Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed victory at the Australian Grand Prix despite a chaotic and controversial finish that saw the race end under a safety car.
Verstappen led Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso to take the podium, despite Alonso being spun out in a restart with two laps to go and dropping to the back of the field.
Under FIA regulations, the finishing positions were taken from the last restart, and the cars were then required to complete a final lap behind the safety car.
DRIVER STANDINGS ????
Max Verstappen extends his lead ????
And, Lewis Hamilton moves up the order! #AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/VoVTq8lGjc
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 2, 2023
The race was further marred by a controversial incident at the first corner, where Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was penalized for causing a crash that dropped Alonso from fourth to 12th and out of the points. Sainz described the decision as “unacceptable,” insisting that the penalty was too severe.
Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were also affected by official decisions, as they crashed into each other and retired at the second corner, taking them out of contention.
The unprecedented events have led to criticism that Formula 1 is prioritizing showbusiness over sport. There is a direct line from the final laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021, when officials made errors that changed the course of the world championship fight between Verstappen and Hamilton, to these events.
The first-corner crash led the FIA to declare that a lap had taken place, but most of the events during it had had no effect, other than the crash between the Alpines.
Verstappen’s victory, coupled with a fifth-place finish for his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez after starting from the back, extended the Dutchman’s championship lead to 15 points.
