The Formula 1 race in Melbourne was a chaos like no other, and caused great frustration. Several drivers react strongly to three restarts.
- This will be a farce, says Viaplay expert Stein Pettersen.
There was complete chaos in the Formula 1 race in Australia, where Max Verstappen ran away relatively easily with the victory.
But it was still very dramatic, and complete confusion arose among drivers, team managers and Viaplay commentators.
It was hard to understand and it was confusing with all the red flags.
On the eve of the race, Kevin Magnussen got into trouble when he lost one tyre. The safety car was on its way in, but as there were a lot of car parts in the track they had to make use of a restart.
- What the hell? What do you mean by red flag? Verstappen exclaimed over the team radio.
- What? What? said veteran Fernando Alonso.
- It is not acceptable
CONFUSED: Max Verstappen and other drivers understood little when the red flag was used.
PHOTO: SIMON BAKER / AFP
After a while the cars started again, but suddenly there was another mass crash, and then they really had to spend time figuring out what to do.
There were several collisions involving Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries.
Sainz received a five-second time penalty for the crash with Alonso and ended up in 12th place.
- That cannot be true. This is not acceptable. They have to wait until the race is over and discuss it with me. Please? The penalty is not fair, Sainz said over the team radio.
The barrage of violence against the judges continued after the race.
RASTE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.
PHOTO: SIMON BAKER / REUTERS
- I am not going to comment on anything about it. It is the biggest shame I have experienced in many years. I prefer not to say anything now, then I will come back, says Sainz to Viaplay.
The experts in the studio also believe that it is an accident, and not Sainz's fault.
The question was whether they should have a new restart, or a rolling start with a safety car. At one point, the decision-makers took so long that the audience booed.
- This has been a chaotic Formula 1 race. Confusing, too, says colleague Atle Gulbrandsen.
- I don't think I have ever been part of a more confusing finish to a race, commented Pettersen.
In the end it ended with the cars driving behind the safety car over the finish line.
Verstappen was also critical of the handling of the chaos.
- The car was off the track. You can even use virtual safety car, so I don't understand why (it was rebooted). That leads to trouble with cold tyres, and then it creates chaos, says Verstappen.
Sunday's number three Alonso agrees with the Dutchman.
- I was not satisfied, because it was not necessary. We don't know all the facts, so we're left to believe it was necessary. They used a red flag, and they have more information than I do, says Alonso.
The start was also dramatic, with Leclerc driving into the sand shortly after the start. The safety car had to come out, and already in the first lap the race was over for the Ferrari profile.
A few laps into the race, Williams driver Alex Albon also spun, and as a result of a lot of gravel on the track, it had to be restarted. So it was the first of three.
RUN OUT: Charles Leclerc's run lasted a few seconds.
PHOTO: PAUL CROCK / AFP
New controversy after the race
In addition to many controversial situations, Lewis Hamilton got a long-awaited podium when he finished second. Alonso continued to impress, taking third place on the podium.
It is not certain that the drama is over after all. Because on Viaplay, pictures were shown where Verstappen apparently stood further forward at the restart than he is allowed to. According to Viaplay expert Thomas Schie, this could mean a five-second penalty, which in turn would mean that he would then be deprived of the victory.
The International Motorsport Federation has not made any statement about the incident so far.
Verstappen says even he stood on the line.
- He stood on the line. I think it's going well, says Mercedes boss Toto Wolff about the incident.
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