Sainz underwent an appendectomy only two weeks ago and was unsure whether he would be able to compete in Melbourne, but the Spaniard powered to second on the grid and passed Verstappen on the second lap to stamp his authority on Albert Park.
The duel with the Dutchman didn’t last long. Verstappen reported a sticking right-rear brake, and on the third lap it erupted into flames as he limped back to pit lane.
The overheating brake material exploded in a plume of dirty black smoke as he headed towards his pit box, putting paid to any hope he could rejoin the grand prix and ending his run of 43 consecutive finishes.
Suddenly the race for victory was alive, with Sainz leading Lando Norris, Leclerc and Oscar Piastri in a four-lap duel.
Sainz, who on Saturday said he was still adjusting to the feeling of his internal organs moving around in the space vacated by his extracted appendix, reeled off a series of fastest laps to create a buffer to his pursuers that would keep him safe until the final laps of the race.
Tyre wear was unusually high at Albert Park, and McLaren rolled the dice by bringing Piastri in for an early stop on lap 9 to try to undercut Leclerc for third.
Ferrari, however, was wise to the move, and Leclerc got into the lane before him, ensuring the drivers rejoined in order.
But it had the side-effect of getting both drivers past Norris when he stopped five laps later, albeit the Briton was gifted a substantial tyre advantage.
With fresher rubber Norris rapidly closed in on his teammate, who was ordered to let the faster McLaren past. By lap 33 he was sizing up Leclerc when Ferrari pulled in the Monegasque early for a second time.
It proved the decisive call of the race, ensuring Leclerc stayed ahead when Norris and Piastri made their second stops on laps 30 and 39 respectively.
A lock-up from Piastri shortly before his second stop dropped the Australian out of podium contention, but Norris remained in pursuit of the Ferrari driver to the finish.
Leclerc, however, was happier on his second set of tyres and with a lighter fuel load. He matched Norris for pace, and in the final five laps he began closing in on cruising leader Sainz.
But the race was neutralised on the penultimate lap for a high-speed Russell crash at turn 6 before it could reach its conclusion.
Russell has been pursuing Fernando Alonso for sixth place when the Spaniard braked erratically entering the corner. Russell was caught unaware, and though he avoided a crash, the surprise sent him slithering off the road and into the barriers.
His left-hand wheels sheered from the car, and his Mercedes folded over the stray tyres and rolled onto its side as he slid back onto the road.
The virtual safety car was deployed, forcing the race to finish under caution while Russell extricated himself from the upturned wreckage uninjured.
Alonso was slapped with a post-race 20-second penalty for triggering the crash.
With Leclerc was prevented from challenging his teammate by the VSC, Sainz was able to confirm a well-deserved victory.
“I think our car really worked really well this weekend,” he said. “Around Australia, from lap one, it felt like a race-winning car.
“There will be tracks where we are strong, like we saw last year, and this year it seems like our race pace is better even on those tracks that we are stronger.
“Together with a good development program, I hope that we can challenge Red Bull more often.”
Leclerc praised the car’s improved competitiveness after completing Ferrari’s first one-two finish since the start of 2022.
“It’s extremely important because it’s been a long time since we have had the genuine pace to [match] Red Bull,” he said.
“Looking back at the first three races, there is not one race where we didn’t maximise the result, so we need to do that until we get the car that is consistently better than the Red Bull, especially in the race.”
Norris was happy to return to he podium with McLaren but believed a better strategy could have secured him at least one extra step up the podium.
“I didn’t expect probably us to be competing against the Ferraris today,” he said. “I think our pace was not as good as Carlos but probably better than Charles, so I think if I was being honest, we maybe missed out a little bit on an opportunity to be P2 today.
“But for us to say that is a good sign, and I think it’s a good positive for the whole team.”
Sergio Pérez finished fifth in the sole remaining Red Bull Racing machine. The Mexican started sixth after receiving a penalty for impeding another driver in qualifying, and debris slowed his progress in the race.
Lance Stroll and the excellent Yuki Tsunoda were promoted to sixth and seventh ahead of the penalised Alonso in eighth, while Haas teammate Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen completed the point-scoring positions.