Marshals rushed to put out the fire on Max Verstappen's Red Bull as the Formula 1 champion retired from the Australian Grand Prix.
Verstappen was in the hunt for back-to-back podiums in Melbourne to set aside the disappointment of his mechanical failure in Bahrain. But instead there was more heartbreak in store for the Dutchman, as he was forced to pull over and get out of his car with 20 laps to go.
Having retired from two of the three races so far this season, title rival Charles Leclerc rubbed salt in the wounds as he was now in the clear to coast home at the front of the Grand Prix. Sergio Perez was 15 seconds behind the leader, though Red Bull's damage was limited by the fact the other Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz had already crashed out of the race.
But it did mean that Leclerc had no challenge anywhere near him as he coasted home to win the race. Perez limited the damage to Red Bull's constructors' championship hopes by crossing the line second, while George Russell secured his first Mercedes podium by rounding off the top three.
Verstappen's retirement from the race came out of nowhere as he suddenly pulled over at the start of Lap 39. He reported to his race engineer that he could smell "a weird fluid", before succinctly summing up the issue: "Everything has s**t itself."
Sky Sports F1 pundit Ted Kravitz reported that the team was initially unsure as to what had caused the car to catch fire. "They can't really say, it's too early, but Red Bull need to investigate, pull the car to pieces," he said. "But it might not be until it returns to Milton Keynes that they know what part of the car let go of its senses."
Perez was beaming after finishing second in the race, but sent his best wishes to his team-mate in his post-race interview. "It's a good result, but unfortunately we lost Max, it would have been great to have a double-podium for the team," he told Mark Webber. "We've been a bit too unlucky in the first few races."
Meanwhile, Leclerc was delighted after becoming a winner for the second time already this season, as he really stamped his early-season authority on this year's title race. "What a car today. Of course I did a good job all weekend, but it was not possible without the car," he declared. "I'm just so happy!"
