How life can change in just a few seconds! Tell that to George Russell. The British driver from Mercedes promised them plenty of fun at the start of the 2023 F1 Australian Grand Prix, when with a superb start from second position he surprised Max Verstappen inside turn 1 to take the lead. He even managed to gain distance in the first meters with respect to Max, and it will help him that Hamilton overtook the Dutchman in the first meters as well. But his dream did not last long in dilution.
First, in a stroke of bad luck. Stroll’s touch on Leclerc and the Monegasque’s abandonment caused the first ‘Safety Car’ of the day on lap 1. Russell stuck it out on the restart, keeping the position. But on lap 6, ‘Safety’ came out again due to Albon’s accident. George and Mercedes took advantage of this to stop for free, as did Sainz. But few will decide on that strategy. The bad luck for the Englishman was that a few laps later, with ‘Safety’ still on the track, the red flag would be shown. The race was stopped to repair the damaged barriers.
That red flag left him out of the game. He went from leading the race to 7th position to change tires with the previous ‘safety car’. But the strategic advantage was destroyed, because at the red flag all the cars returned to the pit lane and could change tires for free. He must start from the starting standing from 7th place. And in the middle of the next return, on his 4th, his car caught fire.
Flames suddenly started coming out of the rear of the car and he was quickly forced to stop, causing a virtual ‘Safety Car’ on lap 18.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
