The chaotic Australian Grand Prix not only saw the return of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton on the podium but also more drivers in the points.

Much to the delight of race fans, the race Down Under started off with an exciting prelude to what would be the most chaotic race of the season so far.

With Max Verstappen qualifying P1, it was a welcome surprise when Mercedes’ George Russell and Hamilton took an early 1-2 lead, with Russell occupying P1 when he overtook pole sitter Verstappen on turn 1 and Hamilton subsequently grabbing P2.

Russell led the race until Lap 8 before he pitted, giving Hamilton the reins of the race before Verstappen, who had a huge advantage with the DRS, overtook him before turn 9 on Lap 12.

While Verstappen stretched the gap wide between his Red Bull and the chasing cars, several collisions and power unit issues spiced up the 58-lap round 3 of the 2023 Formula 1 season.

Three red flags later, dousing themselves with the celebratory champagne were the three world champions on the grid—Verstappen on P1, Hamilton on P2 and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso on P3.

FIRST POINTS

For the first time in this year’s season, McLaren was able to get on the running for the championship with Lando Norris finishing P6 and Oscar Piastri P8, grabbing 8 and 4 points, respectively.

It was Piastri’s first F1 career points and getting those points in his home race made it more memorable for the 21-year-old Australian driver.

Norris’ and Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg’s wheel-to-wheel battle for P8 on Lap 52 had been one of the highlights of the bonkers Melbourne event.

McLaren’s pace saw a wide improvement in contrast to their performances in the two previous races in Bahrain and Jeddah.

Norris only managed to place an underwhelming P17 both in Bahrain GP and Saudi Arabian GP. Piastri meanwhile DNF in the former and placed P15 in the latter.

Despite the disastrous course of the race, this round had been a window of opportunity for the other drivers to get their first points of the season albeit inadvertently at the expense of the eliminated drivers.

Hülkenberg’s 6 points were also his first after three races into 2023. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyou and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda also bagged their first 2 and 1 points, respectively.

DNF GALORE

Of the 20 cars, only 12 managed to course past the checkered flag following the series of drivers that DNF starting with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who fell out of the race on Lap 1’s turn 3.

Ferrari, which is among the crowd favorites among the teams, dealt with another devastating weekend following Leclerc’s collision with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

Leclerc in 2022 registered his first grand slam of his career in the same venue, a total opposite of his result this year.

Meanwhile, Mercedes’ hope for a 1-2 podium victory burned down when fire broke out in Russell’s car on Lap 18.

Williams’ Alex Albon, who had a magnificent qualifying performance that got him starting P6, crashed out on Lap 7. It caused the first of the three red flags in the race.

Haas’ Kevin Magnussen ripped out his tyre when he made contact with the wall late in the race. The race was red flagged for the second time.

When the race resumed, a nightmare for the Alpine team ensued when both their drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly crashed into one another. Neither of them was able to continue. AlphaTauri’s Nyck De Vries and Williams’ Logan Sargeant beached it into the gravel.

Stroll also had an incident but was able to continue.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who was just behind Alonso, made contact with his fellow Spaniard. It was later announced Sainz was to receive a 5-second penalty which brought his classified position down to P12.

KEEPING UP WITH THE RED BULL

Verstappen’s maiden victory in the Melbourne track had not been as surprising as Hamilton’s return to the champagne zone.

In the previous race Hamilton lamented not being connected to his car. A not too shabby race result later, could it mean he had found his connection with his W14?

“I don’t feel connected to it so I’m driving as best as I can with that disconnect and I’m working as hard as I can to try and create that connection but I think it’s a long project,” he said in a post-race interview.

He continued, "but still, considering we've been down on performance, we're clearly down on straight pace compared to the Red Bulls, for us to be up here fighting with Aston is just amazing at this point in the season.”

An optimistic remark from Hamilton might stir up hope for the Mercedes fans: “Big, big thank you to all the people back at the factory. Let’s keep pushing. We can close that gap. It’s gonna be tough, but not impossible.”