Leclerc pulls away for decisive win at Australian GP

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Riding high after a decisive victory for Ferrari in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, Charles Leclerc’s belief in the team's prospects are growing by the race.

A grand prix billed as a showdown between Leclerc’s Ferrari and the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez finished with the Monaco driver as a one-sided winner.

The 24-year-old Leclerc extended his lead in the drivers’ championship to 34 points while claiming his second win of the season after victory in the season-opening race in Bahrain.

A crowd of 128,294 in Melbourne were treated to an emphatic triumph by Leclerc, who was able to hold off Verstappen during the opening laps and defended well mid-race under safety car conditions to pull away for a decisive 20.524-second victory.

Engine failure forced Verstappen from the race on lap 38 at the Albert Park circuit, with Perez overcoming a slow start to take second ahead of the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in third and fourth, respectively.

McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth and sixth in an Australian GP that drew a record attendance of 419,114 over three days.

Leclerc became the first Ferrari driver since Fernando Alonso in Singapore in 2010 to complete a racing “grand slam” comprised of winning pole position, leading wire-to-wire and also posting the fastest time.

The drivers’ championship leader, who pitted on Lap 22, posted a fastest lap of 1 minute, 20.260 seconds with a final-lap flourish and was clearly the quickest car all weekend, which he described as a pleasing surprise.

“Honestly, what a car today. Of course, I did a good job all weekend, but it was not possible without the car,” he said.

His teammate, Carlos Sainz,