Australian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen: red flags ‘bit of a mess’, Fernando Alonso on ‘rollercoaster of emotions’

World champion Max Verstappen admitted that Sunday’s chaotic Australian Grand Prix ended up being a “bit of a mess” after there were multiple red flags. The first came early on when Charles Leclerc crashed out after a collision with Lance Stroll. But the real drama came in the final stages of the race when with two laps to go Kevin Magnussen crashed out.

Ad That led to a two-lap finale that was also red flagged after chaos on the restart that saw Carlos Sainz spin Fernando Alonso and the two Alpines collide, amongst other things. Australian Grand PrixChaotic Australian GP finish sees Verstappen take victory ahead of Hamilton5 HOURS AGO After another lengthy delay it was decided that race would restart and the cars would do a formation lap behind the safety car to complete the race. Speaking in the podium interviews Verstappen said «We had a very poor start, and lap one I was careful because I had a lot to lose and they had a lot to win.

»After that, the pace of the car was quick — you could see that straight away. «We were always there, waiting for the DRS for the chance to pass. But with these red flags, I don't know.

»The first one, maybe you can do it but the second one I don't understand. «So, it was a bit of a mess, but we survived everything and we won, which, of course, is the most important thing. Verstappen says he ‘won’t be around for too long’ if F1 adds more sprint races Horner dismisses notion Red Bull a one-car team: We give both drivers the best opportunity »From my side, I just tried to avoid contact [on the battle with Hamilton] «It's okay, we had good pace and we passed them anyway, but it's something for the next race to take into account.