Verstappen Wins in Australia Despite FIA's Failure.
The Dutch champion dominated the race, and had to fight Hamilton for position; the FIA once again over-complicated things, confusing everyone with their decisions.
The 2023 Australian Gran Prix will be remembered for quite some time because it was one of the most intense races in recent years. The battles in the middle of the pack were something to see. Drivers were pushing beyond the limit, and some got home with nothing because of being too risky.
Race Start
Verstappen found himself losing his position to both Mercedes. His starting run was not bad, but Mercedes is known for their clutch and launch systems as being one of the best in the grid. The Dutch driver complained that Hamilton forced him out of the track when making his move for second. The FIA did not see it as an unruly maneuver.
On Turn 3, Leclerc found himself on the outside of the two Aston Martins; the Ferrari driver thought he had clearance to attempt an overtake, but was caught by Stroll, who had the inside, and most importantly the position; Leclerc ended up in the gravel.
The FIA ruled this as a racing incident, which is the right call; Leclerc was foolish to think the move was possible, and got too eager considering it's just Lap 1 of 58. He paid the ultimate price, yet another DNF, and this one is quite painful for the team, considering it could be avoided entirely.
Albon's crash prompted the first Red Flag
During Lap 7, Alex Albon had a massive crash on Turn 6; Hulkenberg and Gasly nearly avoided a tragedy because the Williams car was stranded with its tail in the middle of the track. A T-bone collision could have been fatal.
The incident resulted in a Safety Car; Russell and Sainz prematurely pitted for Hard tires in an attempt to finish the race without stopping again. This proved to be a race-deciding mistake because a red flag was waived just after they pitted.
Mercedes unintentionally provided Verstappen with an oxygen mask. He was only behind Hamilton, and both were fitted with freshly new hard tires. It was up to aerodynamics to take care of the rest. Ferrari, on the other hand, relegated its only remaining driver to the back of the pack; Sainz had to fight his way up to the top. Good thing that the Spaniard was confident in his SF23 during Friday, and Saturday.
Once the race resumed, Verstappen made a move on Hamilton once DRS was enabled. The Dutch made an impressive move on Turn 11, which was later proved to be the ideal overtaking spot. Perez was climbing up the table at an impressive rate. He made a few overtaking moves on the same curve Max took Hamilton.
The calm before the storm
After a little bit of action, the race went on a respite. Everyone started managing tires and the cars at the front were wary of finishing the race without having to stop again. Sainz managed to fight traffic, and put himself 4th, Alonso was 3rd and did not challenge Hamilton too much, who was 2nd. Verstappen had a comfortable lead.
Lap after lap, drivers did a wonderful job managing the tires, but fans started to get bored. No one was attacking, and gaps were maintained. Hamilton artificially provided a little bit of tension by pulling 'ye olde faithful', and complaining about tires and strategy. He feigned his worry by saying that Alonso and Sainz were on a different strategy. Hamilton pulled a few fastest laps once the race reached its final laps.
In between all that, Russell had to abandon the race shortly after the red flag due to an engine failure. The British driver was put behind traffic due to the earlier mistake by Mercedes' strategist. It was a terrible end, for a terrible race.
Second & Third Red Flags
During Lap 54 Magnussen hit the barriers of Turn 2, leaving a tire, debris, and bodywork pieces, all over the track. This prompted the race's second red flag. Teams changed to soft tires and were expecting the last laps to be chaotic. It was Lap 56 when the cars came into the pits for a full stop.
After a few tense minutes, the race resumed under a grid start, it was Lap 57. Everyone took their places getting ready for a sprint to the end. Chaos ensued on Turn 1. Sainz hit Alonso and Perez went wide, trying to avoid a collision. Both Alpines took each other out, and hit the same barrier Magussed crashed into. Yet another red flag was waived. Cars came into the pits, and since they crossed the line, it was marked as Lap 58.
For more than half an hour. the FIA was studying how to proceed with this situation; they knew that they had to 'delete' Lap 57 and order the cars as they were before the race relaunched. They had two options:
Finish the race under Red Flag conditions, keeping the order before the incident.
Resume the race, either under safety car or rolling start.
This was perhaps the most controversial decision the FIA had to make. They opted to resume the race under Safety Car conditions. It was basically a parade lap to the finish. The problem is that the stewards still gave Sainz a 5-second penalty for causing a collision with Alonso, despite Lap 57 being deleted. This means that technically, no incident ever happened. Sainz was robbed of his 4th place finish. Ferrari came out of Australia empty-handed.
This is yet another terrible decision by the FIA. It seems that they don't know how to proceed in some situations. Looks like Ferrari was the only team that got a bad deal out of it. Sainz was furious, and did not want to comment further, fearing he might say something regrettable.
The FIA should have deleted the lap and finished the race under the red flag. Sainz should have been summoned to the Steward's office where he would have made a case for himself, and could have tried to appeal a possible penalty.
Here is the race classification and the standings for both Drivers and Constructors Championship:
What are your thoughts on the Australian Grand Prix? Do you agree with the FIA's decision? Let me know in the comments below.
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