Verstappen of Red Bull wins the wild Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix was won by Max Verstappen’s Red Bull in a chaotic fashion on Sunday, strengthening his hold on the world championship. Verstappen managed to hold off a rejuvenated Lewis Hamilton.
The world champion started from pole and maintained composure to win a race that was red flagged three times and saw numerous collisions, despite being passed by Mercedes duo George Russell and Hamilton at the start.
Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin finished ahead of Hamilton in second place, giving him three podium finishes in as many races this year.
Dutch driver Verstappen remarked, “We had a very poor start. Lap one, I was conservative as I had a lot to lose.”
“The velocity of the automobile quickened after that. I don’t know, and I don’t really understand, with these red flags. Even though it was a bit of a mess, we won and had solid pace, so that’s crucial.”
It was a bad day for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, the runner-up from the previous year, who spun out on the opening lap. Russell’s race was also finished when his car caught fire on lap 19.
Verstappen’s first victory in Melbourne and Red Bull’s first in Australia since Sebastian Vettel’s triumph in 2011 both came with this one.
Sergio Perez, a member of his squad and the winner in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, qualified last due to brake problems and finished fifth.
The Red Bull victory came despite amazing late drama, which saw a red flag come out when Verstappen had a comfortable lead over Hamilton and Alonso with two circuits to go. This forced them to start in a crowded grid and launch an all-out assault to the finish.
But when Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz touched Alonso as they jostled for position and pushed him into a spin, everything turned chaotic and several other cars crashed as a result. The race was once more suspended when Sainz received a five-second penalty and eventually finished 12th.
There were only 12 cars left when race resumed after a protracted delay for one lap behind a safety car, without overtaking permitted. Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, was overjoyed to place third.
I’m driving as best I can and working as hard as I can but still, considering we’ve been down on performance and in straight pace, for us to be up there fighting with Aston is amazing,” he said.
Lance Stroll, driving the other Aston Martin, placed fourth, ahead of Perez, on a beautiful, bright day.
Niko Hulkenberg of the Haas finished seventh, followed by youngster Oscar Piastri of the other McLaren, who finished an encouraging eighth in just his third race on his home track. Lando Norris of the McLaren finished sixth.
AFP
