©: @absportsupdates @ChrisMedlandF1 @autosportlive
Pre-Race:
Perez and Bottas start from pitlane, they both changed suspension set-up.
most of the cars are starting on mediums tyres.🛞
RACE START:
LAP 1/58:
IT’S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO IN MELBOURNE!🚥
George Russell takes the lead after turn 1, Leclers is into the gravel, Hamilton and Max Verstappen duel and almost touch!
It’s a yellow flag ⚠️ and a safety car 🚖
LAP 3/58:
“Safety Car. Russell was well away so won’t be happy about that. Sainz fourth, Alonso fifth and Albon up to sixth!”- @ChrisMedlandF1
“Gasly, Ocon, Zhou and Bottas on softs, hards for de Vries, Sargeant and Perez. Everyone else on mediums”- @ChrisMedlandF1
Safety Car in, this lap.
LAP 5/58:
“Leclerc made contact with Stroll into Turn 3 and spun – stewards have looked at it and no further investigation.
Ocon, Zhou, Sargeant, Perez and Bottas have all made pit stops”- @ChrisMedlandF1
DeVries, Ocon, Zhou, Bottas, Perez and Sargent are on hards, Gasly on softs. Everyone else on mediums.
DRS enabled. LAP 6/58
LAP 8/58:
yellow flag?🟨😳
Albon crashes! It’s a safety car🚖
Russell pits for hards, he is now 7th place and Hamilton leads the AusGP.
It’a a RED FLAG 🚩
They need to repair the barrier and clean the gravel.
Lap 9/58:
Race will resume in 10 minutes- 15:33 local time
Red Flag Lap 9/58
restart- it’s a standing start!
Devries and Sargent on medium, the rest are on hards.🛞
IT’S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO, again:)🚥
“Plenty of cars essentially stopped on the slow lap to the grid at Turn 6 and those behind were unsighted and ran off track.
The restart procedure is under investigation…”- @ChrisMedlandF1

Lap 10/58:
Hamilton keeps the lead after turn 1, now chased by Verstappen.
DeVries in the gravel but returns quick.
LAP 13/58:
Verstappen is through on Hamilton at Turn 9.
“Russell gets Gasly with DRS into Turn 11 for P4” – @ChrisMedlandF1
“The stewards have confirmed that there will be no further investigation into the Ocon-de Vries clash at the restart. Meanwhile Perez blitzes Sargeant’s medium-shod Williams for 15th at Turn 11.” -@autosportlive
LAP 16/58:
Replay shows that Piastri was touched by Tsunoda.
“Perez gets Magnussen down the inside into Turn 9 – nice bit of driving from both. Perez up to P14”- @ChrisMedlandF1
LAP 18/58:
RUSSELL is out of the race!
His car is on fire!🔥
PIT LANE ENTRY CLOSED❌
Virtual Safety Car⚠️
“Russell parks it in the pit exit, his car is on fire but only small, Virtual Safety Car”-@ChrisMedlandF1
Virtual Safety Car ending!
green flag 🟩
LAP 23/58:
Perez passes Piastri and is now P10!👏🏻
“Perez with a sweet move down the inside of Ocon for P11 into Turn 9, and one lap later he goes round the outside of Piastri at the same corner. You can see the DRS difference but they’re good moves”-@ChrisMedlandF1
TOP 10 in LAP 24/58:
VERSTAPPEN
HAMILTON
ALONSO
GASLY
SAINZ
STROLL
HULKENBERG
NORRIS
PEREZ
TSUNODA
LAP 29/58: – WE ARE HALFWAY THROUGH…🇦🇺
LAP 34/58:
Perez sets fastest lap- 1:21.456s⏱
LAP 36/58:
“Magnussen with a few moves on consecutive laps – the second a dive down to the inside of Turn 11 on Zhou. He’s up to P12 but some eight seconds behind Piastri”-@ChrisMedlandF1
——
“There’s no fight for the win but it’s a bit of a holding pattern in a four-car battle for second between Hamilton, Alonso, Sainz and Gasly.
Four different cars in that scrap, saving tyres at the moment but trying to force the other to use theirs a bit too much” @ChrisMedlandF1
“Perez uses DRS to get Norris into Turn 9 for P8. Hulkenberg just ahead of him too (both Norris and Hulk having really good afternoons)” @ChrisMedlandF1
LAP 49/58:
Verstappen a little bit off but still keeps the lead, now 7s ahead.
10 LAPS TO GO!
LAP 53/58:
Hulkenberg and Norris duel, Norris past him but the Haas goes a little bit off into the gravel.
LAP 55/58:
yellow flag🟨
K-Mag without a rear tyre🛞
It’s a safety car🚖⚠️

“Magnussen just ran slightly out of road at Turn 2 and broke the right rear with the tyre flying off too. A lot of debris that needs clearing. “ @ChrisMedlandF1

RED FLAG🚩

“FIA: “Wheel rim debris over a wide area the cause of this red flag.””- @ChrisMedlandF1
LAP 56/58:
2 Laps To Go
Race will resume in 10 minutes- 16:56 (local time) 🇦🇺
“Verstappen, Hamilton and Alonso the top three, all on new tyres, for two flat out laps chasing the win with what is likely to be a standing restart (admittedly race control will confirm to teams).” @ChrisMedlandF1
standing start!
LAP 57/58:
It’s lights out and away we go, for the third time this morning🙂

2 laps to go!
Verstappen take the lead!🏎
BIG CRASH after TURN 1 😳
RED FLAG AGAIN!!!🚩🚩🚩
CHAOS. ABSOLUTE CHAOS!
LAP 58/58:🚩
Sargeant, De Vries, Ocon, Gasly are out of the race!
still in the race:
Verstappen
Hamilton
Sainz
Hulkenberg
Tsunoda
Norris
Piastri
Zhou
Bottas
Perez
Alonso
Stroll
“No clear explanation yet from the FIA how this will be classified, but the next lap would be the final lap if they went back out so there’s no laps left for a racing restart, only a rolling one behind the Safety Car to cross the line”-@ChrisMedlandF1
Restart is under investigation.
“To underline the general confusion, the timing screen has the order from the start before the crashes and the TV graphics has the order after it. For example, Tsunoda is fifth on one screen and 12th on another.”- @autosportlive
“If Sainz gets penalised for hitting Alonso and the field head back out to cross the line, Hulkenberg will end up on the podium…”-@ChrisMedlandF1
“”Race resumption behind safety car in the order of the previous start minus cars out. There will be a rolling start and as there will be only one lap left, the chequered flag will be out as they come back across the line.” “-@ChrisMedlandF1
Restart Order:
– 1, 44, 14, 55, 18, 11, 4, 27, 81, 24, 22, 77

Race will resume af 17:33 local time, 10 minutes to go…
we’ll see one lap of racing?
“The race will resume at 17:33 local time for very much a ceremonial ending of one lap behind the safety car.”-@autosportlive
Carlos Sainz- 5second penalty.
“The FIA has also announced it is investigating the inter-Alpine clash at Turn 2.”-@autosportlive
For the fourth time today…a rolling start procedure…one last lap.😃
lights out!🚥
the safety car will pit and Verstappen will take the checkered flag😃🏁
Verstappen wins🥇the Australian Grand-Prix🇦🇺under chaotic circumstances!

…what a mess…
FINISH:🏁🇦🇺✔️

we have time to process what just happened…
see you in 3 weeks!
26 days to go⏱
next: #AzerbaijanGP 28-30 April 🇦🇿
Thanks for tuning in! ❤️
POST-RACE:
Haas protested the race result.
“No further action between Gasly and Ocon. Stewards determined it was “a first lap racing incident”. It means Gasly avoids a race ban”-@ChrisMedlandF1
official FIA documents: