Written in SPORTS he 02/04/2023 00:00

max verstappen extended his leadership at the helm of the F1 world championship by winning the crazy last Sunday Australian Grand Prix, which took place -with three red flags- on the semi-urban circuit of Albert Park in Melbourne and in which the Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) confirmed his great moment with a new podium, the third in the first three races of the year.

Verstappen, 25, won his 37th victory in F1 – the second of the season – by winning ahead of Englishman Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Alonso, who finished third and – at 41 – signed his 101st podium in the queen category.

The double Asturian world champion finished third this Sunday at Albert Park, where two consecutive interruptions were decreed with three remaining to complete the planned 58 laps.

First, due to the accident of Dane Kevin Magnussen (Haas); then due to incidents after the second restart, in which Sainz touched Alonso -who had lost third place to his compatriot and was back on track eleventh- before the race director decreed that the race would resume, for the third time, one lap behind the safety car.

Sainz was penalized five seconds, for which he not only lost fourth place, but also finished out of the points (he was twelfth) in a race in which the Mexican Sergio Perez (Red Bull) he starred in the big comeback, finishing fifth after starting from ‘pit lane’.

“Czech” ranked behind Canadian Lance Stroll, which concluded a great day for Aston Martin, finishing fourth.

England’s Lando Norris (McLaren) finished sixth, one place ahead of Germany’s Nico Hülkenberg (Haas), at Albert Park, where Australian rookie Oscar Piastri (McLaren) added his first World Championship points in front of his fans, finishing eighth in F1.

China’s Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) and Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) also scored points, finishing ninth and tenth respectively.

The next race, the Azerbaijan Grand Prixwill be held on April 30 in Baku. With information from EFE.