F1

Max Verstappen won a chaotic Australian Grand Prix, the third round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship, in a race that was red-flagged three times.

[PrimePrimeFormula 1 ](/f1/news/how-f1s-new-era-has-exposed-the-downside-of-its-most-important-rule/10450392/) That elevated Alonso back to third, ahead of Sainz – who was given a 5s penalty that dropped him from fourth to 12th. Further around the lap, Stroll went off too but continued. Both Alpines then collided and ended their races in the wall, with Before that, Hamilton had kept Alonso at bay for second, with Sainz falling away in the closing stages and Gasly had been right on his tail. Alex Albon ran sixth early on for [Williams](https://www.motorsport.com/team/williams/13/), ahead of Stroll. Verstappen’s lead vanished completely when the red flag flew as Magnussen went off at Turn 2 with four laps remaining, and his car and detached tyre needed recovering. At half distance, Verstappen led by 7s from the closely matched Hamilton and Alonso. Verstappen cruised past Hamilton with DRS on the ultra-fast run to Turn 9 and was already 2s clear when they next crossed the finish line. That meant a second standing start, with Hamilton starting on pole this time, ahead of Verstappen and the Astons. But Verstappen took control after a restart following [Alex Albon](https://www.motorsport.com/driver/alex-albon/109625/)’s big crash, passing Hamilton using DRS in the ultra-fast section ahead of Turn 9 – while Russell went out with an engine fire. Russell pitted for fresh hard tyres, dropping to seventh, allowing Hamilton to inherit the lead, ahead of Verstappen, Alonso and Stroll.

Max Verstappen won a controversial Australian Grand Prix to take the world championship lead, with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso also on the podium.

With Verstappen gone, Hamilton and Alonso were racing one another, closely matched in lap times as they tried to ensure they could take their tyres to the end of the race before a late red-flag forced a tense restart with two laps remaining. Verstappen breezed back to the front and opened up a lead with a race pace that was formidable even by the standards Red Bull have already set this season. Out front, however, Verstappen’s advantage was swiftly displayed, as he opened up almost a three second gap on Hamilton within just two laps. Another safety car called when Alex Albon lost the rear and crashed out in the Williams on lap seven and Mercedes opted to pit Russell early while Hamilton and Verstappen stayed out. Verstappen comfortably beat the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton into second and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso into third, with his teammate Lance Stroll in fourth at Albert Park. A late red flag proved tense but Verstappen rode it out with calm control as behind him six cars went out in a chaotic restart – forcing another red flag.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen has claimed his first Australian Grand Prix in remarkable circumstances in a chaotic Formula 1 race filled with drama from the ...

“It left a lot of drivers confused as to why we needed a second red flag. “It was very unexpected,” he said. On the restart on lap 55, Verstappen was able to hold off Hamilton to the first turn as bedlam unfolded behind his Red Bull, resulting in a reshuffle of the finishing order. The race resumed with Verstappen stalking Hamilton at the front of the field and the two-time world champion used his Red Bull’s superior speed to take the lead on Lap 12. “Of course we are happy to win the race, but I think the race itself towards the end was a bit of a mess with all the calls,” Verstappen said. Verstappen was pleased to clinch victory but queried the decision by stewards to issue a red flag after a crash on lap 55 of the 58-lap race instead of deploying a safety car.

Max Verstappen claims that Lewis Hamilton did not properly follow Formula 1's driving conduct rules in their first-lap fight for position in the Australian ...

[PrimePrimeFormula 1 ](/f1/news/the-cycle-of-f1-upheaval-williams-must-end-to-rediscover-past-glories/10449522/) [PrimePrimeFormula 1 ](/f1/news/how-f1s-new-era-has-exposed-the-downside-of-its-most-important-rule/10450392/) It's been a while for the team as well." "But yeah, we survived everything. But it's something for the next races to take into account." "From my side, I just tried to avoid contact," said the Red Bull driver.

The Haas driver lined up seventh on the grid for the second restart, for a two-lap sprint to decide the winner but he moved up to fourth as cars crashed out in ...

[F1: Max Verstappen wins Australian Grand Prix after red flag chaos](https://sports.inquirer.net/503800/f1-max-verstappen-wins-australian-grand-prix-after-red-flag-chaos) After lengthy deliberations, stewards decided the race would finish according to grid positions at the restart with a lap behind a safety car minus the cars that had crashed. MELBOURNE – The Haas Formula One team have protested against Nico Hulkenberg’s seventh-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday after late red flags threw the race into confusion, the governing FIA said.

F1 fans went wild after Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin racing suit had a dark patch that looked like he had peed himself.

Verstappen was leading Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton when Kevin Magnussen crashed his Haas into a wall, leaving debris on the track and halting the race.

[F1: Charles Leclerc crashes out of Australia Grand Prix on first corner](https://sports.inquirer.net/503793/f1-charles-leclerc-crashes-out-of-australia-grand-prix-on-first-corner) [F1: Max Verstappen takes pole for Red Bull at Australian Grand Prix](https://sports.inquirer.net/503618/f1-max-verstappen-takes-pole-for-red-bull-at-australian-grand-prix) Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon then crashed into each other to leave a trail of debris on the track and trigger another red flag, the third and last for the race. MELBOURNE – Max Verstappen was crowned Australian Grand Prix winner on Sunday after two late red flags and a slew of crashes threw the race into chaos before the Dutchman was allowed a processional victory lap around Albert Park.

Following a race with three red flags, Max Verstappen survived a combative race to take his first Australian GP victory. The final race restart had threatened ...

[To news overview](/f1-news)© Red Bull Content Pool [Max Verstappen](/formula-1-drivers/max-verstappen) survived a chaotic race to emerge as the winner of the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes' [Lewis Hamilton](/formula-1-drivers/lewis-hamilton) and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso. The final race restart had threatened to jumble up the race order, before the original order was reinstated for one final lap under Safety Car conditions. Following a race with three red flags, Max Verstappen survived a combative race to take his first Australian GP victory.

All-time great podium features the two-time defending champion, along with Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso.

Rookie team-mate Logan Sargeant had a quiet weekend in the sister car. “With all the accidents, it was a good chance to score points this weekend, so I’m very sorry to the team. Williams’ slippery FW45 was rapid around the streets of Albert Park, particularly in the hands of Alexander Albon, who qualified a promising eighth. When the pack bunched together at the tricky right-hander Leclerc got a tap from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and wound up beached in the gravel. Leclerc has had a wretched start to the 2023 campaign and his woes continued in Australia, an event he utterly dominated 12 months ago. That restored the spun Alonso up to third, but Sainz was penalized for the incident and handed a five-second penalty, plunging him down the order because of how close the field was over the line. The only certainty at that stage was Verstappen first, Hamilton second, but behind it was a mess. Haas driver Magnussen, running 12th, drifted wide through Turn 2 and clipped the wall, removing his rear-right tire from the wheel rim, and prompting the deployment of the Safety Car. Hamilton held second, keeping a buffer to third-placed Alonso, while Carlos Sainz held fourth for Ferrari. The first red flag came on the eighth lap of 58, after Williams’ Alexander Albon binned it at Turn 6, dragging extensive debris and gravel onto the track. Max Verstappen claimed victory in the Australian Grand Prix to open up a 15-point championship lead over teammate Sergio Perez. Max Verstappen won the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

With a third red flag being brought out, the FIA elected to go for another restart, although this time it was behind a safety car and the cars only went around ...

[PrimePrimeFormula 1Australian GP ](/f1/news/the-recent-australian-gp-form-history-that-will-boost-ferrari-in-f1-2023/10449759/) [PrimePrimeFormula 1Australian GP ](/f1/news/the-critical-calls-preceding-verstappens-melbourne-march-and-f1s-red-flag-saga/10452648/) All such cars will then be permitted to resume the sprint session or the race."

Max Verstappen claimed victory during a wild and action-packed Australian Grand Prix, overcoming battles with the Mercedes drivers, several Safety Cars and ...

After that, I think the pace of the car was quick, you could see that straight away, we were always there waiting for the DRS to open up, to have a chance to pass. “But with these red flags, the first one maybe you can do it but I think that second one I don’t really understand. They had a long wait for the whole day, so I’ll say a big thank you to them as well for sticking around. “It’s great to win here, my first win as well,” said victor Verstappen. A quick stewards’ investigation settled on no further action. After the delay, the Safety Car led the field out of the pits and back to the grid for the restart, with Hamilton leading a particularly slow formation lap – the knock-on effect being several near-misses towards the rear of the field as cars backed up. As the race neared half-distance, Hamilton expressed concerns over whether his hard tyres would make it the chequered flag, with Verstappen continuing to pull away and look more and more comfortable in the lead with a series of fastest laps. On Lap 18 there was yet more drama as Russell ground to a halt on the start/finish straight with flames coming from the back of his Mercedes, bringing out a Virtual Safety Car and once again stabilising the gaps between cars up and down the order. In the race build-up, there was a change to the grid as both Perez – who slid out of Q1 in qualifying – and Bottas – the slowest of the drivers to post a qualifying time – swapped their starting slots for the pit lane, having made various car changes under parc ferme conditions. A rolling start took the field around to the chequered flag, with Verstappen crossing the line for his first victory in Australia, as Hamilton and Alonso completed the podium ahead of Sainz, Stroll, Perez and Lando Norris. Verstappen brushed off the early drama to move into a comfortable lead as the race developed, while Hamilton held P2 and set about managing the gap back to Alonso, who was joined by the recovering Sainz and Pierre Gasly in a fight for the podium positions. A subsequent red flag for Albon’s incident brought the field back to the pits, with Hamilton leading Verstappen and Alonso, taking advantage of misfortune for Russell and Carlos Sainz, who were the two front-runners to take on fresh tyres just before the stoppage.

Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes “can close that gap” to Red Bull after scoring second to Max Verstappen in Formula 1's heavily disrupted 2023 Australian Grand Prix ...

[PrimePrimeFormula 1Australian GP ](/f1/news/the-recent-australian-gp-form-history-that-will-boost-ferrari-in-f1-2023/10449759/) [PrimePrimeFormula 1Australian GP ](/f1/news/why-piastris-f1-homecoming-will-be-a-landmark-occasion/10449894/) [PrimePrimeFormula 1 ](/f1/news/how-f1s-new-era-has-exposed-the-downside-of-its-most-important-rule/10450392/) Hamilton continued: "It's really unlucky for George today. But I think it's a long project. I still don't feel connected to it.

It was McLaren's Ron Dennis and Ekrem Sami who decided, back in the 1980s, that sponsors were no longer sponsors. Instead, they were partners. Commercial ...

[PlusPlusFormula 1Australian GP ](/f1/news/the-recent-australian-gp-form-history-that-will-boost-ferrari-in-f1-2023/10449455/) [PlusPlusFormula 1Australian GP ](/f1/news/the-convoluted-tier-system-that-reveals-an-f1-strength/10450815/) Being a sponsor suggested something altogether different.

After a hugely dramatic Australian Grand Prix that featured three red flags, Formula 1's officiators are once more coming under scrutiny for their ...

"How the hell you can put a red flag before?" "(In) the second half, and especially with four laps to go, I feel like you ruin a lot of things. And, because they try and put on a show, you just get unlucky, and everything can get taken away from you all of a sudden. I guess, maybe in the first quarter of the race, I understand it. "I'm not going to disagree with this red flag," Sky Sports F1's David Croft said. "We come all the way to Australia, but it's so much hard work to drive 56, 55 laps perfectly. [Stream the biggest moments on NOW](https://www.nowtv.com/promo/sky-sports?dcmp=articlelink) There was little dispute over the final red flag, with the heavy impact the Alpines experienced and the need to check on their safety - along with all the resulting debris and chaos - a valid reason for the stoppage. It's just strange, but I do understand safety-wise as well." The McLaren driver said: "I kind of hate it. With both the debris and the possibility of the race finishing behind the Safety Car in mind, another red flag was thrown, setting up a theoretical two-lap sprint to the end from a standing start. The clean-up operation began with a recovery vehicle coming on track and lifting the Williams off the ground, but as that was going on, a red flag was thrown with the presence of debris and gravel on track the reason for the decision.

Max Verstappen is understood to be in the clear over the positioning of his car on the grid at Formula 1's chaotic Australian Grand Prix.

This is the requirement at a race start as the sporting regulations state it is only an offence to have “any part of the contact patch of its front tyres outside of the lines at the time of the start signal”. But it was speculated that his second win of the season looked might be in jeopardy when images of Verstappen being very far forward in his grid box at the start and subsequent restarts surfaced at the end of the race. Max Verstappen is understood to be in the clear over the positioning of his car on the grid at the start of Formula 1’s chaotic Australian Grand Prix.

Esteban Ocon says his shunt in the 2023 Australian Grand Prix could have been caused by any number of "suicidal" Formula 1 drivers rather than blaming Alpine ...

[PrimePrimeFormula 1 ](/f1/news/the-state-of-play-in-f1s-technical-silly-season/10449427/) [PrimePrimeFormula 1 ](/f1/news/the-cycle-of-f1-upheaval-williams-must-end-to-rediscover-past-glories/10449522/) [PrimePrimeFormula 1 ](/f1/news/how-f1s-new-era-has-exposed-the-downside-of-its-most-important-rule/10450392/) The incident between Gasly and Ocon is under investigation. "But some drivers were just suicidal a bit in Turn 1, like Nyck on the inside. But what was tricky was a little bit the light being lower, we couldn't really see so well.

Max Verstappen criticised F1 governing body, the FIA, after he won a chaotic Australian Grand Prix.

“I thought the red flag was totally unnecessary,” he said. “I just didn’t understand why we needed a red flag. The world champion dismissed it as a mess and accused the FIA, the governing body, of being responsible.

The Australian Grand Prix promoter has been found in serious breach of FIA security protocols and safety measures after Formula 1 fans invaded the track before ...

[PrimePrimeFormula 1 ](/f1/news/the-cycle-of-f1-upheaval-williams-must-end-to-rediscover-past-glories/10449522/) [PrimePrimeFormula 1 ](/f1/news/how-f1s-new-era-has-exposed-the-downside-of-its-most-important-rule/10450392/) the car was in an unsafe condition with possible electrical discharge".