Max Verstappen wins a choppy race in Australia, and Fernando Alonso repeats the podium despite competition from Carlos Sainz

Max Verstappen triumphed in an eventful Australian Grand Prix . Although the final lap lasted an hour due to numerous crashes, the world championship leader survived the confusion to claim an easy victory, thanks to the overwhelming superiority of his Red Bull team.

The chaotic events mostly took place in the background, but Fernando Alonso managed to secure a place on the podium despite Carlos Sainz passing him on the second start. Luckily, a timely red flag allowed Alonso to reclaim his podium position and hold on to third place.

Carlos Sainz was penalized without obtaining points following a collision with Fernando Alonso.

Verstappen unquestionably won the race, despite a poor start where he lost two positions to Mercedes . But the maneuver he performed in the middle of the straight to pass Lewis Hamilton clearly illustrates that the Red Bull is superior to all the other cars in the running. Barring a miracle, Verstappen is destined to win many victories in his career.

The race was marked by emotional events, including the exclusion of George Russell from the podium due to a series of misfortunes. An initial red flag interrupted his strategy, then the engine of his Mercedes caught fire, leaving him stranded on the track. Carlos Sainz was also affected by this first red flag.

The final classification of the race was strongly influenced by unforeseen events. Early on, the battle for the podium involved Hamilton and Alonso , showing that the Mercedes had as much speed as the Aston Martin . Sainz followed closely with his Ferrari , but unfortunately his car broke down before the end of the race.

It all came down to the final laps, where Kevin Magnussen crashed, resulting in a red flag and a long interruption. After the restart, Sainz erred by passing Alonso, resulting in a five-second penalty and stripping him of any points. Eventually, the podium was restored to the previous order thanks to a new accident, allowing Alonso to keep his place on the podium.

The battle broke out at Alpine and saw Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon collide as the race restarted. This incident led to a collision against the wall for both pilots. Gasly has probably consumed the last points of his super license in this situation and will be absent from the race in Baku . It's a shame for a driver who had had a great career so far.

Lance Stroll managed to finish fourth thanks to these various incidents during the race, which represents his best result of the year. However, he is still far behind Fernando Alonso. As for Sergio Pérez, he was only able to move up to fifth position, although his race pace was not as good as expected. Although Red Bull is a good car, it's even better in the hands of Max Verstappen. Fortunately, Pérez managed to get the fastest lap.

All teams in Formula 1 have now scored points, including McLaren who had a remarkable performance with both cars. Lando Norris finished sixth and Oscar Piastri eighth, while Alpha Tauri also scored thanks to Yuki Tsunoda who finished tenth, benefiting from the sanction of Carlos Sainz. Guanyu Zhou , who was making his debut this year, also scored points finishing ninth.

However, Charles Leclerc saw his race ended at the first corners after a collision with Stroll , while Alexander Albon also retired after being sixth with Williams . Nico Hülkenberg managed to secure his first Formula 1 podium, but eventually finished seventh after a racing break.

Here are the 2023 Australian Grand Prix Formula 1 race results

General classification Formula 1

1. Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull-HOL), 69 points
2. Sergio PÉREZ (Red Bull-MEX), 50 points
3. Fernando ALONSO  (Aston Martin-ESP), 45 points
4. Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes-GBR), 38 points
5. Carlos SAINZ  (Ferrari-ESP), 20 points