Max Verstappen continues his (almost) 100 percent start to the 2023 season with a professional display at a chaotic Australian GP. Check out how things finished in the Australian GP: Report
Excitement at the Start, Tears for the Tifosi
With Max Verstappen on pole and the Mercedes pair ready to hunt down the current champion, it was going to be an interesting first lap. It didn’t disappoint, with George Russell taking the lead heading into the first corner, it got even better for Mercedes, when Hamilton dived into the inside of Verstappen at turn three. It’s a Mercedes 1-2.
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It didn’t take long for the first incident of the race as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was seen sliding backwards into the gravel trap at turn three after contact with Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin. An unfortunate racing incident.
Agony for Albon, Sainz and Russell Loses Out
The race would restart after a short Safety Car period with the leaders keeping positions, however things were to change after Alex Albon loses the rear of his Williams at turn seven, he would bounce off the barriers sending a load of gravel over the track resulting in another Safety Car. Carlos Sainz and George Russell decided to dive into the pits, unfortunately almost as soon as they did this the red flag was thrown, destroying both drivers strategies along with Russell’s attack on first place.
Re-Start
Lewis Hamilton managed to control the second restart of the day, it wasn’t without drama as Nyck De Vries coming into contact with Esteban Ocon sending the Alpha Tauri skyward. Both drivers were able to continue.
Russell’s Nightmare
After such a great start for George, passing Max Verstappen at the start and looking to establish a rhythm, however the red flag ruined his challenge for the race win, it got much worse, as the Mercedes car would grind to a halt at the end of the pit lane with flames firing out the rear of the W14. Unbelievably bad luck for George.
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Redbull takes the Lead and Takes Off
Mercedes return to the front didn’t last long, with Max Verstappen taking the lead with a DRS assisted pass, the speed difference was apparent between the Redbull and Mercedes, with Max building a 2 second lead in the blink of an eye. Lewis Hamilton’s focus moved to the rear of his W14 to keep an eye on the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.
Charging Through the Field
Both Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez had to charge through the field, Carlos was caught out by Albon’s red flag and Perez starting from the pit lane after a horrible qualifying the day before. Both drivers showing that you can pass at Albert Park. Perez would get up to seventh with Carlos Sainz managing to charge up to fourth.
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Red Flag with four laps to go!!!!!!
Sometimes Formula 1 has a tendency to throw a curve ball, this time it was a curveball in the shape of Kevin Magnussen, who decided to spice things up and lose control of his HAAS car on the exit of turn two. He would strike the wall on the outside of the corner ripping off the tyre and destroying the right rear suspension.
The FIA decided to throw the red flag on lap 56, meaning the Australian GP will be settled with a two lap sprint!!!!
Chaos!!!
The race didn’t need two laps to sort the Australian GP, the restart led to absolute chaos, that all started when Carlos Sainz tagged and spun Fernando Alonso round, this caused the field to slow and scatter between turn 2 and 3, unfortunately the Alpine of Gasly had locked up through turn one and turn two on his return to the track he didn’t notice that his teammate was on the outside, they made contact and smashed into the wall.
The race was instantly red flagged, and the FIA, Race Director and Stewards pulled out the rules and regulation book. After a delay, the running order was confirmed with the cars returning to the position they were at the restart. This came as a relief to Fernando Alonso, who finished the race in third rather than at the rear of the grid, unfortunately at the expense of Nico Hulkenberg who was up to fourth in the HAAS prior to the red flag.
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Penalty for Sainz
As the dust settled the Stewards had sorted out the running order, Carlos Sainz was handed a five second penalty for causing a collision, with the race finishing under safety car and the field bunched up the 5 second penalty dropped Carlos down to 12th, leading to a pointless race for Ferrari.
Australian GP: Race Report Conclusions
Where do we start? Melbourne is not know as an exciting race, however 2023 will be remembered as one of the classic Australian GP, drama, overtakes, red flags, penalties… what more could we ask for. I think we need the three week break to recover.
Final word for the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, who manages to take his first points in Formula 1 at his home race, a well deserved result for McLaren and the Australian rookie.
NEXT UP: BAKU!!!!!!