by Three red flags were not what most would have envisioned for the race in Albert Park or in any race for that matter, as the trip down under made history in this regard. It proved to be the most chaotic race of the season so far, both on and off the track, as the carnage that succeeded the second red flag drastically altered the teams’ fortunes in the race and in the championship.
The Podium of Champions
Max Verstappen lost places in the race start to Mercedes’ duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton and again in the first restart, but figured it out in time to grab the win at the second one.
Despite Verstappen taking the chequered flag, Mercedes will be delighted with having Lewis Hamilton on the podium and their performance throughout the weekend in general, though George Russell’s early retirement put a dent in the mood.
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso grabbed a bronze in as many races, to complete a podium of world champions. His presence also means that Aston Martin maintain their run of consecutive podiums this season.
Perez’s Comeback, First Points for McLaren and More
A 5-second penalty for Carlos Sainz meant that Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll grabbed fourth place making it a strong weekend for Aston Martin. Redbull’s Sergio Perez managed to take fifth place after having had to start from the pit-lane due to a whole list of changes to the power unit of the car in parc-ferme. Despite his strong performance on race day, the discrepancy in positions means that Max Verstappen takes a stronger lead up front in the driver championship but the Mexican did well to limit the damage.
McLaren landed their first points as Lando Norris came in sixth and local hero Oscar Piastri also managed to grab four points after finishing in eighth place. The two were separated by Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg who will be delighted to have finished in the points, though also slightly downcast since he could have ended up fourth had the places in the second restart been kept. Meanwhile, Zhou Guanyu of Alfa Romeo and Yuki Tsunoda of Alpha Tauri took the final points places in the race, kicking off their points tally for this season.
Carnage
Alex Albon undid all his good work in qualifying by crashing out of the race in the seventh lap, having been running in sixth. There were few arguments against the Red Flag which followed Alex Albon’s crash since the car was in a dangerous area and there was plenty of debris to be removed.
The FIA opted for another Red Flag in lap 55, following Kevin Magnussen’s trip to the barriers. Like the previous one, it was followed by a standing start, but the time at which the stop occurred was critical. Restarting the race three laps from the end of the race spelled an all-out grab for points. It resulted in two DNFs for Alpine and a 5-second penalty for Carlos Sainz after he clipped Fernando Alonso.
The crash between Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon ended the weekend for the team. It was a shame too as Alpine looked set to secure a hefty chunk of points, especially with Gasly’s strategy working nicely during the previous safety cars which allowed him to run fifth at the time. They were the biggest losers on the second restart.
FIA Lands Itself in Hot-Water Again
A team that will have felt hard done by is Ferrari, as they also left the weekend completely empty-handed despite having a car on the track and in the points for most of the race. The Scuderia had a horrendous start as Charles Leclerc was clipped and beached his car before he had even driven a single lap. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz was unlucky following Albon’s crash since he pit under the safety car, dropping from 4th to 11th, just before the race was red-flagged. Despite this, the Spaniard delivered some hard medicine on the grid and plenty of entertainment for the fans with aggressive overtaking to return to 4th place.
All was well until the restart following Magnussen’s crash, which saw Sainz clip Alonso’s car. The FIA handed him a 5-second penalty taking Ferrari’s driver out of the points. A double whammy was served once the news spread that the grid would be restored, meaning that while Alonso got back his podium (as if Sainz had never hit him at all), the latter still had to serve his penalty which took him out of the points and with no possibility to overtake. The driver was visibly gutted when speaking to the media reiterating that he would need to speak with the stewards.
Haas’ Guenther Steiner also complained about the grid change which resulted in Nico Hulkenberg relinquishing fourth place to end in seventh, halving the team’s points tally for the race.
Break and Return to Azerbaijan
It was a race that provided plenty of drama, divided opinions, and plenty of work for the teams. There will be a 3-week break until the cars and crew make the trip to Azerbaijan. The tricky street race will make for an interesting weekend as the racing grid will be set by a Sprint race instead of the normal three-round qualifying, meaning that there will be extra points up for grabs for those willing to take the risk.
Photo by Chethan Kanakamurthy on Unsplash
