Recap of the 2023 Australian Grand Prix Races: Winners, Standings and Highlights

First-time Australian Grand Prix Winner Max Verstappen rushed all tires blazing to his first-ever victory on the 2nd of April at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia. But his win was far from straightforward. From the most red flags in Formula 1 history to a new attendance record with over 444,500 in the stands, the 2023 Australian Grand Prix was an event to remember. Let’s look at what went down at one of the most highly awaited motorsport events of the year, the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. With the Miami Grand Prix happening today, here’s the latest in Grand Prix news.

How it Started

The event was the third round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship, with previous rounds being held in Bahrain on the 5th of March and Saudi Arabia on the 19th of March. It was held over the weekend of the 31st of March, lasting until the 2nd of April. Max Verstappen, a member of Red Bull Racing,  was in the lead with 44 points, with team member Sergio Pérez following one point behind and Fernando Alonso fourteen points behind, bringing Red Bull Racing to a grand total of 87 points.

The race started with Mercedes’ George Russell taking the lead from Max Verstappen, who tragically suffered from wheelspin at the offset of the race. The race saw Charles Leclerc make contact with Lance Stroll and go wheels first into the gravel early into the race, causing the safety car to be rolled out. Seven laps in, the first red flag of many were shown when Alex Albon spun off the track and into gravel, spilling gravel and dust all over the racetrack. At this point, George Russel was still in the lead, with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen following close behind.

The First Restart

The first red flag was shown right when Russell and Carlos Sainz Jr. had changed their tyres, which meant they lost out on the free time given to other riders due to the stoppage. The race restarted with Hamilton in the lead, but on lap 9, he lost his position to Verstappen, who pulled out Red Bull’s famed DRS. Soon after, on lap 18, George Russell had to stop on the tracks when his car was almost engulfed in flames due to a power unit issue. At this point, he had made it back up to P5 from P7 after the restart. Another safety car was deployed.

The standings at this point were with Max Verstappen with a lead of over ten seconds over Lewis Hamilton, and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in third place.

Everything was going smoothly until lap 54, when Kevin Magnussen lost his right-rear wheel, which rolled onto the track after it made contact with a wall at turn two, causing the race to be red-flagged once again.

The Second Restart

After the second red flag of the afternoon, the race restarted with Max Verstappen in the lead. With the race coming to an end, it seemed like the rest of the evening would go smoothly. But just as the cars reached turn 1, P3 Fernando Alonso was pushed into a spin by Carlos Sainz Jr., who was awarded a five-second penalty which would ultimately cost him a place in the Top 10. Pierre Gasly, with an Alpine-Renault, separately collided with teammate Esteban Ocon, while Logan Sargeant, Nyck de Vries and Sergio Perez got into a three-way collision, effectively putting all drivers out on the spot. These collisions triggered the race to be red-flagged almost immediately after the restart.

The Third Restart

With only one more lap to go, drivers were tense, the audience was hanging on to the edges of their seats, and there was no telling which way the race would go. The race was restarted behind the safety car in the order of the previous start without the eliminated cars.

This saw Max Verstappen taking the lead once again, with Lewis Hamilton following close behind and Fernando Alonso taking the rear of the Top 3 positions when they crossed the black and white checkered flag. This would mark the first victory Max Verstappen has ever taken on Australian grounds, and Red Bull’s first win in Australia in 12 years, with Sebastian Vetter winning the Australian Grand Prix in 2011.

The Final Race Standings

At the end of the Australian Grand Prix on the 2nd of April, the standings of the Top 10 were as follows:

And the final standings for the Formula 1 Championship were:

Now, as we gear up for the Miami Grand Prix on the 8th of May, it’s exciting to look forward to how these rankings will change. For more Grand Prix news and Miami Grand Prix 2023 news, visit Formula1.com.