Leclerc extends lead at the top as Verstappen fails to finish again

A flawless Charles Leclerc led from lights out to the chequered flag to steer his Ferrari to an action-packed win at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday with world champion Max Verstappen failing to finish.

The current championship leader had a perfect race, taking home his first-ever Grand Slam as he started from pole, won the race, and managed the fastest lap as well to earn the extra point.

Leclerc held his position at the first corner and never looked back, scorching round the 58-lap Albert Park circuit to take the chequered flag by a massive 20.5 seconds.

The 24-year old Monacan stretched his lead on the drivers' standings to 71 points, with George Russel displacing the other Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz for the second spot, Sainz dropping to third.

Even with Verstappen being forced to retire early, his second retirement in three races this season, Red Bull managed to pick points in Australia as Sergio Perez finished second, followed by George Russell who had started sixth on the grid.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished fourth behind his teammate, bettering his P10 finish in Saudi Arabia by far.

The Mclarens of Lando Norris and Daniel Riccardo finished fifth and sixth, as Alpine's Esteban Ocon came seventh ahead of Valtteri Bottas in his Alfa Romeo, with Pierre Gasly's AlphaTauri and Alex Albon's Williams rounding out the top 10 in that order.

Verstappen radioed in after smelling 'some weird fluid' and was forced to jump out with smoke coming from the engine, grabbing a fire extinguisher to help a marshal put out the flames.

Carlos Sainz weekend turned from bad to worse, losing traction on lap two but was lucky not to take out any rivals as he slid across the track and into gravel, prompting the safety car to be deployed.

Aston Martin's veteran Sebastian Vettel also failed to finish after he spun and crashed on the wall on lap 27, forcing out the safety car for the second time.

Additional reporting by AFP