Max Verstappen criticised FIA race director Niels Wittich for stopping the Australian Grand Prix three times, calling his handling a ‘mess’.
The race winner was the most outspoken of several drivers to voice concerns after the race ended under a safety car procession in front of 130,000 fans in Melbourne.
‘I am very happy to have won the race but towards the end it was a bit of a mess with all the calls,’ said Verstappen, referring to Wittich’s response to Kevin Magnussen’s late crash.
‘I don’t think we needed that second red flag. It could have been dealt with with a virtual safety car, or a safety car at worst. It left a lot of drivers confused.
‘If we had a safety car and the normal rolling start we would not have had all these shunts, but a normal finish. So, they created the problems themselves.’
Max Verstappen insisted he didn’t understand the second red flag at the Australian Grand Prix
After two red flags when Albon and Magnussen crashed out, the third restart saw saw Gasly, Ocon, Sargeant and De Vries also crash out, while Alonso was hit by Sainz in a collision
George Russell, who was hindered by a previous red flag following his pal Alex Albon’s shunt, was also critical.
‘I thought the first red flag was totally unnecessary,’ said the Mercedes man, who later suffered engine failure.
‘I don’t really know what’s going on with some of the decisions at the moment. We’re all trying to work together with the FIA to improve things but it’s seemingly a bit of a challenge.’
German Wittich took over from Michael Masi following the controversial conclusion to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December 2021, when Lewis Hamilton was denied the title partly through the withdrawal of a late safety car.
Masi and now Wittich certainly turn to the red flag option more readily than predecessor Charlie Whiting. It is widely seen as an attempt to spice things up through standing restarts.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner weighed in on Wittich’s side, saying it was the ‘right thing to red flag’ the race. ‘You are always going to get winners and losers out there,’ he added.
Pierre Gasly apologised to his Alpine team-mate Esteban Ocon after veering into him in a crash that took both drivers out after the late restart. Gasly said: ‘For us to be so close to scoring 10 points and leaving without any is a bitter one for us to take. I’m gutted.’
McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri was thrilled to finish eighth in his home race. ‘Chaos is how I would sum that up,’ said the 21-year-old.
Verstappen revealed his delight at winning his first ever Australian Grand Prix on Sunday
He fought back after a poor start that saw him overtaken by Russell and Hamilton early on
Verstappen was also not happy with 2021 rival Hamilton, claiming on the team radio the Brit had ‘pushed him wide’ on the opening lap – something which is against the rules.
Following the race, he refused to let the incident go and took a dig at the FIA and Hamilton as he said: ‘From my side I just tried to avoid contact.
‘It’s quite clear what you are allowed to do in the rules but it was clearly not followed.’
After he regained the lead soon after, despite a slight incident when his car locked-up and he went on to the grass, he still remained more than seven seconds ahead of Hamilton for most of the race and the Dutchman reflected on his triumph.
He said: ‘We had a very poor start and I was careful – I had a lot to lose and they had a lot to win.
‘I think the pace of the car was quick. We were always there waiting for the DRS to open up.
‘We had really good pace on the air today and we won, which of course is the most important.
‘It’s great to win here, my first win here as well but I am very happy,’ Verstappen said on the win
Verstappen had a dig at Lewis Hamilton (left) afterwards for what he for his driving in the race
‘I did the city a favour and cut the grass a little more for them. I had a lock-up there but it’s ok – we had a good margin.
‘It’s great to win here, my first win here as well but I am very happy.’
The result saw Verstappen open up a 15-point lead over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in the Drivers’ standings, while he is 24 clear of Aston Martin’s Alonso who is in third.
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