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Formula 1
Australian GP
F1 Australian GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix
Having followed Perez to the chequered flag two weeks ago, reigning world champion and Bahrain GP winner Max Verstappen holds a one point lead from his team-mate after snatching a valuable fastest lap point in Jeddah.
All eyes will be on what Red Bull’s rivals can do to halt their charge at Albert Park, a venue the Milton Keynes operation hasn’t tasted victory since Sebastian Vettel’s 2011 triumph.
Verstappen will start from pole position after beating the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in qualifying, while Perez will start from pitlane after qualifying last and then making car changes in parc ferme.
Sunday's race is due to begin at 6:00am BST.
By: Haydn Cobb, James Newbold, Stefan Mackley
Stopped
Summary
- Verstappen wins F1 Australian GP after race red-flagged on three occasions
- Hamilton and Alonso complete podium after race ends in bizarre circumstances following one lap behind the safety car
- Sainz given five-second penalty for final start crash, demoted from fourth to 12th
- Race previously stopped after multiple collisions during two-lap dash to the flag
- Magnussen hit the wall on exit of Turn 2 to halt the race for a second time, which prompted an initial two-lap restart
- VSC deployed on lap 18 after early leader Russell retires with power unit failure
- Race red-flagged briefly after Albon crashed at Turn 6, leaving gravel across the track
- Safety car deployed on opening lap after Leclerc retires at Turn 3 following contact with Stroll
Leaderboard
- Verstappen, Red Bull
- Hamilton, Mercedes
- Alonso, Aston Martin
- Stroll, Aston Martin
- Perez, Red Bull
- Norris, McLaren
- Hulkenberg, Haas
- Piastri, McLaren
- Zhou, Alfa Romeo
- Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
Checkered flag
So we'll be back on 28-30 April for the Azerbaijan GP action. Have a lovely rest of your Sunday - go well!
With that, we'll wrap up this marathon live text coverage of the Australian GP. The next F1 race isn't for four weeks due to the Chinese GP cancellation, but we'll need that time to digest today's events.
Breaking news
Need to get your head around that race? Here's the full report to help: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-australian-gp-verstappen-beats-hamilton-before-farcical-restart-concludes-race/10452052/
So, what did we make of that? Complete carnage at the start and at the end but the results, on paper, still tell a familiar tale.
For the 37th time the Dutch national anthem plays for Verstappen. He's now four victories behind Senna on the all-time F1 wins list.
The top three have made it to the green room before the podium and are watching the race highlights together. Plenty of chat until the Verstappen vs Hamilton Turn 3 overtake is on, then it goes quiet.
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Verstappen on the crazy race: "With these red flags, the first one you can do it but the second one I don't understand. It was a bit of a mess. But we won which is the most important thing."
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"We had a rollercoaster of emotions today, lots of things going on at the beginning and the end, it was difficult for us to understand, but in the end it was a good race for us," Alonso says in parc ferme.
Final result: 1. Verstappen 2. Hamilton 3. Alonso 4. Stroll 5. Perez 6. Norris 7. Hulkenberg 8. Piastri 9. Zhou 10. Tsunoda 11. Bottas 12. Sainz. DNF: Gasly, Ocon, de Vries, Sargeant, Magnussen, Russell, Albon, Leclerc.
Perez is credited with fifth after starting from the back. He also gets the fastest lap bonus point.
Red flag
Now there's a red flag after the chequered flag as Hulkenberg has stopped at Turn 2! Of course, it would be fitting.
Honestly, have you ever seen a more confusing finish to a race?
Checkered flag
Verstappen wins the Australian GP! From Hamilton, Alonso and Sainz, but the Ferrari is pushed back to 12th with his penalty.
At the crux of the issue for Ferrari is that Sainz will be punished for a restart indiscretion that made no difference to Alonso's finishing position. Stroll will also face no consequence for plunging off-track at Turn 3.
The safety car will enter the pits and Verstappen will take the chequered flag, so at least it won't ruin the finish photos. That's nice.
The cars are out on track behind the safety car, so off we go again.
It'll also be a rolling start procedure, which is even more confusing given the race ends the moment they cross the line.
So Sainz's penalty will be added to his race time, but nobody can overtake behind the safety car, so they will all be pushing behind him to finish within five seconds of the Ferrari to gain a place.
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Sainz is giving a lot of hand gestures from his Ferrari cockpit having been told of his penalty. “No, this is unacceptable! They need to wait until the end of the race to discuss with me,” he says over team radio.
The FIA has also announced it is investigating the inter-Alpine clash at Turn 2.
Penalty
More news! Sainz has been give a five-second penalty for causing a collision. So where does he end up in the result?
Basically the race will restart without the cars that are out of the race - so like a normal restart - but because it is the final lap it will also be the end of the race.
The race will resume at 17:33 local time for very much a ceremonial ending of one lap behind the safety car.
Aside from Tsunoda, Hulkenberg is also a loser out of this situation, being shuffled back from fourth in the queue as it stands. Expect plenty to be pretty annoyed about how this has been handled, not least Alpine.
So the restart and finishing order is: 1. Verstappen 2. Hamilton 3. Alonso 4. Sainz 5. Stroll 6. Perez 7. Norris 8. Hulkenberg 9. Piastri 10. Zhou 11. Tsunoda 12. Bottas
We've just seen an on-board replay of the start from Bottas's perspective, and it shows how Tsunoda split Zhou and Piastri before sending it to the inside of the Alpines. It had him in fifth following all the carnage and the decision to reset the order. As it happens, he'll not even be rewarded with a point.
But given the race won't fully restart under green flag conditions, Verstappen will win this race from Hamilton, with Alonso completing the podium.
That discounts all the cars which didn't make it back to the pits after the red flag which is De Vries, Sargeant, Ocon and Gasly.
So the restart order is: Verstappen, Hamilton, Alonso, Sainz, Stroll, Perez, Norris, Hulkenberg, Piastri, Zhou, Tsunoda and Bottas.
Breaking news
The latest from the FIA: "Race resumption behind safety car in the order of the previous start minus cars out. There will be a rolling start and as there will be only one lap left, the chequered flag will be out as they come back across the line."
There's a general state of "dunno mate" in the pitlane with everyone standing around waiting to find out what happens next.