Ferrari's Charles Leclerc claimed his second win of the Formula One season with a thumping, pole-to-flag victory at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday as Red Bull's world champion Max Verstappen suffered "deja vu" with another retirement.

Leclerc's car was dominant on the upgraded Albert Park circuit as the Monagesque sealed his fourth career win more than 20 seconds ahead of Red Bull's runnerup Sergio Perez.

Third-placed George Russell grabbed his second podium and first for Mercedes in an encouraging day for the struggling constructors'&nbsp;champions.

"What a race and what pace," said a thrilled Leclerc on the team radio, having finished more than 20 seconds ahead of Perez in the 58-lap race.

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/formula-1-ferraris-charles-leclerc-beats-max-verstappen-to-claim-pole-position-for-australian-grand-prix-469679">Formula 1: Ferrari's Charles Leclerc beats Max Verstappen to claim pole position for Australian Grand Prix</a>

"The car was incredible today, well done guys."

Winner of the season-opener in Bahrain, 24-year-old Leclerc has now built a 34-point lead over Russell to emerge as early favourite for the drivers'&nbsp;championship.

Ferrari's celebrations were tempered by Carlos Sainz crashing out shortly after the start, while four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin crashed his car on his return after missing the opening races due to COVID-19.

Verstappen was second behind Leclerc when his RB18 car suffered a reliability problem and rolled to a halt during his 39th lap with smoke billowing.

"I smell some weird fluid," said the Dutchman before coming to a stop at turn two.

Yet he would have had little hope of reeling in Leclerc.

&nbsp;

"I knew I could not fight Charles so there was no point to try and put pressure on him," Verstappen told Sky.

"But we didn`t even finish the race so it's pretty frustrating and unacceptable."

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/wimbledon-organisers-holding-talks-with-british-government-on-participation-of-players-from-russia-belarus-468661">Wimbledon organisers holding talks with British government on participation of players from Russia, Belarus</a>

It was a similar outcome to the season-opener in Bahrain, where Verstappen retired three laps from the end while on course for a second-place finish.

Lewis Hamilton finished fourth for Mercedes after starting fifth on the grid, having been passed by Russell due to a safety car deployment.

McLaren's Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth and sixth respectively as the team showed improvement after a poor start to the season.

Sainz, who started ninth on the grid after set-up troubles in qualifying, had a dreadful start then skidded into grass before spinning across the track, somehow missing oncoming traffic before coming to a stop in gravel at turn 10.

Vettel later locked up on a kerb at turn four before shunting his Aston Martin into a wall and leaving a trail of debris across the track.

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/formula-one-sebastian-vettel-fined-5000-euros-for-riding-scooter-around-australian-grand-prix-circuit-469450">Formula One: Sebastian Vettel fined 5,000 euros for riding scooter around Australian Grand Prix circuit</a>

Vettel's crash saw the safety car deployed again, and Russell capitalised by pitting before rejoining in third place ahead of Perez and Hamilton.

Leclerc's lead was wiped out by the safety car and nearly taken out as Verstappen swooped after the restart but the Monagesque saw off the Dutchman and built his lead to the finish.

Alex Albon started 19th on the grid but finished 10th, grabbing a first point for Williams after managing his hard tyres virtually to the finish.

Organisers said an estimated 420,000 people flocked to Albert Park over the race week, making it the biggest attendance for a weekend sporting event in Australia.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc claimed his second win of the Formula One season with a thumping, pole-to-flag victory at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday as Red Bull's world champion Max Verstappen suffered "deja vu" with another retirement.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc claimed his second win of the Formula One season with a thumping, pole-to-flag victory at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday as Red Bull's world champion Max Verstappen suffered "deja vu" with another retirement. Leclerc's car was dominant on the upgraded Albert Park circuit as the Monagesque sealed his fourth career win more than 20 seconds ahead of Red Bull's runnerup Sergio Perez. Third-placed George Russell grabbed his second podium and first for Mercedes in an encouraging day for the struggling constructors' champions. "What a race and what pace," said a thrilled Leclerc on the team radio, having finished more than 20 seconds ahead of Perez in the 58-lap race. ALSO READ: Formula 1: Ferrari's Charles Leclerc beats Max Verstappen to claim pole position for Australian Grand Prix "The car was incredible today, well done guys." Winner of the season-opener in Bahrain, 24-year-old Leclerc has now built a 34-point lead over Russell to emerge as early favourite for the drivers' championship. Ferrari's celebrations were tempered by Carlos Sainz crashing out shortly after the start, while four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin crashed his car on his return after missing the opening races due to COVID-19. Verstappen was second behind Leclerc when his RB18 car suffered a reliability problem and rolled to a halt during his 39th lap with smoke billowing. "I smell some weird fluid," said the Dutchman before coming to a stop at turn two. Yet he would have had little hope of reeling in Leclerc. "I knew I could not fight Charles so there was no point to try and put pressure on him," Verstappen told Sky. "But we didn`t even finish the race so it's pretty frustrating and unacceptable." ALSO READ: Wimbledon organisers holding talks with British government on participation of players from Russia, Belarus It was a similar outcome to the season-opener in Bahrain, where Verstappen retired three laps from the end while on course for a second-place finish. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth for Mercedes after starting fifth on the grid, having been passed by Russell due to a safety car deployment. McLaren's Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth and sixth respectively as the team showed improvement after a poor start to the season. Sainz, who started ninth on the grid after set-up troubles in qualifying, had a dreadful start then skidded into grass before spinning across the track, somehow missing oncoming traffic before coming to a stop in gravel at turn 10. Vettel later locked up on a kerb at turn four before shunting his Aston Martin into a wall and leaving a trail of debris across the track. ALSO READ: Formula One: Sebastian Vettel fined 5,000 euros for riding scooter around Australian Grand Prix circuit Vettel's crash saw the safety car deployed again, and Russell capitalised by pitting before rejoining in third place ahead of Perez and Hamilton. Leclerc's lead was wiped out by the safety car and nearly taken out as Verstappen swooped after the restart but the Monagesque saw off the Dutchman and built his lead to the finish. Alex Albon started 19th on the grid but finished 10th, grabbing a first point for Williams after managing his hard tyres virtually to the finish. Organisers said an estimated 420,000 people flocked to Albert Park over the race week, making it the biggest attendance for a weekend sporting event in Australia.

Formula 1: Charles Leclerc wins Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari as Red Bull's Max Verstappen retires again

Former Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali on Thursday announced his retirement from one-day international cricket. The right-handed batsman said he wanted to focus on his test career.

"I haven't taken this decision suddenly. I have been thinking about it," Azhar told reporters in Lahore. "It's the right time to focus on tests. There have been terrific players in one-dayers in the Pakistan set-up.

"I want to concentrate on tests with the same fitness and energy that I have been. I didn't decide to retire after any hard feelings. It's my personal decision."

The 33-year-old became captain of Pakistan's ODI side after the 2015 World Cup but was replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed at the start of 2017 after a string of poor results.

Former Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali on Thursday announced his retirement from one-day international cricket. The right-handed batsman said he wanted to focus on his test career.

Former Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali on Thursday announced his retirement from one-day international cricket. The right-handed batsman said he wanted to focus on his test career. "I haven't taken this decision suddenly. I have been thinking about it," Azhar told reporters in Lahore. "It's the right time to focus on tests. There have been terrific players in one-dayers in the Pakistan set-up. "I want to concentrate on tests with the same fitness and energy that I have been. I didn't decide to retire after any hard feelings. It's my personal decision." The 33-year-old became captain of Pakistan's ODI side after the 2015 World Cup but was replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed at the start of 2017 after a string of poor results.

Pakistan's Azhar Ali retires from one-day internationals

Former Reserve Bank of India chief Raghuram Rajan said on Wednesday he did not intend to apply for the job of Bank of England governor which is due to come vacant next year.

Rajan has been mentioned by analysts as a possible future BoE governor after Mark Carney - who previously headed Canada's central bank - steps down at the end of June 2019.

"I have a very good job at the University of Chicago and I actually am an academic, not a professional central banker. I am very happy where I am," Rajan told reporters after an event in London hosted by the U.S. university's Booth School of Business, where he is a finance professor.

"I think I’ve said all I can say. I’m not going to apply for a job anywhere, absolutely."

Asked what he would do if he were approached to fill the role, Rajan - who was the RBI's governor until September 2016 - said he had answered a similar question.

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British finance minister Philip Hammond is expected to name Carney's successor later this year, and said in Washington last month that he would consider candidates from abroad.

Andrew Bailey, a former BoE deputy governor who now heads Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, is seen as the front-runner by many economists in the City of London.

Aside from current senior BoE staff, other names mentioned include Agustin Carstens, the Mexican who is general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, Minouche Shafik, a former BoE deputy governor who heads the London School of Economics and Shriti Vadera, who chairs Santander UK.

Rajan is a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, and warned of financial imbalances in the run-up to the 2007-08 global crisis.

On Wednesday, he said that banks were now much safer but risk had shifted to other parts of the financial system.

Debt troubles in Argentina were likely to be repeated elsewhere and he highlighted the increased volume of 'covenant-lite' loans compared with before the crisis.

The U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank had probably done too much in the way of asset purchases once the worst of the crisis had passed, Rajan added, and had let governments off the hook in terms of undertaking structural reform and providing fiscal stimulus.

In the ECB's case, asset purchases appeared to have weakened the euro but not boosted real economic activity.

He declined to comment on whether the BoE's 435 billion pound ($587 billion) asset purchases were too much, or if Britain's fiscal austerity since 2010 had been excessive, as he had not studied the British economy in as much depth.

Rajan has been mentioned by analysts as a possible future BoE governor after Mark Carney - who previously headed Canada's central bank - steps down at the end of June 2019

Former Reserve Bank of India chief Raghuram Rajan said on Wednesday he did not intend to apply for the job of Bank of England governor which is due to come vacant next year. Rajan has been mentioned by analysts as a possible future BoE governor after Mark Carney - who previously headed Canada's central bank - steps down at the end of June 2019. "I have a very good job at the University of Chicago and I actually am an academic, not a professional central banker. I am very happy where I am," Rajan told reporters after an event in London hosted by the U.S. university's Booth School of Business, where he is a finance professor. "I think I’ve said all I can say. I’m not going to apply for a job anywhere, absolutely." Asked what he would do if he were approached to fill the role, Rajan - who was the RBI's governor until September 2016 - said he had answered a similar question. Also read: Implementation of GST not 'unfixable' problem, says Raghuram Rajan British finance minister Philip Hammond is expected to name Carney's successor later this year, and said in Washington last month that he would consider candidates from abroad. Andrew Bailey, a former BoE deputy governor who now heads Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, is seen as the front-runner by many economists in the City of London. Aside from current senior BoE staff, other names mentioned include Agustin Carstens, the Mexican who is general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, Minouche Shafik, a former BoE deputy governor who heads the London School of Economics and Shriti Vadera, who chairs Santander UK. Rajan is a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, and warned of financial imbalances in the run-up to the 2007-08 global crisis. On Wednesday, he said that banks were now much safer but risk had shifted to other parts of the financial system. Debt troubles in Argentina were likely to be repeated elsewhere and he highlighted the increased volume of 'covenant-lite' loans compared with before the crisis. The U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank had probably done too much in the way of asset purchases once the worst of the crisis had passed, Rajan added, and had let governments off the hook in terms of undertaking structural reform and providing fiscal stimulus. In the ECB's case, asset purchases appeared to have weakened the euro but not boosted real economic activity. He declined to comment on whether the BoE's 435 billion pound ($587 billion) asset purchases were too much, or if Britain's fiscal austerity since 2010 had been excessive, as he had not studied the British economy in as much depth.

Not applying for Bank of England job: Raghuram Rajan

Harlequins and England back-row forward Nick Easter announced his retirement from rugby union on Friday. The 37-year-old will now take on a full-time coaching position with English Premiership side Harlequins, having become a player-coach with the London club in April. 
 
&quot;After accepting the opportunity of being a coach-player by (Quins director of rugby) John Kingston, I took some time to think about my career,&quot; Easter said in a Harlequins statement. &quot;I realised that whether I&#39;m playing or coaching, there was no possible way that I would be able to give 100 per cent to both of my roles at the same time. 
 
&quot;I thought, why not grab the opportunity of becoming a coach with both hands, give it my best shot and feel privileged to be in a position to go out on my own terms after 12 great years as a player for Harlequins?&nbsp;I&#39;m a few weeks into my role now and I&#39;m thoroughly enjoying it. Having had five weeks in the off-season to finalise it and four weeks now as a coach, I don&#39;t regret my decision and I can&#39;t wait for the new season to begin.&quot; 
 
Easter won 54 England caps for England, making his debut against Italy in the 2007 Six Nations. In the same year the back-row forward played in the World Cup final defeat by South Africa and became the first England Number 8 to score four tries in one match, during a 62-5 win over Wales. 
 
After a prolonged absence from Test rugby, Easter was recalled by England for last year&#39;s Six Nations and then brought into the World Cup squad as an injury replacement for Billy Vunipola. 
 
In England&#39;s final pool game at the World Cup, Easter became the oldest hat-trick scorer in Test history after crossing three times in victory over Uruguay -- his final international appearance. 
 
Easter also made 281 appearances for Harlequins since joining the club from Orrell in 2004 and in the process became Quins&#39; most-capped professional player. During his time at the Stoop, Easter helped Quins win the European Challenge Cup in 2011 and their maiden Premiership title the following year as well as the 2013 Anglo-Welsh Cup. 
 
&quot;Nick has been an unbelievable servant to the Harlequins team for over a decade,&quot; said Kingston. &quot;He has been at the very heartbeat of all the successes the side has achieved over this period. Nick has a fantastic rugby brain and it is for this reason I offered him the opportunity to join the new look coaching team at the club. Both Nick and I have agreed it is in the best interests of Quins that he focuses on his coaching exclusively from now.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

The oldest hat-trick scorer had become a player-coach with the London club in April

Harlequins and England back-row forward Nick Easter announced his retirement from rugby union on Friday. The 37-year-old will now take on a full-time coaching position with English Premiership side Harlequins, having become a player-coach with the London club in April. "After accepting the opportunity of being a coach-player by (Quins director of rugby) John Kingston, I took some time to think about my career," Easter said in a Harlequins statement. "I realised that whether I'm playing or coaching, there was no possible way that I would be able to give 100 per cent to both of my roles at the same time. "I thought, why not grab the opportunity of becoming a coach with both hands, give it my best shot and feel privileged to be in a position to go out on my own terms after 12 great years as a player for Harlequins? I'm a few weeks into my role now and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Having had five weeks in the off-season to finalise it and four weeks now as a coach, I don't regret my decision and I can't wait for the new season to begin." Easter won 54 England caps for England, making his debut against Italy in the 2007 Six Nations. In the same year the back-row forward played in the World Cup final defeat by South Africa and became the first England Number 8 to score four tries in one match, during a 62-5 win over Wales. After a prolonged absence from Test rugby, Easter was recalled by England for last year's Six Nations and then brought into the World Cup squad as an injury replacement for Billy Vunipola. In England's final pool game at the World Cup, Easter became the oldest hat-trick scorer in Test history after crossing three times in victory over Uruguay -- his final international appearance. Easter also made 281 appearances for Harlequins since joining the club from Orrell in 2004 and in the process became Quins' most-capped professional player. During his time at the Stoop, Easter helped Quins win the European Challenge Cup in 2011 and their maiden Premiership title the following year as well as the 2013 Anglo-Welsh Cup. "Nick has been an unbelievable servant to the Harlequins team for over a decade," said Kingston. "He has been at the very heartbeat of all the successes the side has achieved over this period. Nick has a fantastic rugby brain and it is for this reason I offered him the opportunity to join the new look coaching team at the club. Both Nick and I have agreed it is in the best interests of Quins that he focuses on his coaching exclusively from now." (AFP)

RugbyU: Easter retires to focus on coaching

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