F1 News
This is how last year's chaotic Australian Grand Prix unfolded
- GPblog.com
Another week and the F1 circus will be back at the Melbourne circuit in Australia. The race wasn't the most exciting early on, but the ending was very dramatic. Here's a little recap of how the race went.
Lap 1
Even the start in Melbourne did not go completely smoothly. Charles Leclerc collided with an Aston Martin and ended up in the gravel. Safety car number one and end of race for the Monegasque, who was unable to move his car out of the gravel trap.
Lap 7
Shortly after everything was released again, there was another issue. Alex Albon had a moment with considerable oversteer. He lost control of the car, ended up in the gravel trap and hit the tyre wall in the process. With all the gravel and, of course, Albon's car on the track, another safety car was called out. Number two of the race.
A lap later, a red flag was triggered. This gave the stewards plenty of room to clean the track, and the car was safely removed. Many teams made a mistake as they chose to visit the pit lane during the short safety car.
Lap 18
End of the race for George Russell. The Briton's engine had an issue on the straight and he had to stop his car. There was a virtual safety car.
After that, the race continued without issues for a long time. On lap 47, Max Verstappen made a rare mistake. He could not keep his car on the track in the penultimate corner, causing him to briefly go through the grass. Despite this, the Dutchman's lead was not compromised.
Lap 53
Kevin Magnussen lost his right rear wheel after contacting the wall. Bernd Mayländer entered the track for the third time, and the red flag was given for the second time, some two laps later.
Lap 57
The ultimate sprint race then took place. Verstappen was on pole with two laps to go. Most drivers barely made it through the first few corners, if at all. De Vries and Alonso spun around. Perez had to go over the gravel, and, to make matters worse, the two Alpine cars collided. Red flag number three! This was a unique event for a Formula One Grand Prix.
Lap 58
It was decided to let the final race lap take place behind the safety car. The order of drivers was reversed back to how it was at the red flag. So Max Verstappen managed to turn his 'pole' into a win, Hamilton finished in second place, and Alonso got a podium for Aston Martin.