Motorsports

Everything about Sunday's Australian Grand Prix was unpredictable.

Except the result.

Max Verstappen continued his early season dominance with a victory at the Albert Park Circuit, giving the Red Bull driver two wins and a second-place finish in the first three races of the season. He was joined by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso on the podium.

Verstappen earned a win in a race that was defined by chaos.

It was the first Formula 1 race in the sport's history to feature three red flags, two of which led to the race finishing behind the safety car.

The first of these red flags was brought out on Lap seven, following a spin by Williams driver Alex Albon. The Thai driver was in sixth at the time, but after getting beached in the gravel and bringing gravel onto the track, the stewards faced no alternative but to throw a red flag.

Kevin Magnussen made contact with the wall on Lap 53 of 58, which brought out the second red flag in that sequence. Verstappen maintained his lead on the Lap 57 restart, but Carlos Sainz's battle with Alonso for third place led to a larger accident that involved the two Alpine cars and more behind the leader.

This has got to be the most expensive restart in F1 history 💥 pic.twitter.com/f5dvZJrcLS

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) April 2, 2023

Sainz was issued a five-second penalty for the collision, further exacerbating Ferrari's struggles to open the season. He finished in 12th place, while teammate Charles Leclerc did not finish at all following beaching the car at turn three on Lap one.

Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, AlphaTauri's Nyck de Vries, Williams' Logan Sargeant, Haas' Magnussen and Mercedes' George Russell also registered DNFs for the race.

After the red flag from the final incident, there weren't enough remaining laps to finish the race without the safety car.

Verstappen wasn't the only one who impressed, as Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez maneuvered from a pit-lane start into fifth.

Hamilton also made history as the first driver to finish on the podium in 17 straight seasons:

Lewis Hamilton becomes the first driver in Formula 1 history to score a podium in 17 consecutive seasons!

Another record 🐐 pic.twitter.com/QIt78dbrEx

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) April 2, 2023

But the day belonged to Verstappen, who now leads the Drivers championship race with 69 points. Pérez is next with 54, while Alonso (45), Hamilton (38) and Sainz (20) round out the top five.

Red Bull leads the Constructors championship with 123 points, well ahead of second-place Aston Martin's 65.

Sergio Perez earned his first win of the 2023 Formula One season with a dominant performance at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.

Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen climbed into second place after starting Sunday in 15th position, staying in first place in the championship standings thanks to his fastest lap.

Fernando Alonso was at the center of musical chairs around the final podium spot after in third place, but he was initially replaced by George Russell after a penalty:

Fernando Alonso has dropped to fourth place in the #SaudiArabianGP after he was handed a 10-second penalty post-race penalty for not serving a 5-second pit penalty correctly. George Russell moves up to third. #F1

— Jon Noble (@NobleF1) March 19, 2023

However, Aston Martin requested a review of the penalty, which resulted in it being overturned, returning Alonso to the podium:

It has gone in Alonso's favour. Still waiting on the official documents to be published but the decision has been reversed and he regains third place #F1 #SaudiArabianGP https://t.co/uNOMBa96BO

— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) March 19, 2023

It continues an impressive start to the year for Red Bull Racing, which finished one-two in the first race of the year two weeks ago in Bahrain.

After Verstappen cruised to a championship last year, the team is off to another strong start through two races in 2023.

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Final Results

1. Sergio Perez

2. Max Verstappen

3. Fernando Alonso

4. George Russell

5. Lewis Hamilton

6. Carlos Sainz

7. Charles Leclerc

8. Esteban Ocan

9. Pierre Gasly

10. Kevin Magnussen

Full results available at Formula1.com.

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Verstappen has been the fastest driver for the past two years, but he had an uphill battle this week after an issue during qualifying.

The car's driveshaft broke in the second round of qualifying and ended up in 15th, while teammate Perez grabbed the top spot just ahead of Charles Leclerc.

It didn't take long for Verstappen to get back into contention, gaining 11 positions over the first 20 laps of the race:

Lap 12 and Verstappen (from 15th on the grid) passes Hamilton (started 7th) with so much ease. The Dutchman is now 8th.

— Ben Hunt (@benjhunt) March 19, 2023

Lap 12, Verstappen cruises by Hamilton for P8. That's seven spots gained since the start for the Red Bull. #F1 #SaudiArabianGP

— Jonathan Brazeau (@JonathanBrazeau) March 19, 2023

Max Verstappen started the race in P15.

It's lap 20 and he's already P4 🤯 pic.twitter.com/wiDRK2dFKL

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) March 19, 2023

LAP 24/50

Verstappen breezes by Alonso for second ✌️

Only race-leader Perez is ahead of him now#SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/xSCaXVE68n

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 19, 2023

He reached fourth place in time for a restart when the safety car came out after Lance Stroll was forced to stop. A few laps later, he was already in second place just behind Perez.

Perez was still going to be tough to catch, increasing the gap to first to more than 20 seconds when the safety car was called.

https://twitter.com/kiruti/status/1637510041816252423

It became a two-man race over the second half of the Grand Prix, with everyone else battling for third place.

Perez held about a five-second lead for much of the day, although Verstappen ignored team orders as he tried to close the gap:

Perez is told to target a 32.6 - Verstappen's pace - and asks why he was told to previously target a 33.0. Verstappen was told four times by GP to target 33.0, but kept his pace below that #F1 #SaudiArabianGP

— Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) March 19, 2023

It still wasn't enough, as Perez took care of business on his way to an easy victory.

Alonso, who earned a five-second penalty early in the race, remained in third position for much of the day and had little trouble holding off Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

He was seemingly set for his 100th career podium until a post-race investigation changed the outcome.

The drivers now have two weeks to prepare for the Australian Grand Prix, which is set for April 2.

Lewis Hamilton is upset at Mercedes after his Formula One team refused to make changes he recommended after a rough 2022 season.

"It's about owning up and saying, 'Yeah, you know what? We didn't listen to you. It's not where it needs to be and we've got to work'," Hamilton said on BBC Radio 5 Live's Chequered Flag podcast (via Andrew Benson of BBC Sport).

As Benson noted, most teams have followed the designs pioneered by Red Bull heading into the 2023 season, while Mercedes will stick with its own "zero-sidepod" concept.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff already admitted this was a mistake after qualifying for the first race of the season, planning changes with his engineers.

Red Bull Racing cruised to a team victory last year behind champion Max Verstappen, who won 15 of 22 races. Mercedes fell to third behind Ferrari, with Hamilton falling to sixth place in the final standings. The British driver had won the championship in six of the previous eight years, never finishing lower than second.

It was Hamilton's first season in Formula One where he didn't win a single race.

The 38-year-old said he told Mercedes about the problems a year ago.

"Last year, there were things I told them. I said the issues that are with the car," Hamilton said. "I've driven so many cars in my life. I know what a car needs. I know what a car doesn't need. I think it's really about accountability."

Hamilton finished in fifth place in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix, with teammate George Russell finishing in seventh.

Max Verstappen is picking up right where he left off.

The defending back-to-back Formula 1 champion got off to a dominant start to the 2023 season, bringing home the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.

Sergio Pérez finished in second place, while Fernando Alonso took the final spot on the podium in third in his Aston Martin debut.

Verstappen won an F1 record 15 races in 2022, putting up a jaw-dropping 454 points and winning his second championship.

Bahrain had never been kind to Verstappen in the past, as he posted more races with retirements (three) than podiums (two) at the track. This is Verstappen's first win in Bahrain and his first in a season opener.

After qualifying at the top of the field, Verstappen said he was happy with the result given the struggles in the past.

"Particularly happy, because my whole weekend up until qualifying was very difficult," Verstappen said. "I couldn't really find the comfortable balance I had in testing, and I was just struggling a lot to just get the car together, really. I went into qualifying and everything already felt a bit better but it was still not, let's say, perfect."

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ferrari got off to a nightmare start with Charles Leclerc suffering an engine failure, ultimately finishing 19th. Leclerc was one of three cars to get a DNF, joining Esteban Ocon (18th) and Oscar Piastri (20th). Ocon had a dreadful first race, racking up penalty after penalty before eventually bowing out initially due to a starting infringement.

Lewis Hamilton got off to a solid start to his season with a fifth-place finish as he looks to rebound from a frustrating 2022. Hamilton finished a career-worst sixth in the standings last year amid the consistent struggles of Mercedes. George Russell, Hamilton's teammate, finished in seventh place.

McLaren also had a miserable afternoon, with Lando Norris coming in 17th place and Piastri bringing up the rear of the field. Norris' five pitstops due to reliability issues highlighted McLaren's struggles further.

NASCAR driver Chase Elliott injured his leg during a snowboarding accident Friday and will miss this weekend's race in Las Vegas, according to the Associated Press. He is scheduled to have surgery Friday evening.

No other updates have been given on his current condition.

Josh Berry will replace Elliott in the No. 9 Chevrolet on Sunday.

"Chase's health is our primary concern," owner of the Hendrick Motorsports team, Rick Hendrick said. "He's spoken with several members of our team and is understandably disappointed to miss time in the car. Of course, he has our full support and we'll provide any resources he needs."

Hendrick hopes that he will be able to give an update on Elliott's condition at some point during the weekend.

Elliott, 27, is one of the elite drivers in all of NASCAR, winning the cup title in 2020. He has 18 career Cup victories and has made it to the championship finale for the past three seasons.

Although his NASCAR debut came in 2015, he signed a developmental deal with Hendrick when he was just 14 years old. He most recently raced in the Pala Casino 400 on Feb.23, where he finished in second place behind Kyle Busch.

He currently sits 14th in the cup series with 49 points.

NASCAR has always been in Elliott's blood as a second-generation driver. He is the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, who was voted one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers in 1998.

Lewis Hamilton downplayed any uncertainty surrounding his future with Mercedes beyond the 2023 Formula One season.

Hamilton said the discourse is "ultimately people creating rumors without facts," per The Athletic's Luke Smith.

"So there is no hold up with our contract," he said. "I've always been very, very relaxed. I don't feel like I've got to get it done right this second. I'm in a very fortunate position. It'll get done when we're ready."

The seven-time world champion signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes in 2021, which carries him through the 2023 campaign. His performance since then has led many to question whether he might seek greener pastures elsewhere.

Hamilton first joined the Mercedes team in 2013 and in 2014 started a run of six titles in seven years. He nearly made it seven in eight in 2021, but lost out to Max Verstappen in the final race of the season.

The 38-year-old proceeded to endure his worst-ever Formula One season in 2022 as he finished sixth, failing to win a race in a season for the first time in his career.

As the proverb goes, a bad workman always blames his tools. In Hamilton's case, though, his team did him few favors by delivering a car that simply wasn't good enough after F1 instituted new technical regulations.

When it comes to Hamilton's contract, the situation will probably resolve itself if he goes out and wins a record-setting eighth title or at the very least returns to contender status. Should Mercedes once again struggle to provide him with what he needs to excel on the track, he might have no choice but to seriously consider all of his options.

The 2023 Formula One season is expected to belong to Red Bull and Max Verstappen.

Verstappen is the two-time reigning champion in the Drivers Championship, but 2023 marks the first time he is the clear favorite to land the title.

The Dutchman won his first title in 2021 in the last lap of the last race of the season over Lewis Hamilton. He entered 2022 with threats primarily from Ferrari and did not gain control until the middle of the season.

Ferrari and Mercedes will need to use all of their technical expertise to challenge the Austrian team, and their drivers must be almost perfect across 23 races to even compete with Verstappen.

Verstappen won 15 races in 2022, and he has the potential to be that dominant again in 2023 with a strong Red Bull car underneath him.

Formula 1 Season Schedule

March 5: Bahrain Grand Prix

March 19: Saudi Arabia Grand Prix

April 2: Australian Grand Prix

April 30: Azerbaijan Grand Prix

May 7: Miami Grand Prix

May 21: Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix

May 28: Monaco Grand Prix

June 4: Spanish Grand Prix

June 18: Canadian Grand Prix

July 2: Austrian Grand Prix

July 9: British Grand Prix

July 23: Hungarian Grand Prix

July 30: Belgian Grand Prix

August 27: Dutch Grand Prix

September 3: Italian Grand Prix

September 17: Singapore Grand Prix

September 24: Japanese Grand Prix

October 8: Qatar Grand Prix

October 22: United States Grand Prix

October 29: Mexico City Grand Prix

November 5: São Paulo Grand Prix

November 18: Las Vegas Grand Prix

November 26: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The 2023 Formula One schedule features three races in the United States.

The series added a race in Miami last year, which remains on the calendar this year. The usual F1 stop in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas is scheduled for October 22.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the new addition to the slate. The street circuit race will take place on the Las Vegas strip under the lights. The race is scheduled to take place on a Saturday night, which differs from the normal Sunday race day across the rest of the schedule.

By the time F1 reaches Las Vegas, the drivers' championship could be wrapped up by Verstappen.

Verstappen locked up the title with four races to go in 2022. He will compete in the 2023 season having the advantage of being the best and having the best car last season and also having no major regulation changes to deal with.

The Dutchman spoke to Sky Sports before the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix and said the car is better "everywhere" than 2022.

Ferrari and Mercedes will try to mount the biggest challenges to Red Bull. Ferrari is under the direction of a new team principal, with Frederic Vasseur joining from Alfa Romeo, after the Italian team dealt with all sorts of strategy and tire issues in 2022.

Mercedes had a myriad of problems not faced by the team since the Turbo-Hybrid era began in 2014, but it improved its porpoising issues and finished the campaign with six dual top-six finishes in the last 10 races, including a win for George Russel at the São Paulo Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton failed to win a race during a season for the first time in his career in 2022, but the seven-time Drivers World Champion will be as motivated as ever to be victorious again.

Aston Martin may mount a challenge to the top three with two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso now in its lineup.

Aston Martin finished seventh in the constructors' standings in 2022, but Alonso was second to Verstappen in lap time during the first of three days of testing in Bahrain last week, suggesting the team has made big strides over the winter

Alonso is one of many drivers that swapped teams for 2023. Pierre Gasly replaced Alonso at Alpine and veteran racer Niko Hulkenburg entered the Haas team in place of Mick Schumacher.

American Logan Sargeant is one of three rookies on the grid. Sargeant will race for Williams, Nyck de Vries replaced Gasly at AlphaTauri and Oscar Piastri is in McLaren's second seat.

All will be revealed as to who are the drivers and teams to watch out for as the lights go out in the desert on Sunday.

It took two overtimes, multiple major late crashes and some serious drama, but Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the 2023 Daytona 500 winner.

Even the winning moment was cast into doubt after a late crash:

RT to congratulate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on his #DAYTONA500 win! pic.twitter.com/OstRwcdmFi

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 19, 2023

Not long before the wild finish, another crash delayed the proceedings:

It's @StenhouseJr to the lead, but trouble strikes behind him! #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/fZAS4O0c0p

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 19, 2023

Oh my. #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/QuYIVJjjtC

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 19, 2023

When the literal smoke cleared and 12 overtime laps had been run, Stenhouse had his win, Joey Logano had finished second, Christopher Bell third, and Chris Buescher and Alex Bowman rounded out the top five.

It was Stenhouse's third career NASCAR Cup Series victory. He last won at the Daytona International Speedway in 2017.

With his win at the 65th Annual Daytona 500, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. snaps a 199-race winless streak, the 4th-longest span between wins in Cup Series History.

Stenhouse Jr.'s last win came at Daytona in 2017, in the summer race. pic.twitter.com/niYIG282pl

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 20, 2023

"This whole offseason, Mike [Kelley, his new crew chief] preached how much we all believed in each other," Stenhouse told Jamie Little of Fox Sports after the race. "They left me a note on the car that said they believe in me and to go get the job done tonight. I made a few mistakes, but we were able to battle back."

Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. talks with @JamieLittleTV. pic.twitter.com/hk56hTy7eH

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 20, 2023

Daytona 500 Champions!! 🏆 #StenhouseJr #Daytona500 pic.twitter.com/GCunfH0oux

— Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (@StenhouseJr) February 20, 2023

Stenhouse was pretty relieved the race finished when it did.

"Man, we were out front when the caution came out," he said of the late drama. "We were out of fuel, so the fuel light was going crazy. I hope y'all had fun; that was a heck of a race."

In Stenhouse’s radio: “go ahead and do your burnout”

Stenhouse: “I ain’t got no fuel”

— Rubbin is Racing (@rubbinisracing) February 19, 2023

The first stage was mostly clean, with Brad Keselowski emerging as the winner. The second stage also stayed almost drama-free until the late moments, when a Tyler Reddick slip ultimately impacted nine cars. Ross Chastain claimed Stage 2.

The Cup Series now heads to the Auto Club Speedway for the Pala Casino 500 on Feb. 26 at 3:30 p.m. ET on Fox.

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano stayed hot on Thursday as he won the first of two Bluegrass Vacation Duels leading into Sunday's Daytona 500.

RT to congratulate Joey Logano on his Duel 1 win at Daytona! Zane Smith races his way into the #DAYTONA500! pic.twitter.com/jhVwuVu5MM

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 17, 2023

Aric Almirola won the second duel to cap the evening from Daytona International Speedway.

RT to congratulate Aric Almirola on his Duel 2 win! Conor Daly makes the #DAYTONA500! pic.twitter.com/NH9QU4QzI0

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 17, 2023

Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson grabbed the front-row starting positions after single-car qualifying on Wednesday.

The finishing order of Duel No. 1 makes up the inside row for the Daytona 500 behind Bowman, while the results of Duel No. 2 line the outside row behind Larson.

Therefore, Logano and Almirola will now make up the second row on Sunday.

Here's the results of both duels.

Duel 1

1. Joey Logano

2. Christopher Bell

3. Ryan Blaney

4. Chris Buescher

5. Michael Mcdowell

6. Kevin Harvick

7. Bubba Wallace

8. Zane Smith

9. Harrison Burton

10. William Byron

11. Ross Chastain

12. Erik Jones

13. Austin Dillon

14. Jimmie Johnson

15. AJ Allmendinger

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

17. Alex Bowman

18. Chandler Smith

19. Ty Gibbs

20. Cody Ware

21. Ty Dillon

Duel 2

1. Aric Almirola

2. Austin Cindric

3. Chase Elliott

4. Brad Keselowski

5. Corey Lajoie

6. Kyle Larson

7. Todd Gilliland

8. Martin Truex Jr.

9. Denny Hamlin

10. Ryan Preece

11. Noah Gragson

12. Danuel Suarez

13. Tyler Reddick

14. Justin Haley

15. Chase Briscoe

16. BJ McLeod

17. Conor Daly

18. Austin Hill

19. Kyle Busch

20. Riley Herbst

21. Travis Pastrana

Notes

Logano was clearly happy post-race in his interview with Fox Sports' Jamie Little and credited his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney for getting him to the finish line:

We did not have to wait long for a winner interview with the defending Cup Series champion. Talking with @joeylogano after his Duel 1 win at Daytona:#NASCARonFS1 | @Team_Penske pic.twitter.com/a8xfYciUVF

— Jamie Little (@JamieLittleTV) February 17, 2023

The second duel was rather eventful, including a flying window and Daniel Suarez sending Kyle Busch into the wall:

Justin Haley's window goes flying. pic.twitter.com/FuPBEfbhrV

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 17, 2023

Leader Kyle Busch goes around and into the wall after a push from Daniel Suárez in Duel 2 at Daytona. pic.twitter.com/0MSdU2AG5q

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 17, 2023

Naturally, Busch was not happy post-race:

Kyle Busch talks with Jamie Little after his wreck in Duel 2. pic.twitter.com/yNnX9biwkl

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 17, 2023

Suarez gave his take on the matter:

Daniel Suarez describes what happened with Kyle Busch. pic.twitter.com/hwow9Lvdoj

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 17, 2023

Both drivers will still make the Daytona 500 field.

This year's race will take place on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET.