Key events
13/58 Since taking the lead from Hamilton before Turn 9, Verstappen has floored it and is a full two seconds ahead by the end of the lap. Hamilton second, Alonso third, Russell recovering nicely to find fourth. Piastri still in 11th.
12/58 A straight line appears, DRS is enabled and Verstappen swoops! He sails past Hamilton on the outside and is officially in front. That Red Bull certainly has wings.
11/58 Unlike Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton got away nicely and he continues to lead. Verstappen meanwhile has troubles in front and behind as has to go defensive to keep Fernando Alonso off his tail.
10/58 Verstappen misses the standing start! That will make Max mad. Oscar Piastri is sitting 11th, George Russell has moved up from seventh to fifth.
A fresh twist as we now face a standing start on the hard tyres. Verstappen is desperately trying to warm up these fresh tyres to go hard at Hamilton and snatch the lead. The big winners from this Red Flag are Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), who will line up fifth and sixth for the restart.
Carlos Sainz is the big loser. He resumes in 11th! Here we go (again!)
We are a few minutes away from a resumption here and almost all the pit crews have used the time wisely to bolt on a set of hard tyres and throw up a Hail Mary that the fresh rubbers can last until the end of the race without pitting further.
Here’s how they’ll resume…
1) Hamilton
2) Verstappen
3) Alonso
4) Stroll
5) Gasly
6) Hulkenberg
7) Russell
8) Tsunoda
9/58 The race has been suspended and the racers are returning to pit lane. Frustrating! But it’s a safety issue as Alex Albon has hit the wall at Turn Seven, shunted from behind it appears, but he’s safe and sound as a pound. Still the Williams car is on the kerb, and the Safety Car is back out. George Russell is back in seventh. Meanwhile, Hamilton is griping he’s been sold short by not having pitted, but the fact is he’s now got a free pit stop and is leading the GP. The Red Flag is out and we are heading back for a standing start, likely on the hard tyres for what may become a straight-out sprint.
8/58 George Russell is in the pits and Lewis Hamilton now leads. With the DRS enabled, Verstappen is now right on Hamilton’s hammer, but Lewis has DRS of his own as he’s within one second of Russell. Big decisions to make at Mercedes!
7/58 DRS is on. The top three are extending their lead, with Verstappen 1.4 seconds clear of Sainz in fourth, who is around one second clear of Alonso in fifth.
6/58 George Russell is gleefully complaining of being “attacked by my own teammate” Verstappen is still in third, but he looks to be closing on Hamilton. How long can the British former champion keep him at bay?
5/58 Esteban Ocon has rolled the dice and got rid of his soft tyres. He’s bolted on a set of Hards, and looks to be trying to make a move. Sergio Perez has also pitted, this time for a set of Mediums.
4/58 Verstappen still in third as Mercedes drivers lead by almost a second and try to extend their lead while they can. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) is fifth.
3/58 As George Russell continues to lead his teammate Lewis Hamilton, just to confirm: all the leading runners are on medium compound rubber, with the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon (ninth and 11th on the grid) the first runners on soft tyres.
2/ 58 Sensational start! Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Logan Sargeant from Williams clipped each other in the first frenzy of this race and Leclerc is beached in the gravel and is now officially walking off the track. Verstappen sits third with Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari) in fourth.
And away we go!
1/58 Wild start as Max Verstappen misses the start and immediately fall back to third. Instead it’s Russell and Hamilton muscling their way through to 1-2 and Charles Leclerc, last year’s winner, has spun out after 1.2km! Safety car is out.
Tyre covers are off and we’re seeing mainly… mediums. Seems no one is rolling the dice on softs. There are too many unknowns and everyone is playing it safe for now. That will change – but when? Off they go for the formation lap.
This year’s talking point is a resurfaced Albert Park track with some radical changes. Organisers have introduced a fourth DRS zone along the back of the circuit between Turns 6 and 11, and removed the chicane at Turns 9 and 10. The drastic remodelling and Max Verstappen’s record lap times in yesterday’s qualifying are fuelling hopes this year’s Australian GP will be the “fastest race in Melbourne ever”. We’re about to find out if that’s true…
Can McLaren score their first points of 2023? In a turbulent season so far, they had another disappointing day in qualifying, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finishing up 13th and 16th on the grid.
However, McLaren CEO Zak Brown likes their chances: “I think we can get both cars into the points. It’s so close, but I’m confident for today,” he tells reporters. “We should be further up; this is not where we should be, but we’ll keep our heads down.”
Speaking of heads, Max Verstappen has his in his helmet on and his eyes on the prize. We are getting very close to lights out, folks.
Toto Wolff, boss of Mercedes is on grid with a smile on his face and pep in his step. He has Russell and Hamilton in second and third but, with five minutes until lights out and an upset win suddenly and unexpectedly on the breeze, he’s also a bit stressed: “There’s no such thing as miracles,” he tells us.
With Verstappen in #1 and Sergio Pérez in #20 starting from the pits, Christian Horner says: “It’s a Red Bull sandwich with quite a lot of meat in the middle.”
From The Singing Budgie to The Flying Scot… the familiar flat cap of Jackie Stewart, now 83, is mingling with the VIPs and, like the rest of the F1 family, the three-time world champ is tipping Red Bull to get the lollies.
Time for the anthem…
The stars are on track. Melbourne’s favourite son is Oscar Piastri today but Melbourne’s favourite daughter, the one and only Kylie Minogue, is on track and talking to Red Bull’s Christian Horner. Is he doing The Locomotion? No, but his wheels do appear to be spinning talking to the diminutive pop princess.
Last year’s Australian Grand Prix was the first since the pandemic stopped the 2020 edition. The 2022 race felt symbolic, a next phase of Covid-19 and the return of a major international sporting event to Australia, following extended lockdowns and international border closures. Of course no city in the world was more locked down than Melbourne so 2023 feels like business as usual: Formula One going from strength to strength, Melbourne providing a flawless backdrop.
Of course there’s one crucial element missing for Australians this year…
The F1 season traditionally kicks off in Melbourne but this year Albert Park hosts the third race of the 2023 calendar. A record 419,114 fans attended last year’s Australian GP, making it the biggest sporting weekend in Melbourne’s history. With picture perfect conditions and plenty of spice in the leadup, will the record fall today?
Kieran Pender is in the mix and reckons: “Albert Park is bursting at the seams with what seems likely to be a record crowd, following best-ever attendances since the action began on Thursday. The Netflix Drive to Survive effect is evident, with a new, younger, more diverse crowd (the long lines for the women’s bathrooms suggests organisers didn’t fully anticipate the considerable demographic shift).”
As he battles to get his backside trackside, our correspondent Kieran Pender has filed this weather report from the 20-minute queue for an ice cream…
“The conditions are picture perfect ahead of the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park this afternoon. After a run of inclement weather during practice and qualifying, Melbourne has turned it on today with blazing sun, a mild breeze and not a drop of moisture.
“The conditions heavily favour Formula One reigning champion Max Verstappen, who took pole position yesterday and has a car that performs fastest in warmer conditions. Verstappen has never won the Australian Grand Prix, but he will be hard to beat today.”
And as if 58 laps of racing weren’t excitement enough, Mad Max struck a new fuse in Formula One by threatening to quit the sport of which he’s champion…
It was a fast and furious frenzy of qualifiers as Melbourne produced four-seasons-in-a-day conditions to test drivers, crews and spectators. Here’s how Giles Richards saw it…
Preamble
G’day sports fans, and welcome to Albert Park in Melbourne for the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. The cool and wet conditions of qualifying are history and, as we prepare for 58 laps of racing, the clouds have parted, the sun is out and the heat is rising for drivers and fans alike.
For those who came in late, Max Verstappen has claimed pole for Red Bull, having lowered the Albert Park lap record four times in qualifying. The reigning world champion starts hot favourite today. But in a fantastic twist, after a tough start to the season, Mercedes have roared back to the front rows, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton shocking the F1 world – and themselves – to claim second and third spot on the grid.
In the back rows, where all the bad boys lurk, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas will start not from 20th and 19th but from the pit lane, after opting to change their cars under parc ferme regulations. Verstappen’s teammate Perez failed to set a time in qualifying after beaching his car in the gravel at Turn 3, with what Team Principal Christian Horner later revealed was an engine braking issue.
Meanwhile, local hope Oscar Piastri – who grew up here in Melbourne racing remote control cars just 15 minutes away from the Albert Park track – is about to compete in his first home grand prix. He lines up at 16th for McLaren with the weight of the nation on his 21-year-old shoulders. Good luck young fella!
Grid positions
1) Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. George Russell (Mercedes)
3) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
4) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
5) Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari)
6) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
7) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari1)
8) Alexander Albon (Williams)
9) Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
10) Nico Hülkenberg (Haas)
11) Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
12) Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha-Tauri)
13) Lando Norris (McLaren)
14) Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
15) Nyck de Vries (Alpha-Tauri)
16) Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
17) Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
18) Logan Sargeant (Williams)
19) Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
20) Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
Lights out at 3pm AEST. Buckle ‘em up and batten ‘em down!
