Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Review

Recapping the crazy and somewhat confusing Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen scored a predictable win for Red Bull in an incident-packed Australian Grand Prix. 12 cars finished the race after three red flags were thrown by marshals – the first time in 36 years.

There were outstanding performances by Lewis Hamilton who collected his first podium finish of 2023. The Briton finished ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso who was followed by teammate Lance Stroll and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who started from the pitlane.

The race will largely be remembered for the decision by the stewards to red-flag the race with four laps remaining after Kevin Magnussen hit the wall. Several drivers including Verstappen felt a Safety Car would have been a better option, he called the race “a bit of a mess”

BBC Formula 1 commentator Jack Nicholls and our expert Pierre Arries both felt that the correct decision was made by the FIA to determine the outcome of the race. The race finished under the safety car after four cars crashed out at the restart after Magnussen’s crash. According to the BBC, the distance covered was insufficient to determine a new order and the finishers were judged on the final restarting grid. The final red flag was thrown at T3 after the restart. Both Alpines were out, Carlos Sainz clipped Fernando Alonso and several cars went off into the run at T1. Sainz was handed a five-second penalty for his incident with Alonso and felt unfairly treated because essentially that lap was erased by the stewards. Sainz dropped from fourth to 12th position. It’s all a bit confusing, but the FIA applied the rules consistently.

Hamilton’s performance showed how well the W14 did at the Albert Park Street circuit. Mercedes came to Australia with the same car from Saudi Arabia and at one stage ran one-two with George Russell leading Hamilton. Russell retired spectacularly with an engine issue after the rear of his W14 caught fire and he was out of the race a few laps after the first restart.

Verstappen cruised past Hamilton and showed the RB19’s clear pace advantage over the rest of the field. Within four corners of passing Hamilton the double world champion pulled out a two-second lead. Red Bull’s race pace has been in a different league so far this year, and the ease with which Verstappen won his first Australian GP underlined how large the gap is between them and the rest of the field. Perez’s fifth-place finish meant his teammate had a 15-point lead in the drivers’ championship standings going to Baku at the end of April.

Other standout drivers to finish in the top 10 included sterling performances by Lando Norris (P6), Nico Hulkenberg (P7), and Oscar Piastri (P8). Norris and Hulkenberg had a particularly good scrap and it was the first point for both McLaren drivers. However, the final finishing order isn’t a true reflection of the performances with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly the biggest losers. Sainz’s frustration is also warranted, but he was deemed to have caused the incident and to deal with the consequences.

Lastly, Albon’s performance in sixth position at the time of his crash was another display of how the British driver continues to extract solid performances from what has traditionally been the slowest car on the grid.

Sean Parker

Sean Parker is a motorsport journalist and sports content creator at The South African. He has worked for the country's premier motoring publications, and is a Formula 1 contributor to Bet.co.za, the Bet Central podcast, and Vision View Sports radio.