MELBOURNE, Australia — Max Verstappen followed the safety car home at the end of a dramatic Australian Grand Prix to win his second race of the Formula 1 season Sunday at the Albert Park GP Circuit.
The Red Bull driver lost out to both George Russell and Hamilton at the original race start, before the Safety Car made two appearances in quick succession due to Charles Leclerc retiring from a collision with Lance Stroll and Alex Albon crashing out heavily.
Verstappen overtook Hamilton for the lead on lap 12 and built a big lead before a red flag with just a few laps left led to chaos.
But just as the order appeared to be locked in, another Safety Car, and another red flag came late on when Kevin Magnussen pounded the wall exiting turn two.
It meant a third standing start and the prospect of a two-lap shootout on soft tires, but just a matter of seconds passed before further contact and drama as Carlos Sainz tipped fellow Spaniard Alonso into a spin.
After several laps behind the Safety Car, a rolling start took the field to the finish, with Verstappen earning his first Australian Grand Prix victory, finishing .179 seconds ahead of Hamilton.
“My start today wasn’t amazing and then on lap one, I was very careful as there was a lot on the line, I had a lot to lose and a lot to win,” Verstappen explained. “But after that restart, we had good pace and a decent gap for the majority of the race. Perhaps we didn’t need all of those red flags today, it was frustrating, but everyone was safe and we won, which is the most important thing.
“It’s my first win in Australia which feels really good, it’s also been a while for the team so it means a lot to us all.”
Hamilton came home second.
“To get a podium today is amazing,” Hamilton said. “I definitely didn’t expect to be second this weekend, so I am super grateful. Considering we’re down on performance, to be fighting with the Aston Martins is amazing for us at this point in the season. We’ve just got to keep fighting. A big thank you to all the people back at the factory. We can close that gap; it’s going to be tough but not impossible.”
Fernando Alonso finished third for Aston Martin, making it three different manufacturers in the top three. As well, all three drivers on the podium have won the world championship at least twice.
Alonso’s Aston Martin teammate, Lance Stroll, was fourth, with Verstappen’s Red Bull partner Sergio Perez romping from the last row on the grid to finish fifth.
Haas F-1 driver Nico Hulkenberg finished a season-best seventh.