The 2023 F1 Australian Grand Prix will live long in the memory after a highly dramatic conclusion.
Three red flags were flown over the course of the race, with two in quick succession at the end, to create drama and a fair bit of confusion as to who was to finish where, but eventually the three world champions on the current grid found themselves on top as Max Verstappen led home from Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
A good result for the trio, then, and Mercedes in particular will be pleased with their weekend’s showing, even if George Russell’s W14 expired before the chequered flag.
We kick off with them in our latest look at five key talking points to come from a Grand Prix weekend…
Positive Mercedes showing in Australia
Mercedes have made it clear this season so far that they are not happy with their car but over the weekend in Melbourne the W14 underwent some form of redemption with it quick in both qualifying and the race.
George Russell led the early stages of the Grand Prix after a good start and it was only poor fortune that left him firstly, down the running order after he’d pitted just before the first red flag of the day, and secondly, out of the race with a mechanical issue.
Lewis Hamilton demonstrated the improvement in race pace the car had by keeping Fernando Alonso at bay, though, and so there are certainly lots of good things Merc can take from the weekend.
Red flag use to be reviewed
A number of drivers voiced their disagreement with the use of the red flag over the course of the Grand Prix, with it flying on three separate occasions.
George Russell questioned the need for it for the incident that saw Alex Albon lose his Williams and crash, with gravel on the circuit cited as the main reason for that stoppage, whilst Max Verstappen said there was no need for the second one after Kevin Magnussen’s tangle with the wall – this being the one that led to the chaos that unfolded at the second restart.
The amount of debris from Magnussen’s crash was given as the cause for that red flag but Verstappen, among others, felt that Sunday’s issues could have largely been managed by the Safety Car coming out – as was the initial intention with Albon’s accident.
The drivers are set to talk with the FIA about the situation at the next race in Baku at the end of April.
Ferrari find positives despite pointless return
Scuderia fans may well wish they hadn’t bothered getting up so early to watch the race in Melbourne, especially if their allegiances lie particularly with Charles Leclerc.
The Monegasque’s race was over by turn three of lap one as he clipped Lance Stroll’s car and beached himself in the gravel trap – sparking him to label his start to the season as the ‘worst ever.’
Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz was producing a strong drive to be sat in fourth at the second restart of the day, but that is where things unravelled for him.
He was given a five-second penalty for tapping Fernando Alonso at the first corner and despite his strong protests the stewards kept with their decision – meaning he’d drop out of the top ten at the end of the race.
Despite it all, Ferrari were pleased with the race pace they saw on Sunday with Sainz, as Fred Vasseur explained post-race:
“Today’s result, not scoring points, does not reflect the progress we have made as a team. We have taken a step forward in terms of pure performance and even more importantly, we had a decent and consistent race pace on the various tyre compounds, including the Hard.”
Alpine also find positives
The second restart hurt Alpine the most of anyone.
Pierre Gasly was looking good for a P5 finish whilst Esteban Ocon was also still pushing for points but they came together and both would retire from the race.
What made it even worse was the red flag that that incident caused meant that, effectively, the restart we’d just had didn’t count and everyone else got to keep the positions they were in on the grid.
A really tough one to take for the team but their pace, especially with Gasly on Sunday, was promising.
The Frenchman felt as though he was comfortable keeping with Sainz in the Ferrari and Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin, and if they can keep that trend going they will surely stay in the mix for good points as we move further into the season.
Crowd issues to be reviewed
Worryingly, before the cars had returned to the pitlane at the end of the race, some fans in attendance were climbing the fences of the track and had appeared to get through security.
The Australian Grand Prix Corporation says it will thoroughly review the incidents alongside Victoria Police and has asked that it is given until the end of June to present its findings to the FIA.
An unfortunate ending to what was otherwise a really successful race weekend in Australia, which saw around a whopping 450,000 fans in attendance over the course of the full event.
