez, suggesting that the result of the race would have been entirely different had Verstappen not been forced to retire.