Verstappen wins chaotic Australian Grand Prix after red flag drama

Melbourne, April 2 (BNA): Max Verstappen won the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday after two late red flags and a series of collisions threw the race into chaos before the Red Bull driver was allowed a parade victory around Albert Park.

Reuters reports that Verstappen, the two-time defending champion, was leading Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes with a few laps remaining when Kevin Magnussen crashed his Haas into the wall, leaving debris on the circuit and stopping the race.

The cars returned to the grid with fresh tires for a two-lap sprint to determine the winner, but on a chaotic restart Williams driver Logan Sargeant drove AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries and they both hit the gravel at turn one.

Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon then crashed into each other leaving a trail of debris on the track and triggering another red flag, the third and final of the race.

After lengthy deliberation, the stewards decided that the race would finish one lap behind the safety car in the previous starting order – except for the cars that crashed.

That allowed Verstappen to take his second win of the season, ahead of Hamilton, with Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso third in a race in which eight out of 20 cars failed.

Red Bull have now won three Grands Prix in the new season, a team record, and have resumed their dominance after their runaway success in 2022.

“It was a mess but we survived everything…and we won, which of course is the most important,” said Verstappen after his first win at Albert Park and Red Bull’s first since 2011.

“It’s a really good weekend for us, we have to be happy about that.”

The Dutchman has 69 points in the championship race, 15 ahead of teammate Sergio Perez.

Alonso, third in all three races, is third in the standings with 45 points.

Red Bull, with 123 points, has a huge lead in the Constructors’ Championship ahead of second-placed Aston Martin (65) and third-placed Mercedes (56).

on fire

Mercedes’ first podium of the season soured as George Russell retired for the first time to the team after losing power and stalling with his engine catching fire early on.

“It’s really unlucky for George today to be with us,” said seven-times world champion Hamilton.

“Otherwise, getting those points is really amazing today. I definitely didn’t expect to be second, so I’m very grateful for that.”

It was a dark day for Ferrari as Charles Leclerc spun out of the race at the first turn after being cut by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz survived all the carnage and was on his way to finishing fourth but a five-second penalty for making contact with Alonso left him twelfth and raging on team radio.

Stroll finished fourth instead on a busy day for Aston Martin, with Perez finishing fifth after starting his race from the pitlane after his disastrous qualifying on Saturday.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was sixth, ahead of seventh-placed Nico Hulkenberg at Haas.

McLaren’s rookie Oscar Piastri celebrated his first points finish with an eighth-place finish, while Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and Alfa Romeo’s Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top ten.

Verstappen had to recover from a poor start as he lost the lead to both Russell and Hamilton in the first three sessions.

But after two early safety cars and a red flag when Williams driver Alex Albon crashed, Verstappen regained the lead by passing Hamilton on lap 12 after Russell initiated a tire change early.

Verstappen opened up a huge gap before the late red flags saw the race turn from procession to drama and back again.

Drivers and team principals wondered if red flags were necessary, or if safety cars might save a lot of trouble.

“Obviously results like this are good for some teams and bad for others,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told reporters.

“We just need to understand going forward when the red flags are drawn and what is the safety car?”

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