2023 Australian Grand Prix remembered for red flags and continuous chaos

The 2023 Australian Grand Prix has come and gone, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen taking his first victory Down Under. For the defending champions, this is golden, but it can't be denied that the 58-lap race was disruptive, chaotic, and eventful.

In all, the race saw three red flags and three restarts - a first in Formula 1 - but no one could have expected it to transpire and play out the way it did. Fernando Alonso, who finished in third place in his Aston Martin, summed it up when he said the Grand Prix was "a rollercoaster of emotions."

Verstappen echoed Alonso's sentiments, saying: "With these red flags, I don't know, I don't really understand. It was a bit of a mess."

The red flags

The first two red flags were understandable. On Lap 7, Alex Albon crashed into the barriers at Turn 3. Then on Lap 54, Haas' Kevin Magnussen slammed into the wall coming out of Turn 2, bringing out the second red flag.

With a  few laps to go, Race Control resumed the race and had a final dash to the flag. However, while everyone was excited to see the competition between Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-AMG), and Alonso, no one could have predicted that the race would be stopped for a third time.

Going into Turn 1 on Lap 57, Carlos Sainz overshot his braking point and made contact with Alonso's Aston Martin. It set off a series of events, resulting in the two Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon making contact. This would be the third time the race was stopped, with Sainz receiving a five-second time penalty for his mistake.

On the race's final lap, the action resumed behind the safety car, with Verstappen leading the remaining drivers across the finish line, with no overtaking allowed.

The final laps were sloppy, dysfunctional, and