Formula 1

The race in Melbourne emphasized how radically F1's rules can reshape a race, for better and worse.

“Someone does something stupid and turn one locks up, and your race is over because (FIA) just want to make the show more exciting.” It all left 12 cars running in a shaken-up order, with Sainz on the podium, Nico Hülkenberg, and Yuki Tsunoda in the top five, and Alonso out of the points. Combined with the standing restarts, which create excitement but also bring the risk of more incidents, today being a case in point, it all added up to one of F1’s stranger recent races. The stewards had no valid reason (like severe weather) to call it over. He may not have been able to hold on — when The Athletic told Horner that Russell thought Mercedes could have won, he replied with a confused: “Why?” — but it at least would have created some fight and strategic variation. And this would be the one that really confused. Verstappen predictably made light work of overtaking Hamilton, recovering the lead on Lap 12 thanks to the Red Bull’s mighty straight-line advantage with DRS in use, and then established a healthy buffer to the chasing pack. One lap after the safety car was deployed, the stewards upgraded the situation to a red flag, calling all the cars off the track to allow for proper cleanup. [Mercedes](https://theathletic.com/tag/mercedes/) on the opening lap, giving George Russell the lead. Hamilton and Verstappen stayed out, meaning that although they inherited first and second, they would be at a strategic disadvantage to Russell as the time lost in the pits is reduced under the safety car due to the slow-moving train of cars. Because the red flag was called on Lap 9, drivers could switch to the hard compound tire and, with a bit of management, run to the end without pitting again. (“What is the only F1 race to have three red flags?”)

The injured motorhead was in ambulance care after narrowly avoiding disaster while sitting with his fiancé.

“It was quite funny, because after the accident with Kevin Magnussen, my partner said, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I feel safe standing here’. “They let me pose for a picture with it and then took it off. When they held it up, I was quite surprised how large it was.” I didn’t think to look for it; I thought it was quite small. “I haven’t spoken to anyone from the race. I just feel lucky that it wasn’t any worse.

A Formula One fan at the Australian Grand Prix suffered a cut to his arm when struck by a piece of debris, putting the spotlight on safety protocols.

“My fiancee was pretty spooked by it and borderline shell-shocked.” Part of it was shredded and really sharp, if it hit me in a different angle, it could’ve been horrendous,” he added. “It slapped me in the arm and I was just standing there bleeding,” he told radio station 3AW.

Mark Hughes and Scott Mitchell-Malm join Edd Straw to review the Australian Grand Prix including the red flag and restart controversies.

The Race F1 Podcast is available free to subscribe to from all good podcast suppliers, including Edd Straw, Mark Hughes and Scott Mitchell-Malm gather to explain the controversy and assess whether F1’s current system is fit for purpose. Formula 1’s third race of 2023 was dominated by the red flag and restart controversies that led to a late finish for the stewards.