Charles Leclerc (P2, Fastest lap, 19 pts): 8.5/10
For the second race in succession, Charles Leclerc was outshone by his Ferrari team mate despite finishing on the podium on both occasions. In Saudi Arabia all eyes had been on Ollie Bearman making his F1 debut as a late substitute for Carlos Sainz, who had been rushed to hospital for surgery for appendicitis. And this week in Melbourne, it was Sainz himself who was the focus of attention as he made his return to the cockpit despite clear discomfort. Leclerc must have been confident that this would give him an advantage over the Spaniard leaving him to concentrate on taking the battle to Red Bull who seemed unusually off their best form this weekend. Things looked to be going according to plan and Leclerc duly topped the timesheets ahead of Verstappen and Sainz in FP2 and FP3, but he stumbled in qualifying and found himself only fourth on the grid. Verstappen's dramatic expiration in a fiery blaze of brakes just two laps into the race changed the game, and an early pit stop allowed him to undercut Lando Norris for second. However there was no opportunity for him to catch let alone challenge Sainz for the lead of the race. Or maybe Leclerc just didn't have the heart to spoil the fairytale comeback story of the man no longer in possession of an appendix.
Carlos Sainz (P1, 25 pts): 10/10
For a man who looked desperately unwell in Saudi Arabia even before he was diagnosed with appendicitis and rushed off for emergency surgery, it's utterly remarkable that Carlos Sainz was able to get back to work and complete a full race weekend just two weeks later. We were already prepared to give him an extra point just for the that alone. Normal people would still be at home in bed, eating snacks and binge-watching the latest Netflix box set (Drive to Survive, anyone?) But not Carlos, who had a point to prove and did so remarkably well, finishing Friday third fastest in practice which is where he picked up again in FP3. Unfortunately when it came to qualifying, the Red Bull was too strong. You could say the RB20 was on fire. And two laps into the race, that's exactly what it was. As Verstappen pulled in to retire, Sainz found himself leading the race and that's how it remained for the rest of the afternoon. He eased off toward the end, and must have been thinking his internal organs had been liquified by the G-forces at work, but by then victory was in the bag. It left his good friend and former team mate Norris wondering out loud whether the weight reduction from an appendectomy might be a profitable future strategy call for himself.
