How Chaotic the 2023 Australian F1 Grand Prix Was With 8 Cars Out?

The 2023 Australian Grand Prix has proved to be an absolute carnage. With eight cars out of contention, before the race ended, this has been one of that races where retirement has high counts.

The retirement spree started off with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who went out of the track in turn 3 of Lap 1. He was followed by Williams’ Alex Albon, who skid off and hit the wall at the end of turn 7.

It was George Russell’s time to go out in Lap 18. The Mercedes driver parked his car by the side of the track as fire and smoke emerged from the back of his W-14. The start of carnage began in Lap 54 when Kevin Magnussen hit the barrier.

The Haas driver hit the wall with his rear right and that resulted in the tire coming off. Since the damage made the Haas stop by the track, it brought Red Flag and the session was stopped again.

After the FIA ordered a standing start, little did anyone know what was to come. As the lights went off, drivers started to gain places to use the opportunity and grab as many points as they can.

After the restart, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton pulled away but Fernando Alonso was caught by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. The Ferrari driver hit the Aston Martin, which made him spin on the track and disrupt the order.

Due to the disruption, Perez went off the track and lost positions. But the tremendous crash has come after Esteban Ocon hit his teammate Pierre Gasly going into turn 3. Gasly didn’t notice Ocon made his place up there and hence the two Alpines touched and ended up against the barrier.

On the other hand, Logan Sargeant of Williams failed to brake and hit AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries from behind, taking both of them out. This shows the level of chaos the 2023 Australian Grand Prix had.

The Melbourne race had 3 red flags

One of the rarest moments in the history of Formula 1, the 2023 Australian race, had three red flags altogether.

It’s important to note that the race wasn’t a wet one, and the weather was clean and dry. Nevertheless, the first red flag was brought out by Albon’s crash in Lap 9, followed by Magnussen’s loss of the rear tire.

At the end of the second red flag, the third red flag was brought out after the restart carnage at the end of turn 1. This was the last one for the day and it ended in Lap 58.

What happened in the end?

Max Verstappen emerged as the winner in the end. With this, the Red Bull driver took his 37th victory home. The podium places were completed by old nemesis Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton managed to stick to the P2 advantage, after his initial charge that angered his teammate. While Alonso gained from Sainz’s five-second time penalty.

The Ferrari driver was penalized for causing a collision with the Spanish after the restart. Sergio Perez made important progress as he finished in P5 despite starting from the pits. The Mexican was also the driver of the day.