Both Oracle Red Bull Racing cars had something extra added to their front wings this weekend: Mobil’s iconic red Pegasus. Since 1911 it has been a symbol of speed and power for Mobil fuels and lubricants and remains one of world’s most recognised corporate emblems.
Commenting on his win, Max Verstappen said: “My start today wasn’t amazing and then on the first lap I was very careful as there was a lot on the line, I had a lot to lose and a lot to win.
“It’s my first win in Australia which feels really good, it’s also been a while for the Team won here too, so it means a lot to us all, especially as Checo also had a good recovery drive today.
“It’s been a chaotic day but it’s great to see that the fans had a great time despite the long wait!”
At the start, Max got away well but alongside him Russell reacted even quicker and as they braked into Turn 1 the Mercedes driver was able to steal the lead on the inside. Max held P2 briefly, but as they went into Turn 3, Max was edged wide as Hamilton muscled his way into to second place.
Further back there was trouble for Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver was tagged by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and was pitched into the gravel trap at Turn 1 where he was forced to retire.
With the Ferrari stranded, the Safety Car was released and with Checo at the rear of the field after a pit lane start, the Team chose to pit the Mexican to switch from Hard to Medium tyres. And then, on the following lap, Checo pitted again, moving to another set of Hard tyres as he targeted a run to the end of the race.
The Safety Car left the circuit at the end of lap three and Russell held his lead ahead of Hamilton and Max. A few laps later with DRS enabled, however, the Red Bull began to close up to the Mercedes pair.
On lap seven the Safety Car appeared again, this time for Alex Albon. The Williams driver lost control in Turn 7 and crashed. But with debris and a substantial amount of gravel on the track, the red flags came out and the race was suspended.
Once the debris was cleared, race control indicated a standing re-start and Max lined up on the front row alongside race leader Hamilton, with Alonso in third alongside his Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll.
At the restart, Hamilton resumed in the lead ahead of Max. Further back, Checo made a good start, going down the inside to move alongside de Vries. The Dutch driver moved across and the Red Bull driver had to take evasive action, a move that dropped him to P16 as he lost ground into Turn 1.
At the front, Max shadowed Hamilton and when DRS was enabled he closed right up to the Mercedes. On lap 12, Max opened his rear wing on the long fourth DRS zone towards Turn 9 and powered past the defenceless Hamilton to seize the lead.
Released into clear air, Max quickly stretched ahead and within four laps he’d carved out a massive four-second gap to Hamilton.
Checo was on the move too and he quickly made his way past Williams’ Logan Sargeant, the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu to push his back to his grid place on the restart.
But any thoughts that the order might begin to settle ended there. On lap 54 Haas’ Kevin Magnussen hit the barriers in Turn 2. After losing his right rear tyre, the Dane pulled over at the side of the track, but with the tyre on the circuit at the exit Turn 2, the Safety Car was released once more. With debris all across the track, the red flags were then shown for the second, but not final, time.
With so much at stake, the restart was always going to be dramatic but when the lights went out it quickly turned to chaos.
Max made a superb start, holding the lead ahead of Hamilton, but behind the top two Alonso was clipped by Sainz and the spinning Aston Martin sent Gasly and others wide. When Gasly rejoined, slower than those behind, he collided with team-mate Ocon and with the cars around them all trying to evade debris, including Checo, who dropped to 10th, the red flags were shown once again.
The remaining cars filed back to the pit to await Race Control’s ruling on how the race would finish. And when the decision came it was straightforward. As a sector had not been completed, the grid would be formed based on the previous starting order with the crashed cars removed. With a single lap remaining the cars would be led across the line by the Safety Car and with no overtaking allowed until the finish line, Max’s 37th career win was assured.
Checo took an exceptional fifth place, fastest lap of the race and lap record along with the fans’ Driver of the Day award.
Talking through his race, driver Sergio Perez said: “Yesterday, I obviously lost a bit of confidence with the car, but we made a lot of changes overnight so that helped heading into the race. I had a really good restart the first time, I jumped 3 or 4 places but then it was a bit of a mess with the DRS train.
“Maybe if I’d been a bit more aggressive earlier on, I could’ve finished higher, but I’m happy we finished P5 and even managed to secure the fastest lap.
“Overall, this race gives us confidence heading to Baku in a few weeks and we look forward to the challenge that it brings.”
Commenting on the team’s performance and start of the 2023 season, Team Principal Christian Horner said: “For Max to claim the victory was testament to his driving, but equally, credit must go to the Team both here and at home, all of whom worked together to deliver a great race.
“Checo also drove phenomenally well, bringing home the fastest lap and securing P5 in the end. It was a great recovery, from the back of the grid, in the pits, on a track where it is very difficult to overtake.
“All in all we are very happy with our performance and thrilled to bring home a win on our 350th race at a track we haven’t won at in 10 years.”
The Team now heads to Round 4 in Baku with 123 points, 58 ahead of Aston Martin who hold second ahead of Mercedes.