Three separate collisions removed four cars from proceedings and left others counting the cost of crashes they weren’t to blame for.
The carnage cut a swathe threw the field and elevated several drivers to the front. Nico Hulkenberg briefly looked on course for a podium finish.
But when the race director took the contentious decision to restore the original restart order he and several drivers were dismayed to find themselves relegated the rear again. Meanwhile drivers such as Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll avoided the repercussions of having gone off.
Here’s what they said to their teams about the controversial ending to Sunday’s race.
Max Verstappen
After the last standing restart race leader Max Verstappen was concerned by falling light levels at the track:
Verstappen
What is the plan here?
Lambiase
Stand by, Max.
Verstappen
Also the visibility is really poor. I can barely see in front of me if somebody standing in the sun.
Lambiase
Yeah, roger. Okay Max, so just over three minutes. three minutes.
Verstappen
But what is the plan?
Lambiase
When I get an update I will relay that to you mate. We’ve had no update.
Red Bull filled him in on the restart plan while he was out of the car. He led the field to the chequered flag behind the Safety Car, but expressed concern over how slowly it was lapped:
Verstappen led the field to the flag in low light
Lambiase
Just over one minute.
Lambiase
Okay Max so plan is Safety Car will enter the pit lane at the end of this lap. You will then take the chequered flag. It’s a rolling start i.e. just take the chequered flag. There is no overtaking until the line.
Verstappen
We are not doing a racing lap, or? I still don’t understand.
Lambiase
Okay, so here it is plain and simple. The Safety Car’s going to peel in, you can accelerate full throttle exit turn 14, take the chequered flag and that’s the end of the race. There is no overtaking.
Verstappen
Ah okay, okay.
Lambiase
Mode three and recharge on.
Verstappen
The Safety Car’s turning the light off and still driving like 120.
Lambiase
Yep, roger that, Max.
Lewis Hamilton
Drivers and teams were unsure whether there might be yet another standing restart. From second on the grid, Lewis Hamilton had failed to beat Verstappen to turn one (though would have lost the position anyway due to the decision to reset the grid) and consulted with his controls engineer Marcelo Martinelli – ‘Mad Dog’ – how to get off the line better next time:
Hamilton
Is this going to be long?
Bonnington
Yeah, they’ve got quite a lot to clear up.
Hamilton
Is that Alonso out, or?
Hamilton
Mad Dog, that start didn’t feel very good. What did I hit target-wise?
Martinelli
[Unclear] Lewis was just missing a little bit of grip.
Hamilton
Yeah. Rears were way out of the window.
Martinelli
Yeah, it was difficult generating temp in the formation lap
Having run third for most of the race, Fernando Alonso was furious about being knocked into a spin by Carlos Sainz Jnr at the restart, and urged his team to press the case for the running order to be reset:
Cronin
There’s trouble ahead as well.
Cronin
Red flag, slow down. Okay.
Alonso
Fuck me!
Cronin
Yeah, copy.
Alonso
Stupid rule! How the hell you can put a red flag before?
Cronin
Yeah, copy mate.
Alonso
Maybe because we don’t complete a lap, we go back to the same positions? It happened in Silverstone.
Cronin
Yep, we’re looking at that, we’re on that, we’re already on that.
Cronin
Just get the car back. Do you think there’s damage?
So we believe the race is over, but we’re just trying to get confirmation on the classification. So just line up in the pit lane.
Alonso
Yeah. Even that will be okay.
To Alonso and Aston Martin’s relief, he got his position back. Although drivers weren’t allowed to race at the restart, Alonso kept his eye on what Sainz and the others in his mirrors were up to:
Cronin
So just be careful with your… don’t overlap the cars ahead. The cars behind you might be bunching around a bit, but you’ve just got to keep line astern from the car ahead.
Alonso
So I don’t need to take care of the tyres, I guess
Cronin
All okay, there’s no racing. There’s no racing.
Alonso
I have people behind they are warming like crazy, so just to confirm.
Cronin
So just put a bit of brake temp in just in case anything happens. Put some brake temp in so it works properly.
A red flag was thrown after the chequered flag due to a track invasion. Alonso urged Aston Martin to warn his team mate:
Cronin
So Ferrari got zero points, Sainz was 11th. So we’ve got a red flag. Just keep an eye on your delta, keep it…
Alonso
Yeah, no overtaking. Tell Lance no overtaking
Cronin
Yeah, we’ve told him, Fernando, all good. Apparently there’s people on the tracks so keep a good eye out.
Lance Stroll
The reset was also good news for Stroll. He had skidded off at turn three by himself at the standing restart and fell to 12th place. The decision to reorder the cars meant his mistake was undone:
Michell
So Lance they’re still trying to decide what the grid should be so we’re standing by.
Michell
So Lance restart order P3 for Alonso P5 for us. So P5 for us restart order.
Stroll
But, so are we doing a start now? Or no? Just going to be ’round?
Stroll
So can you confirm, are we doing a proper standing start and a lap of racing or are we just following the Safety Car to the finish line because it’s the last lap?
Michell
So Lance the feedback is that we will go out of this order behind the Safety Car, take the flag with no overtaking.
Michell
Okay Lance, to be clear, we go out behind the Safety Car. Safety car will come into the pits. You will stay on track and take the chequered flag with no overtaking.
Stroll
Okay.
Stroll expressed his relief at getting his position back after taking the chequered flag:
Michell
Okay Lance that’s chequered flag. That’s chequered flag, Lance. That’s P4. Fernando… P4 for you, well done. Out one.
Stroll
Good job, team. Got away with that one!
Michell
It was good pace at the end when Gasly was dropping off so good job, mate, well done.
Sergio Perez was in a similar position to Stroll. After going off at turn the timing screens showed he was in 10th place. However he restarted in sixth and finished one place higher than that after Sainz was given a five-second time penalty:
Perez
Are we’re going back to our original positions?
Bird
No updates as of yet. Just into the pit lane.
Lando Norris
The red flag which led to the standing restart was triggered by Kevin Magnussen when he hit the wall at turn two, leaving a tyre on the track. McLaren initially considered pitting Lando Norris in response, then thought better of it:
Joseph
And the safety car window is closed. The safety car window is closed.
Joseph
Lando possible debris between two and three. There’s a tyre. There’s a tyre. There’s a tyre on the left-hand side somewhere.
Norris
Yeah, a lot of debris. If they can just remove the tyre it’s fine. There’s not actually that much debris.
Joseph
And safety car deployed. Safety car deployed. Minor Purple C2 position nine. Minor purple C2 position nine. Lando. What are your thoughts?
Norris
What’s the gap? If I can take it, 100%.
Joseph
We will stay out. Stay out.
Norris
If it’s for one lost position, I think I’d still take it.
Joseph
Lando stay out
Norris
I would take it.
Joseph
Stay out.
Joseph
And Lando there is a recovery vehicle on track in turn three.
Joseph
Red flag. Red flag.
Norris
Ah ha. Okay.
McLaren used the opportunity provided by the red flag to remove a loose item from underneath Norris’ feet in his car.
Joseph
Lando the thing in the cockpit, is it still there?
Norris
Yeah, it was. It was like on my heels.
Joseph
Was it bothering you?
Norris
I mean, I got used to it in the end. If you want to just leave it, you can just leave it.
Joseph
Okay Lando we’re going to take the hatch off, have a look, see if we can find this thing. We believe there will be one formation lap, a standing start and two racing laps.
After taking the standing restart and moving up to sixth place, Norris was hopeful there wouldn’t be another standing restart. There wasn’t, and although other drivers swapped places around him he kept his sixth place:
Norris
It’s finished, right?
Joseph
Well, I think so, yeah. But we’re just checking.
Norris
It has to be, must be finished.
Other voice
Lando feedback from the launch. You were on target. Pete just says do the same. The wheelspin was a little bit too much throttle.
Norris
It doesn’t matter, there can’t be another start, so…
Other voice
Yep, understood
Joseph
Lando apparently they are planning on resuming.
Norris
But… Okay.
Norris
There’s not been a ten minute warning or anything?
Joseph
There’s been nothing. Just stand by.
Nico Hulkenberg
Hulkenberg had taken fourth at the restart, but lost it
Haas were so unhappy with the decision to change the order they protested the result of the race, but were unsuccessful. It dropped Nico Hulkenberg from fourth to eighth, which became seventh after Sainz’s penalty:
Gannon
Okay. They’ve just published a restart order and we’re back in eighth. I don’t understand why, but that’s where we are. So we’ll be reshuffling the cars. Who was in front of Norris?
Hulkenberg
You tell me!
Gannon
Yeah, fine
Gannon
Okay. Okay. So we’re rolling back to eighth because they’re taking the start from before the last restart, and then there’ll be one lap and it’ll just go round to take the chequer under the Safety Car. That’s it.
Hulkenberg
But, I was ninth, no?
Gannon
Yeah but one car is out so now you’re eight.
Hulkenberg
Okay. So no more racing
Gannon
No more racing. So we’re just going to get positioned correctly and then they’ll give us a restart time. And we’ll still fit the fresh tyres.
On his way back into the pits Hulkenberg suffered a power unit failure which forced him to stop. Haas told him to jump out of the car as it was potentially in an electrically unsafe condition.
Meanwhile the race had been red-flagged due to a track invasion. As the stewards later noted, this created a potentially dangerous situation, as Hulkenberg’s race engineer spotted:
Hulkenberg
Fuck, I lost the engine! I lost the engine! Okay, I think it’s okay again.
Gannon
It’s okay to go to the end. It’s okay to go to the end.
Hulkenberg
I think I lost the gear sync.
Gannon
Chequered flag, Nico chequered flag. Mode slow and you were three seconds behind Sainz. All right, Nico, stop the car. We need to stop the car. Find somewhere safe. Stop the car. Stop the car as soon as possible then P1 then wait five seconds then P zero.
Hulkenberg
[Unclear] guys. Good effort.
Gannon
Okay. Yeah. Good job. Nico you need to do an ERS jump out because the car is not safe, So just step on the bonnet and then jump.
Gannon
Why are they touching the car? Anyway tell them not to touch the car. You go on the bonnet and just jump off the car. Okay?
Zhou Guanyu
Zhou Guanyu was especially unimpressed by the restart antics, saying drivers hadn’t been able to warm their tyres sufficiently:
Becker
Red
Zhou
This is fucking ridiculous. We have no heat. Fucking cold.
Becker
So calm down, Zhou, calm down.
Zhou
Just for your info.
The wait for a restart tested his patience somewhat:
Zhou
Where are we? On the grid.
Becker
We are at the moment in P8
Zhou
Yeah. I don’t know what you guys do, but it was literally zero temperature, like 60 degrees. Does it take long? Can I jump off toilet or not?
Becker
No, [unclear], Zhou.
Zhou
Okay, I’ll wait.
Once the plan for the restart explained to him, Zhou was dismayed to learn some of his rivals would regain positions they had lost by making mistakes:
Zhou
We finish behind Safety Car? Or we do a standing start
Becker
We’ll be behind the Safety Car.
Speaker 2
It will be one lap, one lap behind the safety car. The safety car is coming into the pit lane and it just crossed the finish line. The race is over.
Zhou
Yeah, but you know my position? Or not
Becker
I know. Yes.
Zhou
Where?
Becker
P10.
Zhou
Okay. Not too bad, but…
Becker
It’s no good for the team.
Zhou
I don’t know why once Stroll goes straight, he still gets the position back, into turn four?
Becker
I can explain you later. It has something to do with timing loops and the last position we can establish the order.
Zhou
Okay.
Valtteri Bottas
Like Perez, Valtteri Bottas started the race in the pits and worked he way forward. The crash at the final standing restart elevated him to ninth place, but when the field was reordered he found himself back outside the points, where he finished.
Chan
Okay guys now we’re going to have a shuffle in the pit lane. So as it is the last lap it’s going to be a lap behind the Safety Car to finish the race.
Bottas
How come I go back to 12?
Chan
This was the last point the timing was established.
Bottas
Yeah, but if some people go off, you know, they shouldn’t be able to get back.
Having been given a five-second time penalty, Sainz tried to leave his rivals far enough behind at the finishing line that he would not drop out of the points. He failed, by just half a second.
Furious at the decision, Sainz initially hasten his return to the pits, but had to slow down when the red flag was waved due to a track invasion.
Adami
You can open 10 car lengths to Alonso, can open 10 car lengths to Alonso now and then push. Open 10 car lengths and then push, closing the gap at the second.
Adami
Good job.
Automatic voice
Chequered flag.
Automatic voice
Red flag. Stay positive.
Adami
Why red flag now
Adami
I don’t know.
Adami
What is going on?
Adami
Track invasion, track invasion for spectators, we believe, possible. Just watch out.
Adami
Going too fast, here, too fast.
Adami
P0
Esteban Ocon
The Alpine drivers bit their tongues after both retired when they collided at the restart:
Ocon
That’s it.
Peckett
P0.
Ocon
Okay.
Nyck de Vries
De Vries was taken out by Sargeant
Like Ocon, Nyck de Vries was also blamelessly eliminated, though in his case his team mate was not the culprit, but Logan Sargeant instead:
Hamelin
Right inside. Okay with this situation. Okay. If you’re beached…
Yeah a reminder for P0 please. Yeah. Someone hit you there. Sorry for that.
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roto
6th April 2023, 16:02
Alonso has two brains.
Jere (@jerejj)
6th April 2023, 17:26
As Kimi would say: What a fricking mess.
XV
6th April 2023, 20:02
“Alonso: Fxxk me!
Cronin: Yeah, copy.”
That got me laughing.