Verstappen prevails in chaotic grand prix, as confusion reigns over red-flag calls

Max Verstappen urged race officials to consider continuing races under safety cars, rather than calling for red flags, after he won Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix in one of the most chaotic finishes to a Formula 1 race in recent memory.

Eight drivers failed to finish at Albert Park, and one of the biggest beneficiaries was Melbourne’s Oscar Piastri, who finished eighth on debut at his home circuit and scored his first F1 points in what he described as a “crazy race”.

Max Verstappen won the Australian Grand Prix.Credit: Getty Images

Kevin Magnussen’s stranded rear right wheel forced the race director to call all drivers into the pits on the fourth-last lap after the Haas driver smashed into a concrete wall, the red flag effectively wiping the lead that hot favourite Verstappen had established through 54 of the 58 laps.

Verstappen ultimately sped away from his nearest rival, Lewis Hamilton, upon the restart to ensure the win. But the Red Bull champion believes the race officials were too hot on the red flag calls on Sunday.

There were three during the race, and a fourth after the remaining 12 cars crossed the line.

“In the end, it was a bit of a mess, with all the calls,” Verstappen, a two-time world champion said.

“I don’t think we needed that second red flag. It could have been done with a virtual safety car or a safety car at worst. It left a lot of drivers confused that we needed a red flag.”

The entire race was beset by drama, most of which was saved for the final handful of laps, leaving officials scrambling for the rule book.

A victorious Verstappen celebrates his win.Credit: AP

The grand prix was halted in the fourth-last lap when the race was red flagged to clean up the Magnussen mess, and that meant the race was restarted with three laps to go, essentially for a two-lap sprint race – one behind the safety car, and two racing laps.

At that point, 16 cars returned to the grid and Verstappen lost his eight-second advantage, as all cars restarted on soft tyres, in what was effectively a 10.5-kilometre sprint race.

But Fernando Alonso, in third, spun out at the first turn, and his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll also lost control, while both Alpine cars, driven by Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, were wiped out.

Piastri resumed in 11th and avoided the trouble at turn three, as did Verstappen, who sped away from the front of the grid before another red flag halted the race to clean up the mess.

At that point, the Aston Martins had slipped out of the top 10. But stewards then determined the final lap of the race would resume in the same order that the cars had lined up on the grid for the previous restart, with the final lap of the race completed behind the safety car.

That put Alonso back on the podium in third, behind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in second and winner Verstappen, who claimed his 37th grand prix victory.

“Great to win here, my first win as well,” Verstappen said post-race.

“It’s been a while for the team as well. Yet, very, very happy, but also, still great to see that the fans are having a good time even now; they have had a long wait all day.”

Piastri crossed the line in ninth after the rolling start, but was promoted to eighth after Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was handed a five-second penalty for his role in the crash on the penultimate lap.

“Definitely happy to get my first points on the board, especially here at home,” Piastri said.

“It was a crazy race. I think it’s the first race I’ve had three red flags. I think it’s probably most people’s first race like that. [We] kept ourselves out of trouble and ended up on the points at the end, which was great.”

Oscar Piastri finished eighth.Credit: Getty Images

A fourth red flag – which did not impact on the race result – was called when Niko Hulkenberg’s car broke down after the finish.

The race drama began at the very first turn when last year’s winner Charles Leclerc spun off the track and into the gravel.

The Ferrari star accused Stroll of pushing him off the track, but stewards waved the incident on.

Meanwhile, George Russell outsprinted Verstappen to the first turn, while Hamilton also jumped the hot favourite on the opening lap, relegating Verstappen to third.

But carnage ensued when Williams’ Alex Albon crashed on the ninth lap.

Russell hoped he could switch to a hard tyre and get his pit stop out of the way while the race continued with a safety car.

But the race director called a red flag to clear the track of gravel in sector nine – where Albon crashed – removing Russell’s advantage, and he resumed the race in seventh place.

Verstappen got past Hamilton three laps after the race restarted. Shortly after that Russell had to pull out of the race when his car caught fire.

Hamilton quickly dropped off Verstappen’s tail, but found himself in a cat-and-mouse race with Alonso. But Hamilton ultimately held on for second, in a positive result for Mercedes.

Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez picked off those in the back field, moving from last to seventh with 11 laps to go and ultimately finished in fifth by race’s end.

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