“If we had a safety car and then a normal rolling start we would not have had all these shunts, and we would have had a normal finish. It left a lot of drivers confused as to why we needed a second red flag. “I don’t think we needed that second red flag, that could have been done with a VSC, or a safety car at worst. “I am very happy to have won the race but the race towards the end was a bit of a mess with all the calls,” Verstappen said. Instead, a crash by Haas’ Kevin Magnussen four laps from the finish brought out a red flag with race director Steve Nielsen opting for a grid restart which caused carnage. The Dutchman had controlled the race despite losing the lead at the start, and looked to be cruising to the finish line. This time Verstappen rather than Hamilton was in the position of being the lead driver. Masi was later found to have made a mistake in restarting the race and was relieved of his post. It was that same desire that led to the infamous 2021 title denouement in Abu Dhabi, when ex-FIA race director Michael Masi allowed a one-lap sprint to the line following a late safety car, a decision that ultimately cost Hamilton a record eighth world championship. The restart procedure was officially placed under investigation by the stewards, but effectively it stemmed from a desire on the part of the sport as a whole to finish races “under race conditions”. The race then finished behind a safety car. That second restart produced a chaotic and extremely confusing finish to the race as a number of crashes ensued, causing a final red flag.
But there are sure to be questions asked about whether Formula One is putting entertainment ahead of sport following a race that featured three red flags and two grid restarts, the second one only two laps from the finish. It was unclear exactly what Red Bull’s double world champion meant by that remark. Red Bull’s double world champion, who eventually won from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to stretch his lead in the drivers’ championship, added that the FIA’s stewards “created the problems themselves”. Max Verstappen has questioned the number of red flags shown in Sunday’s chaotic Australian Grand Prix, describing the race as “a bit of a mess” in general.
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