Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain reacts as he is sprayed in champagne after winning the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, on March 24, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

MELBOURNE - Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday in a triumphant return two weeks after appendicitis surgery as Red Bull's world champion Max Verstappen suffered his first retirement in two years.

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.

"It was a really good race. I felt really good out there," said Sainz, who missed the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia while recovering from surgery.

Charles Leclerc recorded the fastest lap to cap a productive day for Ferrari, who are now just four points behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship

"Of course a bit stiff and especially physically it wasn't the easiest but I was lucky that I was more or less on my own and I could manage my pace, manage the tyres, manage everything, and it wasn't the toughest race of all.

"But very happy, very proud of the team, and happy to be in a one-two with Charles here."

Briton Lando Norris was third for McLaren, thwarting fourth-placed team mate Oscar Piastri's hopes of a first podium by an Australian driver at the F1 race.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco leads Red Bull driver Sergio Perez of Mexico during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, on March 24, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

Norris now has the most podiums (14) without a win in F1.

Leclerc recorded the fastest lap to cap a productive day for Ferrari, who are now just four points behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship.

ALSO READ: Verstappen continues pole perfection in Australia

Verstappen still leads the drivers championship after his wins in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the Dutchman on 51 points ahead of Leclerc with 47.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands leads the field at the start of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, on March 24, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

Mechanics deal with the smoke coming out of Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen car during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne on March 24, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

Red Bull's Sergio Perez, who finished fifth, is one point further adrift of Leclerc, with Sainz leaping to fourth in the standings, 11 points behind Verstappen.

"We just didn't have the pace today. We didn't have the pace throughout the weekend," lamented Perez, adding that Ferrari would "absolutely" have won even if Verstappen went the distance.

Verstappen started on pole for the third time this season but retired on the fourth lap with a brake problem as flames leaped out of the right rear of his car

Verstappen started on pole for the third time this season but retired on the fourth lap with a brake problem as flames leaped out of the right rear of his car.

It was his first DNF since retiring from Albert Park in the 2022 race and ended his run of nine successive race wins.

The 26-year-old said he was basically driving with the handbrake on from the start.

"That's why already it felt the car was really weird to drive in some corners. It was just very snappy," he added.

Mercedes' British driver George Russell crashes during during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne on March 24, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton competes during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne on March 24, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

Red Bull have now suffered two defeats in 26 races dating back to the last round of 2022.

Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton was also forced to retire early with a power unit problem after starting 11th on the grid following his worst Melbourne qualifying since 2010.

Lewis Hamilton‘s team mate George Russell completed a dismal day for the Silver Arrows by skidding into gravel at turn six and crashing into the barrier to wreck his car and bring out the virtual safety car

His team mate Russell completed a dismal day for the Silver Arrows by skidding into gravel at turn six and crashing into the barrier to wreck his car and bring out the virtual safety car.

READ MORE: Verstappen eyes perfect 10 in Australia amid Red Bull discord

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was sixth after starting 10th on the grid but was summoned to the stewards over Russell's crash.

Alonso's team mate Lance Stroll was seventh, while Yuki Tsunoda was eighth, delivering RB their first points of the season.

Ninth-placed Nico Hulkenberg and Haas team mate Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top 10.

Williams had only one driver in the race, with Alex Albon finishing 11th and out of the points in his team mate Logan Sargeant's car, the American ordered to make way after Albon wrecked his own car in Friday practice.