The Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne had it all – red flags, restarts, and plenty of drama! It was a race that kept us on the edge of our seats, and now it’s time to catch up on all the winners and losers. So, who made it to the top of the report cards, and who ended up on the struggle bus? With so much action to choose from, I’m excited to break it all down for you, so let’s get stuck in it!
Top of the class:
Lewis Hamilton – Qualifying: 3rd | Race: 2nd
Lewis Hamilton had more than just a solid weekend at the Australian Grand Prix, qualifying in P3 and finishing in P2. All that whilst at the beginning of the weekend he wasn’t all that confident that he’d be gracing the podium with his presence just yet.
It must be said that he expertly navigated multiple restarts, but there were moments where he seemed a bit concerned and lacking confidence in the strategy. That’s just Lewis being Lewis in the heat of the moment, as he does tend to get a bit worried whenever things are going his way.
This was his first podium since Interlagos 2022, and it was good to see the 7-time world champ back up there. Of course, one good weekend doesn’t make a season, so it definitely doesn’t mean that Mercedes has suddenly fixed all their issues, as made abundantly clear by the trouble on the other side of the garage. But nevertheless, it was a strong performance from Lewis, hopefully this will be the confident booster he and Mercedes need to develop the car in the right direction and make some gains.
Max Verstappen – Qualifying: 1st | Race: 1st
It has been brewing for a long time, but the moment has finally arrived! Max Verstappen won his first-ever Australian Grand Prix. Additionally, it was the Dutchman’s 80th career podium and also Red Bull Racing’s first victory in Australia since 2011.
The Dutchman started this weekend on a solid foundation by qualifying on pole on Saturday, but Sunday did bring some challenges some challenges. At the start, Verstappen didn’t quite manage to get away cleanly, meaning that George Russell jumped on the opportunity to overtake him into the first corner, quickly followed by Lewis Hamilton. This left Max stuck behind both silver arrows (even though their livery is black now) but Max won his place back from Hamilton on pure speed.
Later, George was pitted under a safety car which ended up turning into a red flag, meaning the Dutchman didn’t have to pit. There was a little blemish on Max’s record, though. Not only his first start, but also his second start was poor, and an iffy moment at turn 13. Otherwise, he seems to have an iron grip on the RB 19 which more than compensated the initial deficit. Had it not been for the second red flag, he’d be cruising to the finish.
Now he had to work a little harder, but his third getaway was much cleaner, meaning he easily maintained the lead. And considering the last restart was just a Schrodinger’s lap, that one we don’t have to count. Not that it matters, Max would have won either way. All in all, it was an exciting race, and Max definitely deserved his win. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for us!
Nico Hulkenberg – Qualifying: 10th | Race: 7th
This weekend was the Hulk’s third outing after his return to the world of F1, and this one certainly paid off, as he took home some points! He kept steady and unfazed through multiple restarts and even looked like a 3rd place finish was possible at one point, due to the chaos which was the second restart. Considering he is still the driver who has gone without a single podium for the longest period of time, he certainly would have deserved it.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, as the countback meant the (remaining) grid was reshuffled to their positions before the restart, but that doesn’t take anything away from his stellar performance this weekend. It’s always great to see a driver make a comeback and do well, and Nico has certainly proven that he still has plenty to offer. I can’t wait to see what he’ll do in the races to come.
Honourable mentions:
The first honourable mention goes to McLaren, who after a rough start to the season, finally got a chance to show what they can do with a double-points finish. Lando Norris finished in 6th place, whilst his teammate Oscar Piastri finished in 8th and scored his very first F1 points in front of his home crowd. What more could you ask for from a rookie?!
Fernando Alonso also deserves some recognition for his impressive driving. He finished in 3rd place, but it wasn’t an easy journey for him. At one point, he was tipped into a spin by Carlos Sainz, which nearly cost him a podium finish. Fortunately for him, the results were counted back to the lap before the incident, which allowed him to still climb that third step of the podium. This did mean that others, who drove equally well and managed to avoid trouble, got their chance at a podium place taken away, however.
The last honourable mention goes to Checo. He had a shocker of a day on Saturday, finding himself in the gravel in Q1 and having to start from the pitlane. On Sunday, however, he managed to stay out of trouble and finish in 5th place. He even had to take a little detour through the gravel to avoid the cars in front of him getting too friendly with the wall, but for him it was an excellent (and much-needed) recovery race.
Struggle bus:
Schrödingers lap
First on the struggle bus is what several people on twitter have coined ‘Schrödingers lap‘. The end of the race was a bit of a mess, and that’s probably an understatement. The second red flag, caused by Magnussen hugging the wall rather enthusiastically and losing a tire because of it, probably didn’t necessarily need to be a red flag. I appreciate the caution, especially after we’ve seen recovery vehicles out on track without proper measurements taken in 2022, but it perhaps was a bit over-cautious. Or perhaps it was done to prevent the race from finishing under the safety car, which obviously didn’t work.
When the race was restarted, the sun was already setting, and unfortunately for the drivers that meant they were looking directly at the sun. A restart this late in the race is always a bit of a risky move to begin with, as everyone dissatisfied with their track position is keen for a last-ditch attempt to make up some places, but the sun most definitely didn’t help matters, meaning that several drivers found themselves stranded before long. The drivers behind who did stay out of trouble, weren’t rewarded for their trouble, as for the third restart the positions of the previous lap (where possible) were reinstated. Still, despite pretending that the whole thing had never happened results & positions wise, Sainz was awarded a penalty – a rather harsh one I might add, and he found himself at the back of the pack. They then finished the whole thing off with what they called a rolling start but was nothing more than a parade lap.
Alpine
Esteban Ocon – Qualifying: 11th | Race: DNF
Pierre Gasly – Qualifying: 9th | Race: DNF
It was a rollercoaster of emotions for the Alpine team at the Australian Grand Prix. They drove a strong race, with Gasly in P5 and Ocon in P10 near the end of it. But unfortunately, it all went downhill from there. The second restart seemed to be their undoing, as they suffered the worst luck of all the teams.
Both Gasly and Ocon ended up in the wall, which is definitely not something to write home about. The contact between Sainz and Alonso set off a chain reaction, which led to the pink cars ending up in the wall together, in unison.
Despite their bubblegum colour, it certainly wasn’t a sweet ending for the team. They are cooking up some updates for Baku however, and hopefully, they’ll have better luck there.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc – Qualifying: 7th | Race: DNF
Carlos Sainz – Qualifying: 5th | Race: 12th (demoted from 4th)
The start of the season really isn’t coming together the way the Italian team hoped, and this weekend was no exception. They reached rock bottom in the early stages of the race, as Leclerc crashed out on the opening lap after contact with Lance Stroll. It really is a shame, as these last three races has been his most disappointing start to a season so far. Then again, when we look back to the results of early 2022, nobody would have thought Max would be crowned Champion at the end of it, so there is hope still.
On the other side of the garage, Sainz had a more positive start to his race, but he was one of the unfortunate ones who pitted under a safety car which later turned into a red flag. This meant he ended up in 11th place, but he most certainly didn’t let that dampen his spirits. He charged through the pack like a true Ferrari stallion, and was fourth at the second restart. But unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when he collided with Fernando Alonso, earning himself a five second penalty and falling back to 12th despite begging the stewards for it not to be true.
All-in all, they’re leaving Melbourne empty-handed. The Tifosi can only hope they make use of this prolonged gap between races to pick up the pieces and come back stronger.
Dishonourable mentions:
First up, Alex Albon, who had a good chance to score some points, but unfortunately ended up in the gravel trap. A little error proved to be very costly for him.
Next up, we have George Russell, who wasn’t to blame for his disappointing result. The Mercedes car he was driving proved to be not so reliable this year, and he had to retire due to a mechanical failure with the engine, meaning he went out with a bang, or at least some flames…
Due to the Chinese Grand Prix being cancelled, we’ve got a bit of a wait ahead of us. Take this breather for what it is, however, because the rest of the calendar is quite relentless. The F1 circus returns on the 30th of April at lunchtime (UK timezone) for the Grand Prix in Azerbaijan. And that’s not all – this is a Sprint weekend, which means you can catch the sprint race on Saturday and the qualifying on Friday as well. So sit tight and get ready for an action-packed few days of racing!
