PANAJI
Another dominant display from Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing was overshadowed by numerous incidents that marred the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday.
The race had three red flags, two safety cars, several crashes and a few drivers found themselves in the gravel trap that saw eight of them earn a DNF (Did Not Finish).
Charles Leclerc's miserable start to the season continued as the winner of the 2022 Australian GP beached the Ferrari at turn 3 bringing out the first safety car of the day on the very first lap. The race was red-flagged shortly after when Williams' Alex Albon hit the barriers into turn 6 of lap 9. Race Control declared a standing start which saw Mercedes' George Russell, who made an impressive start, lose a cheap pitstop advantage and drop to seventh on the grid. Russell's day went from bad to worse as the Mercedes was spotted flaming on the main straight on lap 18. The Brit was forced to retire due to an engine failure.
Verstappen who was cruising until lap 47 and had built an 11-second advantage at the front, had a moment on turn 13 when the fronts on his car locked up and the Dutchman had to take to the grass. Seven laps later, Kevin Magnussen of Haas hit the wall in Sector 1 resulting in a tyre burst and the third safety car of the race which was followed by a red flag. The Dane became the fourth driver to depart and Race Control declared another standing start.
Mercedes sensed an opportunity. The Brackley-based outfit were able to bring up their tyres to the right temperature, better than any team on the field during the weekend which gave them better grip and a great opportunity to take the lead on the restart.
However, Verstappen was able to thwart Lewis Hamilton but a series of crashes and cars getting into the gravel trap brought another red flag on the penultimate lap. The Alpine's that were having a strong day witnessed tragedy when Pierre Gasly and Estaban Ocon crashed into each other while Williams' Logan Sargeant and Alpha Tauri's Nyck de Vries beached their cars.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was also nudged away to the back from third by Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari but the drivers were directed to commence a rolling start as per the lap 56 order. The race finished under the safety car with Verstappen clinching his first Australian GP, seven-time winner Hamilton in second and two-time champ Alonso in third to complete a champions podium.
