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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
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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.
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At the back of the field Sargeant locked up into Turn 1 and ploughed into de Vries, taking both lapped cars out in one fell swoop.
Both Alpines are in the wall at Turn 2, and Stroll is in the Turn 3 gravel!
Well, that was chaos.
Red flag
Verstappen keeps the lead at the start from Hamilton but it is carnage behind! Alonso is out and it is another red flag!
Verstappen takes his place on the grid and the rest are lining up, hold on to your hats, folks.
Could you ask for a more exciting front three for this as well? Verstappen vs Hamilton vs Alonso.
The safety car leads out the F1 pack for a lap to the grid. This lap counts as part of the race, then we have two laps to the finish.
So, here we go again (again). A third standing start to the race. This will be a spectacle.
Piastri looked set for 11th after losing out in his battle with Ocon earlier on. Can this restart give him another chance to score a point at home?
The race will restart at 16:56 local time - so in six minutes - just enough time for a quick cuppa.
This is reminiscent of the 2021 Azerbaijan GP, when the race was red-flagged late on for Verstappen's tyre failure. There was a two-lap restart then, when Hamilton got Turn 1 all wrong with the 'magic' still on and went off.
The FIA confirms the reason for the red flag: "Wheel rim debris over a wide area the cause of this red flag."
Quote
"What the f***? We don't need a red flag!" Verstappen said over team radio, at the time the red flag was called.
We can assume everyone will switch to the softs for the final two laps of this race. How the rest plays out is anyone's business.
It's not clear from replays whether Magnussen touched the wall exiting Turn 2 which caused the tyre to detach, or whether that was the result. Either way, that could have been a lot worse.
That was a hair-raising moment for Zhou, who thankfully was far enough behind Magnussen that he could avoid the tyre debris in the road.
Now then! This is about to get really tasty. All the cars will pull into the pits again, be allowed to change tyres, and provide us with two racing laps to the finish.
Red flag
Red flag!
So this will bunch the pack up and if we get a late race restart it will be an all-out attack to the finish. At the moment there are three laps to go.
More than just a puncture, that's the whole tyre carcass sitting in the road on the approach to Turn 3!
Safety car
A full safety car has been deployed! Blimey.
Mechanical problem
Drama for Magnussen, he's got a right-rear puncture and pulls up on the inside of Turn 4.
After being passed by Sargeant, De Vries has now swapped onto the softs. Could he deprive Verstappen of a fastest lap point?
That slight excursion for Hulkenberg won't have done his tyres any good. But Ocon isn't close enough to pounce for the time being, the Alpine still 3s back.
Finally Norris breaches Hulkenberg's defence as he runs ever so slightly wide into Turn 11. The McLaren gets the better exit and ducks up the inside into Turn 12, where Hulkenberg tries to hold him off on the outside before running. into the gravel.
Are there enough laps for Perez to get onto the tail of Stroll? He's now within three seconds of the sixth-placed Aston Martin.
Hamilton is still keeping Alonso out of his DRS range, while further back Gasly has slipped out of the DRS blanket provided by Sainz.
Stopwatch
Verstappen makes amends with a new fastest lap of 1m20.342s as he begins to rebuild his lead. It hasn't been a smooth race for the Red Bull despite his dominance.
Hulkenberg is doing a great job of defending the inside at Turn 11 from Norris. That's twice in successive laps that the McLaren has come steaming up behind the Haas, only for the 2015 Le Mans winner to repel his advance. Unsurprisingly, Norris has complained over the radio.
Off track
Verstappen locks up at Turn 13 and goes off track. That gap he built up is cut to 7.6s. Hmmm.
Just as Gasly has been doing to good effect, Hukenberg has been able to stave off Norris by keeping within DRS of Perez for the last few laps, but now the Red Bull is pulling clear he may face a sterner test from the McLaren behind.
Stopwatch
Start the Jaws music, Alonso is upping the pace with a new fastest lap of 1m20.690s. He's 1.1s off Hamilton.
Gasly is doing well to piggyback DRS off Sainz to keep him comfortably free from Stroll behind. If he can keep it up until the end of the race, fifth place will be a strong result for Alpine.
After his pitstop Sargeant has closed on De Vries, and could soon retake 16th position. Both have now been lapped.
Perez wastes no time disposing of Hulkenberg and claims seventh at Turn 11. Through that whole exchange Norris is now much closer to the Haas in their battle over what is now eighth.
Wow, an overtake, we almost forgot what one of those looked like.
Norris doesn't put up much of a fight as Perez breezes past into Turn 9. Can he use DRS from the Red Bull to close in on Hulkenberg ahead?
Ocon is continuing to pull away from Piastri, the gap between 10th and 11th now over 8s. The McLaren driver is in turn over 9s ahead of Magnussen behind so under little immediate threat.
Stopwatch
Verstappen's next fastest lap, a 1m20.986s, pushes his advantage into double figures at 10.1s on Hamilton. You get the feeling he's got pace in hand if needed.
For the first time, Perez is now within a second of Norris ahead. That means DRS, and that has proven a potent weapon in the Mexican's arsenal so far today.
By: Autosport Staff
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