MELBOURNE, March 24 — Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix today in a triumphant return two weeks after appendicitis surgery as Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen suffered his first retirement in two years.

Advertisement

Sainz, the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race last season, held off team mate Charles Leclerc before a final-lap crash by Mercedes driver George Russell triggered a virtual safety car and eased the Spaniard’s path to victory.