Australian GP: Verstappen wins in red-flag-filled and chaotic race
2nd April 2023Red Bull’s Max Verstappen cruised to the finish line ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, in an incident-filled Australian Grand Prix.
How the race unfolded…
It was a great start from Russell got a fantastic start off the line as the lights went out and managed to beat Verstappen into the opening corner and take the race lead, from second on the grid. Slightly further back, Hamilton tried to make inroads but was hindered by Verstappen and had to temporarily settle for third.
By the time the pack reached turn three, Russell continued unchallenged whereas Hamilton went wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen and slipped into second.
A couple of cars back, Leclerc was tagged by Stroll and spun out onto the gravel trap and because the Monegasque was beached, the safety car was deployed. During the safety car period, several drivers opted to pit for a change of tyres. On lap four, the race went back to green-flag conditions – led by Russell.
On lap seven, with four DRS zones around the Albert Park Circuit, Russell sounded very displeased over his team radio as he was ordered to manage his tyres yet he was under immense pressure from his teammate, Hamilton. However, the race was once again neutralised as the safety car was deployed.
The safety car intervention was brought out due to Williams’ Alexander Albon as the London-born driver lost rear-tyre grip at the corner entry of turn 6, on lap eight. Due to the loss of grip, the Williams rotated around and skipped across the gravel before it slammed into the barrier and bounced back onto the racing line at turn seven.
Russell quickly pitted under the safety car but as the Briton returned to the circuit, down in seventh place, the race was soon red-flagged due to the amount of debris out on the track (gravel and parts of Albon’s car). As a result, Hamilton led the race ahead of Verstappen and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. When the race was set to get back underway, race control opted to go through a standing start procedure.
Before the race got back underway, Verstappen complained over his team radio as the world champion stated Hamilton was more than 10 car lengths behind the safety car as they trundled towards the standing start. Further back, many drivers were caught out at the blind corner of turn six
The race restart procedure was soon put under investigation but it was later deemed no further action was necessary.
On the second restart, from the grid, Hamilton got a great getaway as Verstappen was left to contend with Alonso.
The pack managed to clear the opening corners cleanly but at turn three, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon’s front right tyre clipped the rear left tyre of Nyck De Vries’ Alpha Tauri. Due to the contact, De Vries was launched into the air. Luckily the Dutch driver was able to continue.
By the end of the restart lap, Hamilton had nearly cleared a one-second but it wasn’t long before Verstappen took the race lead as the Dutchman slipped by Hamilton. When the leading pair crossed the start/finish line to start lap 13, Verstappen had already cleared a two-second gap.
On lap 18, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed as Russell’s car suffered terminal mechanical problems which resulted in fire exploding out of the rear of his W14. The Mercedes driver was forced to retire at the pit exit line as he pulled over and quickly exited his vehicle. The race finally got back underway at the end of lap 19.
After a well-behaved, healthy amount of laps, Verstappen remained out ahead of Hamilton on lap 39, nearly 10 seconds ahead, and Alonso stayed in position to complete the top three.
“There’s no way I’m losing out to him,” said Hamilton on lap 42 – referring to Alonso behind – as the seven-time world champion put his head down and foot to the floor to keep the Aston Martin at bay.
Despite leading the race out in front, with 10 seconds in hand, Verstappen locked up into the penultimate corner on lap 48 and found himself on the grass. Fortunately, Verstappen was able to continue without losing out any positions. On the other hand, Hamilton closed the gap between himself and the Dutchman by four seconds, due to the Red Bull driver’s mistake.
The Haas of Kevin Magnussen provided some late drama to the Australian GP as his rear-right tyre detached from its rim on the exit of the second corner. While Magnussen was able to traverse turn three, the Dane quickly brought his car to a halt. The safety car was initially brought out but due to the amount of debris out on track, the race was red flagged which left a very intense two-lap shootout to determine the winner.
On the third and final restart, Verstappen got away well and defended the race lead immediately from Hamilton in second. However, chaos quickly ensued.
Alonso was tagged by Sainz at the first corner which rotated the Spaniard around and down to the back of the pack while Alonso fell the order, Sainz inherited third. At the same time, the Williams of Logan Sargeant collected the rear of De Vries which resulted in both drivers beached out on the gravel at the first corner run-off area.
While, slightly further along, both Alpine’s soon made contact and took each other out on the exit of turn two.
The race was quickly red-flagged due to the chaotic restart. However, unusually, race control opted to one final formation lap which saw Verstappen take the chequered flag at the end.
Due to Sainz’s crash with Alonso, the Ferrari driver was handed a five-second time penalty for causing a collision which dropped the Prancing Horse’s Spaniard down to 12th, and out of the points.
Podium:
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
That’s all for the article; Australian GP: Verstappen wins in red-flag filled and choatic race?
What did you think of Carlos Sainz’s penalty, is it justified for a lap which ultimately became null and void? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Australian GP: Verstappen on pole as both Mercedes round out top three
- Australian GP: Verstappen top in final practice as Perez struggles
- Australian GP: Alonso on top of FP2 in damp conditions
- Australian GP: Verstappen leads down-under ahead of Hamilton and Perez
- Wolff sees ‘promising’ signs at Mercedes F1 factory
- Alonso reinstated back to P3 after Saudi Arabia review
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
