Formula One

Max Verstappen wins dramatic, interrupted Australian Grand Prix

Andrew Rickert

Apr 2, 2023 — 5 min read

Max Verstappen won for the first time in Australia as the Formula 1 field battled through an incident-filled and interrupted Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen celebrates his first F1 victory in Australia. *(Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)*

Verstappen took the top step ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard joining Verstappen as the two drivers to have finished on the podium in each race this season.

"My start today wasn't amazing and then on lap 1 I was very careful as there was a lot on the line, I had a lot to lose and a lot to win," said Verstappen.

"But after that restart, we had good pace and a decent gap for the majority of the race."

"Perhaps we didn't need all of those red flags today, it was frustrating, but everyone was safe and we won which is the most important thing."

"It's my first win in Australia which feels really good, it's also been a while for the team so it means a lot to us all, especially as Checo also had a good recovery drive today."

"It's been a chaotic day but it's great to see that the fans had a great time despite the long wait!"

Fans gather around the podium following the Australian Grand Prix. *(XPB Images)*

Verstappen qualified on pole but was bested by front-row starter George Russell off the line, and dropping to third behind Lewis Hamilton at turn two.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc spun at turn two after contact with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, with the safety car neutralising the field before a lap was complete.

The order was Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen at the front while Oscar Piastri was up to thirteenth in his home grand prix.

Behind the safety car, a handful of drivers chose to make their mandatory pit stops and take the hard tyre to the end of the 58-lap race, a strategy led by Red Bull's Sergio Perez.

At the restart the order was unchanged, with Perez setting about making his way through the field.

The race was neutralised behind the safety car once again when Alex Albon crashed on lap seven, with George Russell pitting from the lead and seemingly taking the tactical advantage over the chasing pair of Hamilton and Verstappen.

Alex Albon walks away from his stricken Williams during the Australian Grand Prix. *(XPB Images)*

An unexpected red flag for the huge amount of gravel on the track after Albon's crash flipped that strategy on its head, with Hamilton and Verstappen both able to make a "free" tyre change in pit lane, with Fernando Alonso up to third and the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri into the points, ninth and tenth respectively.

The pressure was on for the standing restart and Hamilton managed the lead, while Nyck De Vries made contact with Esteban Ocon towards the rear of the field.

The race was settling into a battle to see who could take their hard tyres the furthest when Russell's power unit failed on lap 18, bringing out the virtual safety car as flames shot from the back of his Mercedes, parked at pit exit.

Chaos reigns at the final standing restart. *(XPB Images)*

Virtual safety car over and Verstappen had one hand on the trophy as a cat-and-mouse battle of tyre management emerged between Hamilton and Alonso for second.

Somehow, it was already lap 50, and Verstappen and Hamilton were both voicing their concerns about making it to the end of the race on what would be 50-lap-old hard tyres.

There was however a twist in the tail of the Australian Grand Prix when Kevin Magnussen collected the barriers on the exit of turn two on lap 54, bringing out the safety car for the third time, which then became yet another red flag.

The two Alpine cars of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon collide at the final restart. *(XPB Images)*

The race was restarted from a standing start once again with the majority of the field now on soft tyres in a two-lap sprint to the finish.

Chaos ensued as Carlos Sainz tagged Alonso into turn one, with both Alpine drivers colliding in turn two, and Lance Stroll picking up a puncture somewhere along the way as well.

With less than a sector completed after the restart, the order was reset to the previous red flag restart, after around half an hour of deliberations by the FIA.

Verstappen cruised to victory behind the safety car as the field completed the final lap, with heartbreak for Sainz as he was awarded a five-second penalty and fell out of the points.

With Sainz falling down the order, hometown hero Oscar Piastri earned his first ever FIA World Drivers' Championship points at home in his eighth-place finish.

Max Verstappen (centre), Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso on the podium in Melbourne. *(Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)*

Three races in to the 2023 season and Verstappen holds his lead of the standings on 69 points, ahead of teammate Perez on 54 points after Red Bull has proven to be the dominant force so far this year.

Alonso is third for Aston Martin on 45 points, ahead of Lewis Hamilton on 38 points.

Piastri's four points elevate him to 13th in the championship, with the FIA Formula One World Championship now taking a break due to the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix.

F1 will return in Baku April 28-30 for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the first sprint race of the season.

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2023 FIA Formula One World Championship - Round 3 Australia