Max Verstappen clinched his first victory at the Australian GP after the chaotic race. The Dutchman increased his lead from his rivals in the championship standings with 69 points in his bag.
Speaking in the post-race interview, Verstappen was filled with joy but he couldn’t resist teaching rules to his old rival Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes star had started the race from P3 and right after the light out, he went flat out to overtake the Red Bull ace.
Hamilton succeeded in doing so and in the aftermath, Verstappen was heard complaining over the team radio that the Briton pushed him wide. The incident did not catch the stewards’ attention but given his post-race remarks, Verstappen was still unhappy about it.
Back where we want to be☝️
Today completes a really good weekend for us @redbullracing @HondaRacingGLB 💪 Very happy with that 🙌
Thank you Australia for your great support all weekend 👏 pic.twitter.com/X9j8Tom5zv
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) April 2, 2023
“I just try to avoid contact” – Max Verstappen
Verstappen had started the race from P1 getting chased by Mercedes‘ George Russell in P2. But soon after the start, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc collided with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and retired from the race triggering a yellow flag.
Russell had the perfect start reaction as he cruised to take the lead from Verstappen. Meanwhile, Verstappen got pressurized from Hamilton for the P2 position. At turn three, the duo had a contact right around the outside but the stewards ignored the minor collision.
Speaking about that battle, Verstappen said that it was hard but fair from his side. “I just try to avoid contact, it’s quite clear in the rules what is allowed to do, what you’re allowed to do now in the outside, but clearly it’s not followed. It’s something for the next races to take into account,” he added.
Verstappen went off the track
During the final stages of the race at the Albert Park Circuit, Verstappen took an impressive lead over Hamilton in P2. But the Dutchman had a little moment with his car when he cruised off the track into the grass.
He joked about the incident saying that he did the city a favor by cutting the grass a bit. “They don’t need to do that anymore in that area,” he said before adding, “I locked up a bit.”
The Dutchman secured his first win at the Albert Park Circuit this weekend and was left joyful after the race. Reflecting on his win, Verstappen said that it is great to win here. “It’s been a while for the team as well,” he added.
