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Ammon News - Charles Leclerc extends title lead to 34 points as Max Verstappen retires for second race out of three with suspected Red Bull fuel issue; Sergio Perez second but finished 20 seconds behind winner; George Russell completed the podium for Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton fourth.

Charles Leclerc took an impressive runaway victory for Ferrari at the Australian GP, as race and championship rival Max Verstappen suffered another disastrous retirement with a Red Bull issue in Melbourne.

Verstappen, who also had a reliability DNF at the Bahrain season-opener, was running second when he was told to stop his Red Bull with 20 laps remaining, as smoke then poured from his engine as he exited the car.

But the world champion still wouldn't have been a match for Leclerc, who was utterly dominant on Sunday and has now extended his early-season title lead to a healthy 34 points.

Leclerc led from pole and was rarely troubled - minus a Verstappen attempt following a second Safety Car restart - with Ferrari utterly dominant with their pace.

"The car was incredible today," said Leclerc, who put the cherry on top of his display with a last-lap fastest lap to give him the maximum 26 points.

Sergio Perez was second in the other Red Bull after managing to overtake both Mercedes cars, although finished 20 seconds off Leclerc.

George Russell completed the podium and is now Leclerc's closest challenger in the championship, with Mercedes enjoying a positive Sunday despite Lewis Hamilton's frustrations in fourth.

Hamilton had gone from fifth to third on the opening lap and was ahead of Perez again later in the race, although a Safety Car from Sebastian Vettel's crash in the Aston Martin played into his team-mate's hands.

There was also an early-race Safety Car thanks to Carlos Sainz beaching his car, the only blip on an otherwise sublime Grand Prix for Ferrari.

Sainz, who should have been in the fight for pole in qualifying but unluckily ended up ninth on the grid, dropped early positions on the hard tyre before braking too late in the final sector and running over the grass and into the gravel.

McLaren, like Mercedes, capitalised on Sainz and Verstappen's issues with strong points, with the Woking team achieving their first double top-10 of the season with Lando Norris and home favourite Daniel Ricciardo fifth and sixth.

Fernando Alonso didn't finish in the top-10 despite his obvious speed in the Alpine, with Alex Albon scoring his and Williams' first points of the season despite stopping for the first and only time with a lap remaining.

*SKY