The chequered flag was finally waved at 5.35pm local time. Formula 1 star Max Verstappen was forced to show plenty of patience for his first triumph in Australia – hey, why not push it out for another hour or so?
But the Dutchman was finally able to salute and raise his fist to the Melbourne crowd after a remarkable Australian Grand Prix that will be remembered for its four red flags and long delays (incidentally the fourth red flag happened after Verstappen had officially won, but who’s counting?).
Formula One champion Max Verstappen enjoyed his maiden win on the Albert Park track, but there was plenty of chaos before he eventually crossed the finish line.Credit:Eddie Jim
It was probably the most entertaining and compelling grand prix at Albert Park since the race was poached from South Australia’s grasp in the mid-1990s.
Let’s take a look at the five key moments of the race:
Red Flag – The dramatic third restart
It was absolute carnage. The race’s third red flag preceded what was effectively going to be a compelling three-lap race to conclude the grand prix – one lap under the safety car and a sprint race for laps 57 and 58 to determine the winner.
Verstappen had already had his decisive and hard-earned eight-second lead wiped out by the second red flag barely a lap or two earlier, creating plenty of intrigue about whether he could somehow be pipped from within the bunched field clipping at his heels. His efforts to regain the lead more than 45 laps earlier was, you could argue, was null and void.
Crucially, however, he was still in the lead and just had to avoid any dangers around him. To his credit, he did just that when other drivers couldn’t.
The strange circumstances seemed to push the competitive juices of the various drivers into over-drive. Within a matter of moments, as the field went through the first few corners of the circuit on the penultimate lap, four more cars came to grief, making for a total of eight drivers who registered a did not finish. Most spectacularly, the Alpine cars, driven by Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries, wiped each other out.
Significantly, F1 veteran Fernando Alonso, in third position, spun out at the first turn amid the drama, but he didn’t crash out, and was able to continue. It pays to keep going whatever it takes. After quite some consternation, F1 stewards determined that, with one lap to come, the race would resume (after a third lengthy delay that meant it concluded under lengthy shadows at Albert Park) in the same order that the cars had lined up on the grid at the previous restart.
A rolling start was ordered, instead of a standing start, and the drivers finished the race under formation behind the safety car. Therefore, Alonso was podium-bound, Verstappen was free to celebrate his breakthrough win Down Under and, with four fewer cars in the field, Aussie Oscar Piastri was propelled into the top 10, scoring his first cherished points in his maiden race in his home town.
To add to the confusion, Carlos Sainz was also handed a five-second time penalty for his incident with Alonso, pushing the Ferrari driver to last place among those who managed to avoid a DNF. Phew!
Lap 54 – Magnussen’s tyre (what caused it all)
Let’s forever remember the moment as “Magnussen’s Tyre” – Haas racer Kevin Magnussen’s contact with the wall that turned an anticlimactic and predictable finish on its head.
When Magnussen, who otherwise wasn’t impacting the race, crashed his Haas into the concrete at the exit of turn two, it wiped his right rear wheel off the car in the closing stages.
Magnussen was well back in the pack when the incident occurred, but with his wheel left stranded on the track, the race director had no option but to call a red flag, effectively turning the marathon into F1’s version of a sprint finish.
Mercedes veteran Lewis Hamilton was reportedly among those complaining about the debris on the track, possibly prompting the red-flag ruling and wiping out Verstappen’s time advantage.
Amid the tension ahead of the restart and with drivers heading to the pits, there was endless speculation about what would be the right tyres for the final few laps.
Last year’s winner Charles Leclerc climbs from his Ferrari after retiring from the F1 Grand Prix of Australia.Credit:Getty Images
Lap one, turn three – Goodbye, champ
As if there wasn’t enough drama on the opening lap when Mercedes’ George Russell attacked Max Verstappen and took the lead, things spiced right up on turn three. That’s where Ferrari star Charles Leclerc was beached, completing a complete reversal of fortunes for him from last year’s race, where he cruised to victory when Verstappen’s engine blew up while the Dutchman was in a winning position.
“First corner I took it very easy,” Leclerc reflected later.
“I thought I was safe, but obviously it wasn’t. I was on the outside of Lance [Stroll], which was all OK at that point, but unfortunately having to slow down the car massively, it was the end because of the cars in front.
“At the end of the day we’re coming home again with no points which is not good.”
Mercedes driver George Russell, left, watches as course marshals extinguish an engine fire in his car during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne.Credit:Simon Baker/Pool via AP
Lap 19 – George Russell makes his exit
After surging in qualifying to unexpectedly grab a spot next to Verstappen on the starting grid, the Mercedes racer made his mark on the opening corner by snatching the lead, and it looked like he might be about to enjoy an unforgettable weekend.
It was not to be.
Russell went from a race leader to seventh in the pack and then, more frustratingly, finally out of the race within an hour when he had engine trouble and his car caught fire on lap 19. His day was done.
Earlier, he was in the lead when Alex Albon spun out on the gravel, triggering the race’s first red flag on the ninth lap. In hindsight, the Mercedes star made a critical error in deciding to pit under the safety car before the red flag was announced, meaning he restarted down the grid.
He quickly jumped back up to fifth, but 10 laps after the race resumed, Russell’s car caught fire, putting an end to his race.
“When it’s not your day, it’s not your day,” Russell tweeted on Sunday afternoon.
“[I’m] proud of this team. We had what it took to win this race today, especially with the decision to pit under the SC [safety car]. We’ll continue to fight, our time will come.”
