What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the Australian Grand Prix.
RaceFans has held polls on every F1 race since 2008 to find out which fans thought of each round of the season.
Join in the latest poll and give your verdict on the race: 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.
What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:
Rate the 2023 Australian Grand Prix out of 10
- 10 (3%)
- 9 (7%)
- 8 (18%)
- 7 (15%)
- 6 (10%)
- 5 (7%)
- 4 (5%)
- 3 (6%)
- 2 (12%)
- 1 (17%)
Total Voters: 179
Loading ...1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’
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2023 Australian Grand Prix
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- Formula 1’s stewards should listen to drivers less, not more
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- Why Ferrari saw a ‘real step forward in pure performance’ in point-less Australian GP
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Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
2nd April 2023, 8:37
Chaos. What was even the point of all this?
The race wasn’t bad until they decided to make a mess of it. Masi wasn’t the problem, was it? It’s been getting more and more and more ridiculous…
neiana
2nd April 2023, 8:40
Well… this is what happens when the letter of the rulebook is followed.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
2nd April 2023, 8:41
I have my doubts the rulebook was followed in a logical manner.
neiana
2nd April 2023, 8:43
Once the red came out this was the only reasonable outcome other than saying, “we’ll call the race in 45 minutes”.
And quite frankly the reds come out as a result of Bianchi’s death.
Patrick (@paeschli)
2nd April 2023, 14:59
If this is being done ‘in the name of safety’, why are we getting standing starts instead of rolling starts?
anon
2nd April 2023, 11:20
@fer-no65 mind you, Masi’s former role as a safety delegate at the FIA meant he was also partially responsible for the training of stewards and race control staff. Part of his role at the FIA also involved the production of the sporting regulations and producing guidance notes on the interpretation of those regulations by the FIA’s own staff.
There is therefore an argument that, whilst he was not the sole individual responsible, Masi did have a role in setting the operational procedures of the FIA’s staff and, through his involvement in the FIA’s internal training programmes, at least some influence on the current attitudes of stewards and individuals in race control.
Alex (@)
2nd April 2023, 8:44
Or it’s what happens when the rulebook is ‘conveniently interpreted’ to create restart where one wasn’t needed in the hunt for uncertainty and excitement
neiana
2nd April 2023, 8:48
The reds coming out are more a result of the slippery slope of the incorrect conclusion as to why Jules Bianchi died.
“Safety blah blah”. Ever since, F1 has become coddlesome and here we have the result.
Alex (@)
2nd April 2023, 9:08
Sure, F1 has become more ‘coddlesome’ on the whole, but today’s decision was more dangerous than a yellow would have been (restarts always carry some inherent danger). So I can’t agree that it was caused by being risk-averse.
neiana
2nd April 2023, 9:13
@smallvizier it is the excuse they can use. If that excuse was not on the table, they’d have done a VSC and that last hour rendered moot.
skydiverian (@skydiverian)
2nd April 2023, 8:43
He was, but clearly things haven’t improved.
Back in 2011 I remember watching the Indycar race at Loudon, where some genius decided to restart an oval race when it was raining… and while countback eventually prevailed, I genuinely didn’t think I’d ever see worse officiating at a motor sport event..
And I didn’t think officiating would ever be as bad as Abu Dhabi. But this race is definitely in the conversation.
BasCB (@bascb)
2nd April 2023, 8:44
yeah, @skydiverian this really showed that Masi was not the problem as such, just a factor in the mess that the rules really are @fer-no65.
Rick Worth (@cumbrian)
2nd April 2023, 9:06
I’m sure we aren’t the only ones to think “Masi would have done it better”. What a bureaucratic farce.
asz
2nd April 2023, 9:21
Masi was not simply a ‘victim’ of Abu Dhabi. He made multiple questionable decisions before, and never ever admitted to being even slightly wrong.
He was an arrogant character, unpleasant in his public communications. Any sport is better off without him.
That does not excuse questionable decisions on the part of the current regime. It is just that please stop with the ‘bring Masi back’ and ‘Masi was better’ nonsense.
anon
2nd April 2023, 10:46
@cumbrian Masi should not come back – when you have events like his handling of qualifying in the Turkish GP in 2021, where he rather openly admitted that he’d breached the FIA’s own safety protocols to get the session restarted without bothering to check the track was clear, he is unfit to be placed in a position where he has to take responsibility for the safety and welfare of others.
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
2nd April 2023, 8:37
I rate this race Nascar-level BS.
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd April 2023, 8:37
A decent Australian GP overall, but the unjustified red flag minimizes the impact.
Simon
2nd April 2023, 21:02
One minute. Best yet. Well done… 🙄
GoldenGaeTea (@retroka)
2nd April 2023, 8:37
4 out of ten for the race, minusz ten for the farcial circus
GoldenGaeTea (@retroka)
2nd April 2023, 8:39
*minus
Imre (@f1mre)
2nd April 2023, 9:16
*mínusz
Gusm.ai
2nd April 2023, 13:28
*meinusz
GoldenGaeTea (@retroka)
2nd April 2023, 19:18
*meinuss
RandomMallard
2nd April 2023, 8:39
I thought the race itself was, for the first 55 laps, a 6 or a 7.
But it gets a 1 for the final 3 laps.
sato113 (@sato113)
2nd April 2023, 10:02
The first 55 laps were so processional though, after max overtook Hamilton at least.
Simon Madden
2nd April 2023, 8:39
Terribly boring.
Canderous (@yoshif8tures)
2nd April 2023, 8:40
It was good until the unseeded red flags. Just finish the race under eve safety car. Ffs masi was never the problem was he.
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
2nd April 2023, 8:40
………….so can we please have Bernie back in Power?
SlapCoFudd
2nd April 2023, 8:55
I second this motion!
Selbbin (@selbbin)
2nd April 2023, 9:42
What does that have to do with FIA decisions?
thegamer23
2nd April 2023, 8:41
Hardly a sport anymore.
All the red flags were nosense, just for the sake of the artificial show.
neiana
2nd April 2023, 8:42
This is what happens when you follow the rules to the letter. If you hated the Masi nonsense and also this then there is no hope for you. Might be better off watching golf.
NM
2nd April 2023, 9:06
Will do, all better then this
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
2nd April 2023, 8:42
What a complete farce
swh1386 (@swh1386)
2nd April 2023, 8:42
Completely farcical
Spencer (@spencer)
2nd April 2023, 8:42
Indy 2005 level of farce.
t1redmonkey (@t1redmonkey)
2nd April 2023, 8:42
Farcical. I actually expected this sort of thing to happen, the F2 and F3 races had some terrible decision making by race control, so not surprised to see it carry into the F1 race too. Absolute joke.
TK (@oeuribe)
2nd April 2023, 8:42
I hope this leads the FIA to reconsider and accept that sometimes races should end under SC
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
2nd April 2023, 17:00
It’s always disappointing when races end behind SC, especially when there’s some battles still going on before the incident. Not that I was impressed by their restars procedures after, example with gasly having driven a great race before, or alonso who risked to lose his race as well.
Alex (@)
2nd April 2023, 8:43
The race itself was fairly decent, although the tires lasted too long which meant the order mostly settled too early.
The race management was awful. Adding an unnecessary red flag to spice up the action is tempting fate. The organisers got lucky the first time and unlucky the second, but the chaos we saw today is the inevitable result if you restart over and over again.
This was terrible for spectators, watchers, the Alpines, and the sport.
Kevin Drijver
2nd April 2023, 8:43
I thought 1st of April was yesterday
melanos
2nd April 2023, 9:13
Classic
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
2nd April 2023, 14:47
LOL.
Miltiadis (@miltosgreekfan)
2nd April 2023, 8:43
1/10
I have been a longtime Formula 1 fan since 2003 (being a 6 year old kid back then) and all these years watching the sport,i have never seen/experienced a worse operated race. And I don’t even support a team or a driver since 2017…
I can’t even describe how bad the FIA rulebook has been and how having a standing start after every redflag since 2019 has contributed in many messy and ridiculous operating moments like the one today.
There was no need for a red flag after the Magnussen incident,but for the sake of drama and fake competition,they threw a red flag and resulted in that mayhem…
neiana
2nd April 2023, 8:46
The reds come out because of Jules Bianchi and the completely erroneous conclusion that race control killed him rather than the giant crane he hit.
Miltiadis (@miltosgreekfan)
2nd April 2023, 8:55
Virtual Safety Car was introduced for this,to avoid those types of accidents when a crane/recovery vehicle/marshalls are on track. As for the Magnussen red flag,they could have easily finished the race under Safety Car and keep everyone involved safe, without altering the race outcome…
neiana
2nd April 2023, 9:00
I don’t disagree, but it is still the path the FIA took when they decided the race director was accountable for the driver’s actions.
How many times has the VSC turned into a SC and an SC to a red without need? Just baby steps, but here we are and it’s been strong in the last couple of years. I don’t believe there is a way out because of the argument of safety, now.
Miltiadis (@miltosgreekfan)
2nd April 2023, 9:15
Yeah, it’s been many times they have done this(turning a VSC into SC and a SC into a red) ,but it’s pretty annoying that when a situation is pretty dangerous,they fail to do the correct step regarding safety.
Japan 2022 and the Gasly crane incident is an example of it
BasCB (@bascb)
2nd April 2023, 8:45
Not going to rate this util all the dust falls. Who knows why Hulk stopped, could be a penalty. And I saw many people posting pictures of Max having been a LOT too far ahead in his start box on the last restart, will anyone look into that? Or maybe it’s too late.
Let’s see how whether there will be any post race changes to the order.
BasCB (@bascb)
2nd April 2023, 8:49
About that Max positioning at the restart
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
2nd April 2023, 8:46
I’m going to do something I don’t think i’ve ever done before & give it a 1/10.
Not because the racing was bad or anything but just because of the show been put above the sport with the red flags & restarts as well as the complete farce the last one created.
It just highlights some of the reasons why i’m losing interest in F1 which is why for the first time in 19 years this weekend I didn’t bother staying up to watch practice live & why i’ll be picking & choosing what I watch from now on. I value the sport before the show but it’s clear that Liberty do not & I just don’t have an interest in following F1 down that direction as closely as I have until now.
Dougracing (@dougracing)
2nd April 2023, 8:47
A farce.
F1 is dead.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
2nd April 2023, 8:48
A fairly enjoyable farce – but not F1.
RandomMallard
2nd April 2023, 8:49
For the record, the current bottom 3 races on the RTR poll is as follows:
3. 2019 French Grand Prix – 3.47/10
2. 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – 3.27/10
1. 2021 Belgian Grand Prix – 1.86/10
(Sourced from here)
swh1386 (@swh1386)
2nd April 2023, 8:50
…so Sainz gets a penalty for an incident that technically didn’t happen… I mean, how can a penalty be applied when the positions were reset afterwards?
All this nonsense was completely caused by the needless red flags, ultimately the race result (albeit winner) was decided by the stewards room again
Miltiadis (@miltosgreekfan)
2nd April 2023, 9:00
+1,fully agreed, especially on the Sainz penalty part…
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
2nd April 2023, 9:04
2/10
One of the worst races I have ever seen. It is right up there with the US GP of 2005. Horrible referring. I can’t really write what I am thinking as that would not be appropriate. There were some good drives though.
Mr_NovemberHotel (@nicharvs)
2nd April 2023, 9:15
The first time I saw a red flag in F1 was after watching 30 races, now we have one every 5 races maybe, in this one race we had 3. I used to think safety cars were for bunching the field, whilst the track was cleared. If the track conditions had been damaged beyond safe to use the safety car then a red flag was needed. The reasons for the red flag in the 2023 Australian GP are gravel on the track, a tire on the track, and a massive crash caused by the previous red flag. Have the FIA lost the plot?
If an accident occurs on track then the FIA have a responsibility to clear the track, safely for both drivers and marshals and get racing in a timely manner. The decision for a red flag for Magnussen’s crash failed to achieve any of their responsibilities. The track was cleared but created a situation where multiple cars were involved in multiple crashes (I cannot see how this can be considered a safe way to restart the race). We immediately went red again and still finished behind the safety car.
It took almost an hour to finish the last four laps of the race, the experience for spectators was a sham. The drivers were exposed to risk, and the marshals again needed to clean up a massive crash, And on top of that, we had drivers getting penalties for incidents that had no impact on the result.
Imre (@f1mre)
2nd April 2023, 9:22
Just add extra laps to the race in case of a late SC. No need for a red flag then.
All three red flags where unnecessary. But the last one was totally pointless and hard to explain. As the commentators said: an expensive few corners for nothing as the order was reinstated. (bar crashes and penalties)
RandomMallard
2nd April 2023, 9:45
@f1mre This usually wouldn’t be possible because of fuel limitations. My understanding as to why it works in FE is because the rate of battery lost under SC is very different to the rate of fuel burned under SC, plus carrying extra charge has no performance loss, while more fuel means more weight which means teams would not want to add any more than needed for a race distance.
Imre (@f1mre)
2nd April 2023, 10:15
It also works in other series where there is actual fuel. They burn about half the fuel under SC compared to full speed. It’s the teams’ risk to take whether they put in 2 extra laps of fuel or not.
SC in the last 2 laps is end of race. SC before that means they can add 2 extra laps + half the laps behind SC.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage- Special Unhinged Edition (@davedai)
2nd April 2023, 9:39
Masi was guest of F1.
Kravitz, what’s he doing here?
Accepted their invitation.
The real question is why is a talking head there?
Sure they were trying to make mockery of Masi with reds. That’s ok.
Better than being a parasite who adds nothing to F1.
Rick Worth (@cumbrian)
2nd April 2023, 10:00
Kravitz has thing about Masi who was (almost) vindicated today.
Gubstar
3rd April 2023, 11:35
Thats because Ted’s head is so far up Lewis’s backside he cant see the red flags for the yellows
Ian Mark Gondwe
2nd April 2023, 9:53
Lol some of you are only realizing F1 is dead now? Where you living under a rock in. December 2021?
Sam (@crunch)
2nd April 2023, 9:58
We need to question whether the FIA, FOM, or whoever else there is cares about this racing series as a sport or as a product. On a weekend with record attendance, large viewing figures on Netflix, and unprecedented fan engagement, why should the team principals or the organisers think they are taking F1 in the wrong direction? The standing start procedure is serving its purpose exactly as intended: to create more drama and the increased chance of collisions. This is what F1 fans want nowadays according to viewing figures and engagement. The Formula 1 that ends races under safety car is long gone.
f1andrea
2nd April 2023, 10:03
Stop with these stupid red flags and fake drama! Hate this..
and why they used the previous lap classification only at the third red flag? Why not also in the first? Russell and Sainz would have regained their positions..they pitted between lap 7-8 and they put red flag after sector 2 during lap 8, while at the lap 56 they put red flag at 1 sector and recovered the previous lap classification…in the rules book there isn’t any mention about sectors and bring back at previous lap classification has not any case, seem to be the same always…
Ruben
2nd April 2023, 10:09
Wow, everyone’s so salty here. The last 3 laps were interesting from a rule book perspective, but I think race control wasn’t far off all together.
First of all, Kmags rather wide turn left not only a tyre, but also a lot of debris (quote unquote Lewis Hamilton) on the track. If someone would’ve picked up a puncture afterwards we would have another safety issue to discuss here. So there’s two options: either bunch up the pack completely and see if we could-maybe-maybe-not-let’s-see-will-we-won’t-we still get a lap in at the end (the AD2021 scenario no one was happy with) or get the red flag out and have some proper laps at the end.
The last standing restart was mostly poor because of low driving standards (Sainz and Gasly), can’t blame the FIA for that. The lap at the end was for the books (Spa 2021 like), otherwise Alpine had a big repair bill for nothing I suppose. There’s something to unpack there, but you can’t blame race control for Gasly and Ocon coming together.
PeterG
2nd April 2023, 12:11
The option was let it end under the SC or call a red flag and not do a restart.
You know the way things were done before Liberty came in and started trying to turn it into nascar.
John Ballantyne
2nd April 2023, 10:25
Once again the fans had to sit there for half an hour wondering what was going on, and then went home wondering what had happened!
Terrion (@terrion)
2nd April 2023, 10:53
One of the worst f1 races I’ve ever seen.
Interesting start giving us hope that someon could challenge Max for the lead. Red Flag for no reason whatsoever leading to very boring 45 laps where basically nothing happened.
Another unnecessary red flag after KMag crash leading to pure chaos and some really bad driving, especially on Sargeant, Sainz, Stroll and Alpines leading to 30 minutes of waiting for restart that didn’t happen with no clue who’s on which place.
I must admit, I was having fun. Just not for the reasons I should have. But it was not just F1. Both F3 races and second F2 race were pure mess with bad racing from most of the grid and the first F2 race had some poor stewarding. Overall a weekend to forget for basically everyone.
KaIIe (@kaiie)
2nd April 2023, 11:14
Until the last laps I was going to comment that this was utterly forgettable. After T3 on the opening lap I was hoping we would have a proper race, but nope: Red Bull had some two seconds in hand per lap compared to the rest of the field, and, the rest of the field were stuck in a single file. Sure, there were some nice moves from Perez but they were definitely less exciting than the commentators made them to be.
And the final laps were just chaos. While (apparently) the rules were followed, spending an hour trying to race a few laps seemed rather pointless.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
2nd April 2023, 12:31
Trackside it sounded like Max was cruising as soon as he’d got past Hamilton.
Electroball76
2nd April 2023, 11:34
By experimenting with these different race formats they are trying to win over new fans? A couple of laps of smashes followed by a snack break.
Mikulitsi (@mikulitsi)
2nd April 2023, 12:12
I love how the drivers suddenly forgot how to race in that lap 56 red flag restart. Very memorable
George (@feral)
2nd April 2023, 12:24
Another F1 circus farce, I have followed F1 since 1959 but now my interest is waining along with my health. I still have Moto Gp to keep my interest, they even seem to have the sprint format on the ball. 1/10 today.
S
2nd April 2023, 13:13
One of the best Melbourne GP’s. Got pretty monotonous in the middle, but livened up at the end. Pity about the closing parade lap, but everyone has been banging on about how the rules should always be strictly followed over the last 2 years.
I don’t understand why anyone would rate this a 1 (or less). What do you watch car racing for?
Rate the “best drivers in the world” a 1 for their lap 56 restart performance, perhaps – but the race/event as a whole wasn’t anywhere near that bad.
I’ll give it a 7. It’s a very rare occasion these days when F1 drivers really take a risk – and it certainly showed. A lot of rust on their skills, if present at all.
Good.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
2nd April 2023, 14:45
Farcical manufactured chaos. The FIA should be ashamed.
I was going to give this 7. I deducted 5 points for the actions of Race Control and the stewards. 2. My second lowest score ever.
Neil (@neilosjames)
2nd April 2023, 15:27
The race itself… I don’t know. No fight for the lead but everything from P2 down was interesting, and some of the overtaking was very good to watch (highway passes aside).
But the ending was just ridiculous. The race was done, just let the poor thing end under a safety car. No need to mess around with more red flags and restarts.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
2nd April 2023, 17:04
Obviously unimpressed by race control, both when it comes to constant red flags and also with unfair penalties (sainz vs gasly), but I ignored that and gave the race 8, as it was eventful, there were plenty of passes and battles, though I think DRS took away from some action, there were a few overtakes like verstappen on hamilton that were too easy in that straight, would’ve been more interesting without DRS, at least verstappen had enough pace in hand to pass anyway, not need to make it a joke with DRS.
elchinero (@elchinero)
2nd April 2023, 17:04
A little chaos can be good. “6.” I notice that Lewis is now using the same PR text that the Williams sisters used: Thanking the citizens of the host city … drawing (un-deserving) cheers. Like at a rock concert: A band thanked the people of Detroit! Except they were in Buffalo …
Gubstar
3rd April 2023, 11:38
In wrestling they call it a ‘cheap pop’. Lewis is doing what The Rock did back in his prime.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
2nd April 2023, 20:07
One of the few quotes I remember from Forrest Gump is “Stupid is as stupid does”. It is very obvious F1 needs a better way to restart races after a Red Flag event. F1 has been made to look stupid. The whole point of the Red Flag is to stop the race for safety reasons. Once the dangerous situation has been rectified then the race should restart safely. Sadly, lack of wisdom made F1’s race management look inept.
pSynrg (@psynrg)
2nd April 2023, 20:33
I think first time I voted a 1. Nothing but shambolic. That was everything after it was clear that DRS just utterly destroyed any semblance of actual racing.
Pedro (@)
2nd April 2023, 22:03
Oh my god! What was that farcial ending? Why didn’t race direction call it quits after the second red flag? Why didn’t they countback the results after the third red flag? As for the race, not much happened until Magnusson’s crash, and also the tyres were too durable.
Andy
3rd April 2023, 0:18
Why was the scale swapped so 10 is on the left and 1 on the right? It’s counter-intuitive and weird.
Dave The Drummer (@davethedrummer)
3rd April 2023, 9:44
Seconded. Change it back please.