Max Verstappen wins Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen, the Dutch driver for the Red Bull team, won the Australian Grand Prix, the third leg of the season in the Formula 1 World Championship.
The third game of the season, in which the red flag was raised 3 times and the safety vehicles had to enter the track many times, was played on the Albert Park Track in Melbourne, 5.2 kilometers long, along length of 58 laps.
Verstappen, who started the race in first place, fell behind British Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap. The first red flag was raised in the race after Charles Leclerc’s car was involved in an accident with the cars of Lance Stroll and Alex Albon. Helped by the right tire choice, Verstappen showed superior performance in the second start this time and took the lead after a few stages.
Photo: Reuters.
The emotion remained at its peak until the last moment of the race when the second red flag was raised due to Kevin Magnussen hitting the wall. With the last two laps to go in the race, the red flag was drawn again and the Dutch driver, who did not stay at the top of the starting line, passed the checkered flag first with a time of 2:32:38.371 and took his second Formula 1 victory this season and the 37th of his career.
THRILLING ENDING
Hamilton, who failed to respond well to Verstappen’s attacks despite rising to the race lead for a while, was on the podium for the first time this season, second just 0.179 seconds off the lead. The Spanish driver of the Aston Martin team, Fernando Alonso, managed to stay on the podium in third position, 0.769 seconds behind the leader.
Photo: Reuters.
Due to accidents and problems with their vehicles, Leclerc from Ferrari, Russell from Mercedes, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon from Alpine Renault, Nyck De Vries from AlphaTauri, Logan Sargeant from Williams and Magnussen from Albon and Haas were the drivers who could not complete the race. .
The fourth race of the season, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, will take place on April 30.
After the Australian Grand Prix, the top 5 positions in the drivers’ and manufacturers’ standings were as follows:
- pilots
- 1. Max Verstappen (Holland): 69 points
- 2. Sergio Perez (Mexico): 54
- 3. Fernando Alonso (Spain): 45
- 4. Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain): 38
- 5. Carlos Sainz (Spain): 20
- Lance Stroll (Canada): 20
- equipment
- 1. red bull: 123
- 2. Aston Martin: 65
- 3.Mercedes: 56
- 4.Ferrari: 26
- 5. McLaren: 12