Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed his first Australian Grand Prix on Sunday in remarkable circumstances after a chaotic F1 race filled with drama from the green light to the checkered flag.
Although Red Bull's first triumph in Melbourne since 2011 was expected, the carnage that unfolded in the latter stages of the race at Albert Park made it an extremely hard-fought win.
Verstappen was pleased to clinch victory but queried the decision by stewards to issue a red flag after a crash on lap 55 of the 58-lap race instead of deploying a safety car. Hamilton was delighted with the improvement Mercedes showed in Melbourne, which included a competitive qualifying performance on Saturday.
Alonso, who had challenged Hamilton for second position throughout much of the race, was hit by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz on the first corner of the restart. In a separate incident, Williams driver Logan Sargeant drove into the back of Nyck de Vries and the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly also exited the race after crashing into each other.
By the third turn Hamilton had also passed the Dutchman, raising the prospect an improved Mercedes team might be able to pull off a stunning upset.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Max Verstappen wins his first F1 Australian Grand PrixVerstappen won in wild circumstances after a chaotic F1 race filled with drama from the green light to the checkered flag
Read more »
Scott Stinson: Why Max Verstappen dominating another season could be a problem for Formula 1The Dutch champion and Red Bull head into the Australian Grand Prix looking to build on a strong start to the F1 season
Read more »
Watch: Daniel Ricciardo off-roads F1 car across the outbackThe former McLaren driver took the Red Bull RB7 through the dirt ahead of his home race at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend
Read more »
Watch: Daniel Ricciardo off-roads F1 car across the outbackThe former McLaren driver took the Red Bull RB7 through the dirt ahead of his home race at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend
Read more »
Watch: Daniel Ricciardo off-roads F1 car across the outbackThe former McLaren driver took the Red Bull RB7 through the dirt ahead of his home race at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend
Read more »
Trump is facing at least one felony charge in grand jury indictment: sourcesThe former president will be formally arrested and arraigned Tuesday in his hush money case
Read more »