Red Bull’s Max Verstappen wins his first Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne

Max Verstappen took the chequered flag in a controversial Australian Grand Prix that featured three red flags.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the first Australian Grand Prix of his career today, Sunday, April 2. The reigning Dutch world champion started from pole position and took the chequered flag at Albert Park in Melbourne to extend his lead at the top of the championship to 15 points after three races.

Lewis Hamilton capped a tremendous weekend by bringing his Mercedes home in second place, ahead of Spain’s Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin. The former world champion now has three podiums in three races this season.

Today’s race was filled with controversy, with three red flags and finishing under a safety car to fulfil FIA rules after a restart. The final positions though were taken from those that the drivers were in when the last restart occurred.

At that point, Alonso had found himself at the back of the pack after spinning out. Under FIA regulations, the cars had to parade around the circuit behind the safety car for the last lap.

Carlos Sainz was very upset after being handed a five-second penalty that demoted him to 12th. That meant he was out of the points after the Ferrari driver was deemed responsible for causing the crash that spun Alonso out. Speaking after the race, the Spaniard called the decision “unacceptable”. “They need to wait until after the race and discuss it with me. Clearly the penalty is not deserved. It is too severe”, he added.

Alonso’s teammate achieved his best finish of the season to clinch fourth place. Mexico’s Sergio Perez took fifth in the second Red Bull. Lando Norris had a brilliant race, moving from 13th on the grid to finish in sixth for McLaren.

The American Haas team found themselves among the points again thanks to Nico Hulkenberg who grabbed an impressive seventh. Oscar Pistri was delighted to score his first points in F1 with a brilliant eighth place in the other McLaren and in front of his home crowd.

Another fantastic finish was that of Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, who drove his Aston martin home in ninth position. The top 10 was rounded out by Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda in the Alpha Tauri.

Today’s unprecedented events in an F1 race will undoubtedly draw comparisons with the Abu Dhabi carnival in 2021 that finished lewis hamilton’s chances of another world title.

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