MOTORSPORT: Verstappen claims drama-charged AGP

Max Verstappen has claimed his first career Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix after an action-packed race at Albert Park that was extended by three red flag periods and watched by more than 131,000 spectators.

That made Sunday's attendance the second highest on record for the AGP in Melbourne, the 2023 running of which also attracted a record 441,000-plus fans over four days, although 210,000 fans were estimated to have attended Adelaide's last AGP in 1995, when an all-time AGP attendance record of about 520,000 fans was set.

Through the carnage, hometown hero Oscar Piastri scored his first F1 career points with eighth place on his debut, mirroring the milestone previously earned in Melbourne by Mark Webber (2002) and Daniel Ricciardo (2012), who was replaced by Piastri at McLaren.

For Verstappen, the victory extends his lead in the Formula 1 standings after his Red Bull stablemate Sergio Perez had to settle for fifth after starting from the pit lane following a qualifying crash.

“We had a very poor start and then lap one, I was careful because I had a lot to lose, and they had a lot to win,” said Verstappen after being jumped by the Mercedes-AMG duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton at the start.

“After that, I think the pace of the car was quick, you could see that straight away, we were always there waiting for the DRS to open up, to have a chance to pass.

“It was a bit of a mess, but we survived everything, we had good pace on the car today again, and we won, which of course is the most important.”

The race quickly came under the control of the safety car after Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin came into contact with Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, with the latter retiring to the turn three gravel trap on the opening circuit.

Racing barely restarted when Alex Albon came to grief at turn six, with a red flag required to facilitate fence repairs.

The race nearly unravelled for several competitors on the formation lap after the stoppage, with Hamilton’s slow pace bunching the field at turn six.

Once back racing, Verstappen pounced on Hamilton heading down the back straight, while Russell ground to a halt on lap 18 of 58, with flames licking from his Mercedes, necessitating a virtual safety car.

With plenty of action throughout the field, the next twist in the race came when Kevin Magnussen’s Haas swiped the wall at turn two, with race control calling a red flag in order to set up a two-lap dash to the finish.

From the third restart, Verstappen kept the lead from Hamilton, while Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) spun Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), which ultimately earned the Spaniard a 5sec penalty that flushed him down the finishing order.

Moments later, the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon came together in a major way, which saw the red flags waved again.

The race was anticlimactically finished under safety car, with Verstappen on top from Hamilton, scoring his first podium of the season, Alonso, reinstated with the field reset after the last start mess, then Stroll, Perez, Lando Norris (McLaren), Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Piastri, Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) and Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) in 10th.

Next up for the Formula 1 teams is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, set for April 28-30.

2023 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix results:

2023 Formula 1 championship standings:

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