Formula 1

MAX WINS AN FIA RED FLAG DISASTER LCH AND FERNANDO ON THE PODIUM! GEORGE RUSSELL RECEIVES ISAAC HAYES CD

Max followed the safety car home at the end of a dramatic Australian Grand Prix to win his second race of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship season as Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Pérez fought brilliantly up from last on the grid to finish in fifth place.

The race was turned on its head with a red flag on lap nine with Dutchman Verstappen overtaking Lewis Hamilton for the lead on lap 12 as Mexican Pérez moved into the points on lap 23, Verstappen building up a big lead before a red flag with just a few laps left led to chaos.

Multiple cars went off at the ensuing restart leading to a final safety car finish where Verstappen took the chequered flag, while Pérez banked points and the fastest lap to lie 15 points behind in the title race.

MAX VERSTAPPEN: “My start today wasn’t amazing and then on lap 1 I was very careful as there was a lot on the line, I had a lot to lose and a lot to win. But after that restart, we had good pace and a decent gap for the majority of the race. Perhaps we didn’t need all of those red flags today, it was frustrating, but everyone was safe and we won which is the most important thing.

It’s my first win in Australia which feels really good, it’s also been a while for the Team so it means a lot to us all, especially as Checo also had a good recovery drive today. It’s been a chaotic day but it’s great to see that the fans had a great time despite the long wait!”

FERNANDO ALONSO: “It was a rollercoaster of emotions today with the red flags and incidents. It was probably my craziest race here in Melbourne but it’s great to come away with another podium. There were many things going on all afternoon and we had an interesting battle with Lewis [Hamilton] for second.

The pace of the car was good and we kept up the pressure on Lewis, but he did a good job and didn’t really make any mistakes. On the contact with Carlos [Sainz] after the restart I’m sure he didn’t mean to do it so I think the penalty for him was quite harsh in the end. We have to be pleased with this start to the season and three podiums in as many races.”

LEWIS HAMILTON: To get a podium today is amazing; I definitely didn’t expect to be second this weekend, so I am super grateful. Considering we’re down on performance, to be fighting with the Aston Martins is amazing for us at this point in the season. We’ve just got to keep fighting. A big thank you to all the people back at the factory. We can close that gap; it’s going to be tough but not impossible.

It was very unlucky for George today. Our reliability has generally been pretty good so that was unfortunate. Finally, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone here in Melbourne and Australia. I’ve had the best week here and this town continues to put on a great show.