Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Australian Grand Prix for the first time on Sunday, winning in an eventful race from start to finish.
While Red Bull’s first triumph in Melbourne since 2011 was expected, the chaos as the game approached made it a hard-fought win at Albert Park.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished second with Mercedes while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso took third place on the podium.
“It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions with the red flags and the incidents,” Alonso said. It was probably my craziest race here in Melbourne, but it’s great to come away with another podium. »
Quebecer Lance Stroll finished fourth with Aston Martin.
“Lance has been very competitive throughout, he’s survived various battles and he’s done a great job looking after the tyres,” said Aston Martin technical director Mike Krack.
“Some pilots really came out the losers in the chaos [après le redémarrage], but we were a bit lucky and our cars largely remained intact. It allowed us to finish the race while there was the safety car. »
Only 12 of the 20 starters finished the race. Australian Oscar Piastri took advantage of the disorder to finish eighth and claim his first championship points, for McLaren.
Verstappen was delighted to win but questioned the stewards’ decision to raise a red flag after a crash at 55e lap on 58, instead of deploying a safety car.
He held a comfortable lead but struggled to keep Hamilton at bay when the race resumed.
“We’re happy to win, but I think towards the end it was a bit tricky with all the decisions,” Verstappen said. Many pilots were confused as to why a second red flag was needed. »
On restart at 55e lap, Verstappen managed to hold off Hamilton until the first corner when a ruckus arose behind his Red Bull, redistributing the order of finish.
Alonso, who had challenged Hamilton for second for much of the race, was hit by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz at the first corner of the restart.
Sainz, whose Ferrari showed good speed throughout the event, was handed a five-second penalty which relegated him to 12e rank. The Ferrari driver was upset with the decision and Alonso later said he thought the penalty was too harsh.
In addition, Williams driver Logan Sargeant crashed into the rear of Nyck de Vries and Esteban Ocon, which also caused Pierre Gasly to leave the race after a collision.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc suffered a collision on lap one, while George Russell’s Mercedes caught fire on the 18the.
After securing his first pole position in Australia on Saturday, Verstappen was edged out by Russel at the first corner. At the third corner, Hamilton also overtook the Dutchman, suggesting that Mercedes could cause an upset.
Those hopes dwindled when Williams’ Alexander Albon lost control on lap seven and crashed into the wall, resulting in the first red flag.
Russell had already made his way to the pits when the marshals decided that the debris from the accident was enough to stop the race. This slid the Englishman into seventh place, although he was completely kicked out of the race soon after the restart.
“When it’s not your day, it’s not your day,” Russell wrote on social media.
The race resumed with Verstappen stalking Hamilton at the front of the field. The two-time world champion used the superior speed of his Red Bull to take the lead in 12e round.
The next race will take place on April 30, in Azerbaijan.