Melbourne [Australia], March 29 : Ferrari scored their first 1-2 in the Australian GP since Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barichello did so in 2004, but despite a maximum score that included the extra point for the best lap team, manager Frederic Vasseur was determined to keep his feet on the ground.
Carlos Sainz ended Max Verstappen's win run by winning in Melbourne from second on the grid just two weeks after surgery, while Charles Leclerc had to work a little more to get past Lando Norris and finish second, with the Monegasque driver also taking the best lap award.
"I'm not focused at all on the performance of Red Bull, I'm focused on the performance of our car. We made a step forward," Vasseur said, as quoted by Formula 1.
"Confidence is a huge part of the results of this business and I think we are building up the confidence over the last month, and it was already the case in the last part of the season last year. It is already the case this weekend that when we are putting everything together - and I don't think we'll be able to do it every week - that when we are, we can put them under pressure and when they are under pressure they can make mistakes so we need to continue in this direction," he added.
Vasseur praised Sainz, who had made a remarkable return after the operation that sidelined him in Jeddah. Sainz was quick from the start in Melbourne, despite admitting he tried to relax on Friday, out-qualifying his teammate and then passing Verstappen for the lead early in the race. He won his third race with the Scuderia and the first in which he did not start from pole.
"Carlos deserves a special mention because a little over two weeks ago he was undergoing surgery. Now it's as if that never happened and he managed to stay focussed throughout, to round off a sensational weekend," Vasseur said.
"We have been quick all weekend right from the first free practice and I think we have made a good step forward compared to where we were one year ago, when we left Melbourne having failed to score points. We were not disappointed with our results in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, nor are we getting carried away because of this one-two finish. We must continue with this approach in the coming races because that's the only way we are going to get the results we want," he added.
Ferrari is currently only four points behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship, and Leclerc has passed Sergio Perez to take second place in the drivers' championship.
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