Lewis Hamilton admitted that Max Verstappen and Red Bull are "in another league" in the 2023 F1 season, after being defeated at the Australian Grand Prix. Despite overtaking Verstappen early in the race, Hamilton ultimately couldn't compete with the Red Bull's speed and downforce. The seven-time world champion acknowledged that Mercedes has work to do in order to challenge Red Bull for victories this season, but praised his team for their hard work and expressed hope that they can make progress.
Click here to read the full article by Lewis Larkam (Crash.net).
Fernando Alonso secured a satisfying third-place finish in a challenging race, while Lewis Hamilton celebrated an unexpected second place, acknowledging his team's need for performance improvement. Max Verstappen, who won the race, experienced a poor start but highlighted the importance of ultimately claiming victory. The nature of the track and low degradation contributed to close competition, with Alonso admitting his car was likely faster, but he couldn't get closer to Hamilton.
Carlos Sainz was extremely frustrated after receiving a penalty for clashing with Fernando Alonso during the Australian Grand Prix, which dropped him from fourth to 12th position. Sainz was heard shouting over the radio and pleading with the stewards to delay the penalty until they had a conversation. Post-race, Sainz refrained from commenting, stating that he was too angry and disappointed, and planned to visit the stewards first to discuss the penalty. With Sainz out of the points, Ferrari left Melbourne empty-handed.
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Haas filed a complaint after the Melbourne race, feeling that the regulations were not correctly applied in determining the order for the final safety car restart. However, the FIA stewards sided with F1 race director Niels Wittich's decision to use the previous grid order rather than calculating positions based on Safety Car line 2. This decision was made to keep the race running as promptly as possible and to avoid encouraging drivers to take greater risks in the event of future red flags.
Click here to read the full article by Jonathan Noble (Motorsport.com).
At the conclusion of the Grand Prix, fans prematurely flooded the track due to shortcomings by the race promoter. “The security measures and the protocols which were expected to be in place for the Event were not enforced resulting in an unsafe environment for the spectators, drivers, and race officials.”
