The resulting crashes triggered a third and final red flag, leading to lengthy deliberations by race stewards who ultimately decided to finish the race according to grid positions at the restart, with a lap behind the safety car minus the cars that had crashed. Consequently, Hulkenberg was relegated back to seventh place, according to the race’s provisional classification.
🏁🏁🏁 So the cars cross the line and Nico moves up to finish seventh after Sainz’s 5 sec penalty.
A big six points for us 👊#HaasF1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/jbo9DmS9Jv
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) April 2, 2023
The Haas team, however, did not accept this result and protested against it. Nevertheless, the stewards at the Australian Grand Prix have dismissed the protest and upheld the provisional results, which saw Max Verstappen secure his first victory at the Albert Park venue.
The confusion and controversy surrounding the Australian Grand Prix have left many fans and commentators questioning the reliability of the race stewards’ decisions. However, the FIA has assured everyone that all decisions were made based on safety considerations and in accordance with the regulations governing the sport.
Events preceding the protest by Haas
The controversy surrounding the outcome of the Australian Grand Prix has come to a close after the FIA’s stewards rejected a protest from the Haas team. The race concluded with two red flags within the final four laps, with the first flag causing a messy restart on lap 57 and the second red flag being triggered when two Alpine drivers collided with each other and Logan Sargeant crashed with Nyck de Vries.
Despite being up to fourth place at the time of the second red flag, Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg was dropped to eighth for the restart on the final lap, which was based on the grid for the previous restart minus the cars that crashed out. Haas contended that the grid should have been based on the order of the cars as they crossed safety car line two, but the stewards denied the protest in a hearing late on Sunday night.
“We have very good momentum and that’s what we want to take into the next races.”#HaasF1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/eLNXHFE49W
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) April 2, 2023
The stewards stated that the last point at which it was possible to determine the position of all cars was the last grid. The stewards determined that the restart grid order needed to be organized in accordance with the order at the “last point at which it was possible to determine the position of all cars” as per Article 57.3 of the sporting regulations, which needed to be done promptly in the context of a timed race event and using the most appropriate information available at the time.
The race had two red flags in the last four laps, and the first one was caused by Kevin Magnussen of Haas, who stopped on track after hitting the barriers on Turn 2. The race restarted, but more collisions resulted in another red flag. The stewards then decided to reshuffle the pack based on the grid for the standing restart, dropping Hulkenberg from fourth to eighth place.
“It wasn’t my day but it seemed like the car had decent pace so I’m encouraged by that and we’ll push next time.” pic.twitter.com/Y6mjHbzK7I
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) April 2, 2023
Based on what they heard from the FIA representatives and Haas, the stewards concluded that the Race Director had appropriately exercised his discretion in determining the grid for the final lap and dismissed the protest.
Although the German driver undoubtedly demonstrated a spectacular performance today despite the outcome and when asked about today’s incident he said “I’m refreshed, in a very positive mindset and really enjoy working with the team and experimenting with the car. We have very good momentum and that’s what we want to take into the next races.” according to f1i.com.
The outcome of the Australian Grand Prix has been the subject of much debate, with the late red flags causing confusion and leaving some teams unhappy with the final result. Despite this, the stewards’ decision to uphold the provisional classification means that Max Verstappen’s victory at the Albert Park venue is now officially recognized.
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