After a long period of uncertainty and questions about the regulations, it has become clear that Max Verstappen has won the Grand Prix race in Australia.

After the race, footage showed Verstappen was a bit too advanced on the final restart and could risk a penalty. However, he did not understand this.

There must be ground sensors that detect if the car is too far ahead. These sensors must not have been turned off. The car’s front tires were not above the line.

– I stood on the line and no longer. So it’s okay, says Verstappen in an interview broadcast on Viaplay.

He was fastest in qualifying on Saturday and started on the first grid in Sunday’s Grand Prix race.

However, he didn’t hold that lead for very long as Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton passed him at the start.

Throughout the race, the Dutchman fought back hard and showed who had been better in the last two seasons. With ten laps remaining, Verstappen had built up an eight-second lead over Hamilton.

Four laps before the finish, however, Hass’ Kevin Magnussen lost his right rear wheel, and after two laps behind the safety car the race was stopped with a red flag. This made several drivers react.

– What the hell? What do you mean by red flag? Verstappen exclaimed over the team radio.

– What? What? said veteran Fernando Alonso.

According to the Formula 1 website, Haas lodged a protest against the result after the race.

Complete chaos

However, the Dutchman maintained his lead after the restart, as there were several clashes involving Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries.

So the red flag had to come out and there was another restart, but this time behind the safety car.

Sainz received a five-second penalty for the crash with Alonso and found himself in 12th place.

– That can’t be true. This is unacceptable. They have to wait until the end of the race and discuss it with me. Please? The punishment isn’t fair, Sainz said on team radio.

He was clear in his speech.

– I will not comment on this. This is the greatest shame I have experienced in many years. I’d rather not say anything now, so I’ll be back, Sainz said in an interview broadcast on Viaplay.

Many did not understand why the second red flag came so late in the race.

– The regulations are not good enough. It will only be a joke with all the cars that went up in smoke during the restart, commented Atle Gulbrandsen on the Viaplay show.

– It’s a hopeless rule. How the hell can you do that, says Alonso on Internal Radio.

So they ended up with the following order when they crossed the finish line: Verstappen ahead of Hamilton, Alonso, Lance Stroll and Perez.

– The first red flag may have been good, but I didn’t understand the second, says Verstappen in an interview broadcast on Viaplay.

Red Bull has won the first three Grand Prix races this season. Verstappen also won the opener in Bahrain, while Sergio Perez followed that up with a win in Saudi Arabia.

Boot failure

Verstappen’s fiercest competitor last season, Charles Leclerc, has by no means enjoyed a dream start to the season. Starting number seven, the Monegasque collided with Lance Stroll and had to stop the race on the first lap.

– It’s extremely frustrating. We have another nightmarish weekend, Leclerc told Viaplay.

Previously, the Ferrari star sat seventh in Saudi Arabia after also having to break the season opener in Bahrain.

After 18 laps in Australia, it was also a failure for Russell when suddenly his engine caught fire. It was the first time the Briton had stopped a race for Mercedes due to technical issues.

(©NTB/TV2)