Chaos in Melbourne
The Australian Grand Prix was the most spectacular race in a long time. In a race marked by red flags and restarts, Max Verstappen came out on top.
Max Verstappen has won the Australian Grand Prix after a particularly chaotic final phase. That happened behind the safety car, after the race at the Melbourne circuit was stopped for the third time with two laps to go. Never before have there been three red flags in a Formula 1 race.
Verstappen was well in the lead when race management stopped the race for the second time three laps from the end. It marked a restart with the field back together. Verstappen managed to hold on to his first position at that third standing start, but everything went wrong behind him. Many cars flew off the track or rammed the fence. Again the race was stopped. With officially one lap to go, there was no room for a fourth restart and the race management decided on a final lap behind the safety car.
For Verstappen it was his first victory in Australia and his 37th victory in a Formula 1 race. The Red Bull world champion consolidated the lead in this season’s championship. Britain’s Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finished second and Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin took third.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl