F1: Verstappen wins Australia GP
Max Verstappen claimed victory in the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso after a huge PILE-UP at the end of the race.
A late red flag saw the race restart from the grid, with a number of cars getting caught up in a catalogue of crashes.
A huge pile-up occurred late on. This led to another flag, the third of the day.
With a lap to go the FIA then said the race will resume in the grid order, meaning the race would finish under the safety car.
This denied Hamilton and Alonso the chance to try and overtake Verstappen, seeing the Dutchman eventually win his second race of the season and claim his first win in Australia.
However, Verstappen had endured a slow start to the day, being overtaken by both Hamilton and George Russell on the opening lap.
The Mercedes duo had overtaken Verstappen on the opening lap after a sluggish start from the two-time champion.
However, an early safety car-turned-red flag after Alex Albon spun into the wall saw a pit call for Russell turn sour as the Brit’s race lead went up in smoke.
His car followed suit shortly after, bursting into flames and forcing him out of the race.
Russell bemoaned his luck on social media, saying, “When it’s not your day, it’s not your day.”
Russell’s fine start to the Australian Grand Prix quickly turned to disaster as his car caught fire after his strategy was ruined by a red flag.
The Brit, who sat behind Max Verstappen on the grid and a place ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, overtook the reigning champion on the first corner to the delight of his supporters.
However, having pitted under a safety car a red flag then gave his rivals a free change of tire, making his earlier decision to stop a pointless one.
Russell wasn’t able to add to his 18 points for the season thanks to the retirement, with Verstappen leading the way in his search for a third consecutive drivers’ championship.