Having certified second in Melbourne, Carlos Sainz – again from surgical procedure for appendicitis that dominated him out of the Saudi Arabian GP – executed a lap-two cross on polesitter Max Verstappen.
With the Crimson Bull compelled to retire with a right-rear brake failure, Charles Leclerc adopted Sainz house for a Ferrari 1-2 – the primary non-Verstappen win since Sainz claimed final 12 months’s Singapore victory.
That marked a significant change of fortune from the 2023 Australian GP, the place Leclerc crashed on lap one whereas Sainz completed fourth on the highway however dropped to twelfth with a five-second penalty for inflicting a collision.
This proved particularly expensive because the subject completed nose-to-tail after the red-flag-strewn race was restarted on the ultimate lap.
Wolff, a long-time pal of Ferrari group principal Vasseur, reckoned his rival group and Italy deserved the Scuderia’s success – with Vasseur having injured himself within the run as much as the Melbourne occasion final 12 months.
“Initially, I am completely satisfied for Ferrari,” stated Wolff. “I am completely satisfied for Fred. He deserves that.
“Final 12 months, we have been flying collectively and on the flight, Dubai to Melbourne [with] Emirates, he had a disc [in his spine] that jumped out and he could not sit or sleep. He was standing within the aeroplane for 13 hours.
“Then, one in all his automobiles crashed out and the opposite one completed P4, and it appeared disastrous. He had the stress for all of Italy and now he is had a 1-2.”
Watch: F1 2024 Australian Grand Prix Evaluate – Ferrari On High Down Below
In the meantime, Mercedes endured a double retirement in Melbourne – courtesy of an influence unit failure for Lewis Hamilton and a hefty shunt for George Russell within the closing laps.
With Hamilton switching to Ferrari for 2025, Sainz should seek for a brand new seat and has been linked with Mercedes.
Wolff continued: “As a lot as I hate our state of affairs, [Vasseur] deserves that. Ferrari deserves that. And Italy deserves it.
“Carlos deserves it – after not solely the appendix, but in addition principally being informed ‘You are not right here anymore’. And bang! You’ll be able to see what some human energy can do when it must.”
Requested by Motorsport.com in regards to the driver search, Wolff stated there was not essentially any ‘knockout standards’ in opposition to Sainz, and different urged candidates like Verstappen and Mercedes protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli, to already rule themselves out of the gig.
“Those which can be obtainable or that might be attention-grabbing for us, all of them have arguments in favour for them…” he stated.
“It is a tough selection as a result of it isn’t like there are KO standards for one and every thing factors to the opposite one.
“So, I simply need to do a step again and simply monitor the state of affairs as a result of a number of the guys you talked about [Max, Carlos] could signal for different groups. So, simply taking a look at it.”