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    Australian GP: Verstappen claims victory after Melbourne melee

    Max Verstappen emerged victorious after a crazy conclusion to the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.

    The reigning world champion lost the lead at the start from pole but recovered to secure his second win of 2023 in a race blighted by three red flags.

    Lewis Hamilton claimed second for Mercedes, holding off Fernando Alonso, who looked to have his lost his podium chance after being hit by Carlos Sainz in the late drama, but was returned to third place.

    Race Review

    At the start, George Russell got the jump on Verstappen from P2 on the grid to lead into Turn 1.

    Hamilton took advantage of the Red Bull driver’s slow exit to dive down the inside at Turn 3 to make it a Mercedes one-two, much to the chagrin of the Dutchman.

    Charles Leclerc’s frustrating start to the season continued as he was hit by Lance Stroll on the approach to Turn 3, with the Ferrari sliding into the gravel and causing a Safety Car.

    Several drivers decided to pit at the end of Lap 1, including Sergio Perez, who started from the pit lane after crashing out in qualifying.

    Russell led a clean restart as the top three order was unchanged with Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and Alex Albon completing the top six.

    But disaster struck the Williams driver a crash at Turn 6 ended his race early, triggering a second Safety Car in the first eight laps.

    In the dust, several drivers, notably Nico Hulkenberg, were lucky to avoid the Thai driver, as his car bounced back onto the side of the track after hitting the barrier.

    Russell and Sainz decided to pit immediately but would be disadvantaged as the red flag was later shown to clear the debris, allowing the leaders to also change tyres.

    The now customary standing restart after the red flag saw Hamilton hold the lead when the lights went out again as Russell gained two places upto fifth.

    Esteban Ocon and Nyck De Vries made contact at Turn 3 but the AlphaTauri managed to continue without incident despite popping into the air.

    As the DRS was enabled, Verstappen used Red Bull’s incredible straight line speed to sweep past Hamilton on the run to Turn 9 and immediately pulled out a comfortable gap.

    Russell’s day then went from bad to worse as a fiery engine failure saw him retire on the main straight, requiring a brief Virtual Safety Car.

    Once green again, Perez, who lost places initially at the second restart, continued his recovery through the field by climbing into the top 10.

    Ahead, Alonso began to close in on Hamilton for P2, dragging Sainz and Gasly along in the process. But the Mercedes driver was able to respond, keeping the gap at just over a second.

    At the same time, Verstappen, who had opened a 10-second margin out front, lost over three seconds with a small off at the penultimate corner before continuing.

    Just as the race looked to be cruising to the finish, however, Kevin Magnussen lost a wheel after hitting the wall exiting Turn 2, with a second red flag called to clear the debris and avoid a Safety Car finish.

    A two-lap sprint looked to be on the cards, but chaos ensued at the restart.

    It began with Sainz spinning Alonso at Turn 1, and both Alpines colliding at the exit of Turn 2, after Gasly had gone wide and rejoined alongside teammate Ocon. 

    Logan Sargeant and De Vries also made contact further back, and Stroll out-braked himself at Turn 3 as disaster looked to have struck at Aston Martin.

    However, they got a reprieve as, during a third red flag period, the stewards reverted to the order before the restart but minus the cars that had retired in the melee.

    That meant Verstappen led a processional final lap behind the Safety Car to take the win ahead of Hamilton. Alonso was reinstated onto the podium in third for Aston Martin.

    Sainz followed but was given a five-second penalty for the collision with the double world champion, promoting Stroll to fourth.

    Perez was a big beneficiary claiming fifth from a pit-lane start as Lando Norris claimed McLaren’s first points of the season in sixth.

    Nico Hulkenberg was seventh ahead of Oscar Piastri in eighth at his first home race. Zhou Guanyu was ninth and Yuki Tsunoda took the final point in 10th.

    Valtteri Bottas finished 11th and Sainz was a provisional 12th following his penalty.

    The top 10 can be seen below:

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