Introduction
Max Verstappen claimed victory throughout a wild and action-packed 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, overcoming battles with the Mercedes drivers, a number of Safety Cars and three crimson flags to steer dwelling Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
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Verstappen misplaced out to George Russell and Hamilton on the authentic race begin earlier than the Safety Car made two appearances rapidly as a consequence of Charles Leclerc retiring from a collision with Lance Stroll and Alex Albon crashing out closely.
A subsequent crimson flag for Albon’s incident introduced the sector again to the pits. Hamilton led Verstappen and Alonso, making the most of misfortune for Russell and Carlos Sainz, the 2 front-runners, to tackle recent tyres simply earlier than the stoppage.
With a free selection of tyres for the restart, Hamilton initially held the lead from Verstappen. Still, the Red Bull driver quickly received inside DRS vary and moved again into P1 moments earlier than Russell’s distress was compounded by an obvious engine failure.
Verstappen dismissed the early drama to maneuver into a snug lead because the race developed. At the identical time, Hamilton held P2 and set about managing the hole again to Alonso, who the recovering Sainz and Pierre Gasly joined in a battle for the rostrum positions.
But simply because the order gave the impression to be locked in, one other Safety Car, after which one other crimson flag, was triggered late on when Kevin Magnussen thumped the wall exiting Turn 2, misplaced his rear-right wheel and unfold particles from his Haas over the racing line.
It meant a 3rd standing begin and the prospect of a two-lap shootout on comfortable tyres, however only a matter of seconds handed earlier than additional contact and drama as Sainz tipped fellow Spaniard Alonso right into a spin within the Turn 1 bottleneck.
Behind, Gasly took avoiding motion and collided with Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon as he rejoined the circuit, placing each drivers out on the spot. At the identical time, Logan Sargeant bumped into the again of Nyck de Vries, and Sergio Perez – who had risen from the pit lane – and Stroll had separate off-track excursions.
After some confusion over how the race would proceed and the outcomes can be decided, proceedings have been resumed – and finally settled – behind the Safety Car within the order of the earlier begin, minus the automobiles that had been eradicated.
A rolling begin took the sector to the chequered flag, with Verstappen crossing the road for his first victory in Australia. Hamilton and Alonso accomplished the rostrum forward of Sainz, Stroll, Perez and Lando Norris.
However, Sainz was hit with a five-second time penalty for his conflict with Alonso, selling everybody behind him as Nico Hulkenberg took P7, from dwelling favorite Oscar Piastri, Zhou Guanyu, Yuki Tsunoda – inheriting the ultimate level – and Valtteri Bottas.
De Vries, Sargeant, Magnussen, Russell, Albon and Leclerc watched the ultimate lap from the sidelines because the solar set on a massively dramatic day on the Albert Park Circuit.
Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:
This was a genuinely eventful Australian Grand Prix, with three crimson flag durations, a security automobile, and a digital security automobile. All these occurrences successfully outlined how the methods shook out, whereas when it comes to tyre behaviour, the compounds carried out as we anticipated them to, with the laborious C2 tyre taking part in a number one position. When the primary security automobile got here out after Albon went off on lap seven, some drivers who had began on the mediums switched to the laborious – adopted by others as soon as the crimson flag got here out to permit the observe to be cleaned.
Despite not having a lot info over lengthy runs – only a few drivers strung collectively stints of longer than ten laps or so in free observe – the C2 confirmed itself to be a really constant tyre when it comes to degradation and never removed from the tempo of different nominated compounds, fulfilling all of the calls for positioned on it. The incontrovertible fact that we noticed all three compounds on the beginning grid highlights how bringing the C4 tyre to Melbourne this 12 months was the right selection, because it was judged to be a legitimate race tyre in addition to turning into the protagonist of the ultimate run to the flag, thanks to 2 crimson flag durations that have been nearly consecutive. This compound and the medium carried out effectively immediately, albeit over comparatively brief stints, with increased temperatures and a extra rubbered-in floor.
How the race was received:
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen received the Australian Grand Prix for the primary time. In an action-packed race, the reigning world champion led two different world champions previous the chequered flag: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. All the rostrum finishers ended the race on the P Zero Red comfortable, following a tyre change one lap from the end…
The Australian Grand Prix was interrupted by three security automobile durations and three crimson flag durations, together with a crimson flag only a lap from the end, main to 2 standing and a last rolling begin. The digital security automobile additionally appeared as a consequence of a automobile stopping on the exit of the pitlane.
The frequent security automobile durations and different race interruptions largely influenced the race methods. The high three began on the P Zero Yellow medium after which went onto the P Zero White laborious on the first neutralisation. Instead, the final three laps have been run on two units of sentimental tyres.
A complete of 10 drivers accomplished the longest stint on the laborious tyre, masking 47 laps on this compound, together with all three podium finishers. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon saved the identical laborious tyres he had fitted on lap one with out altering them throughout the first red-flag interval, finishing 54 laps on the identical tyres. Alfa Romeo drivers Valtteri Bottas and Guanyou Zhou additionally used the identical set of laborious tyres for greater than 50 laps.
AlphaTauri’s Nyck De Vries was as an alternative the driving force to finish probably the most consecutive laps on the 2 different obtainable compounds: 37 on the medium and 9 on the comfortable.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez set the quickest lap of the race, utilizing the laborious tyre (1m20.235s), and was additionally one of many drivers to finish the longest stint on this compound. Alonso and De Vries have been the quickest on the medium and comfortable tyres, setting 1m22.603s and 1m21.183s on these compounds, respectively.
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What’s subsequent?
After a really intense begin with three races in a single month, there’s a quick pause for the FIA Formula One World Championship. Next up is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, from April 28 to 30, supported additionally by Formula 2. Just one week after that comes the primary of three American races this 12 months, with Miami internet hosting its grand prix across the Hard Rock stadium for the second 12 months.
2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Country | Team | Time | Points | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1 | Max Verstappen | Netherlands | Red Bull Racing Honda | 2:32:38.371 | 25 | 69 |
| 2. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Great Britain | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | +0.179s | 18 | 38 |
| 3. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Spain | Alpine F1 Team | +0.769s | 15 | 45 |
| 4. | 18 | Lance Stroll | Canada | Aston Martin F1 Team | +3.082s | 12 | 20 |
| 5. | 11 | Sergio Perez | Mexico | Red Bull Racing Honda | +3.320s | 11 | 54 |
| 6. | 4 | Lando Norris | Great Britain | Mclaren Racing | +3.701s | 8 | 8 |
| 7. | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Germany | Haas F1 Team | +4.939s | 6 | 6 |
| 8. | 81 | Oscar Piastri | Australia | McLaren Racing | +5.382s | 4 | 4 |
| 9. | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | China | Alfa Romeo F1 Team | +5.713s | 2 | 2 |
| 10. | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Japan | Scuderia AlphaTauri | +6.052s | 1 | 1 |
| 11. | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Finland | Alfa Romeo F1 Team | +6.513s | 0 | 4 |
| 12. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Spain | Scuderia Ferrari | +6.594s | 0 | 20 |
| 13. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | France | Alpine F1 Team | DNF | 0 | 2 |
| 14. | 31 | Esteban Ocon | France | Alpine F1 Team | DNF | 0 | 4 |
| 15. | 21 | Nyck De Vries | Netherlands | Scuderia AlphaTauri | DNF | 0 | 0 |
| 16. | 2 | Logan Sargeant | USA | Williams Racing | DNF | 0 | 0 |
| 17. | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Denmark | Haas F1 Team | DNF | 0 | 1 |
| 18. | 63 | George Russell | Great Britain | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | DNF | 0 | 18 |
| 19. | 45 | Alexander Albon | Thailand | Williams Racing | DNF | 0 | 1 |
| 20. | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Monaco | Scuderia Ferrari | DNF | 0 | 6 |
2023 Constructor Standings
| Pos | Picture | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  |
Red Bull Racing | 123 |
| 2. |  |
Aston Martin F1 Team | 65 |
| 3. |  |
Mercedes-AMG F1 Team | 56 |
| 4. |  |
Scuderia Ferrari | 26 |
| 5. |  |
McLaren Racing | 12 |
| 6. |  |
Alpine F1 Team | 8 |
| 7. |  |
Haas F1 Team | 7 |
| 8. |  |
Alfa Romeo Racing | 6 |
| 9. |  |
Williams Racing | 1 |
| 10. |  |
Scuderia AlphaTauri | 1 |
Here are the team-by-team highlights:
The submit 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix highlights appeared first on Paddock Magazine.
