“The red flag made the race a lottery, it was a huge gamble,” commented Christian Horner at the end of the 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
“It only made the race more dangerous,” Helmut Marko added.
And in fact for those who, like Max Verstappen, had by that stage of the Melbourne race built a solid advantage over Lewis Hamilton, the first of his rivals at the Albert Park circuit, the neutralization of the Australian Grand Prix with a red flag may have seemed like an injustice.
According to the Milton Keynes team, in fact, the stewards should have allowed the race to continue under the Safety Car. Considering, however, the only two laps that separated that moment from the checkered flag, this would have meant a substantial freezing of the positions.
A radical change of opinion compared to when, at the end of the 2021 Formula 1 season, Christian Horner & Co. asked and obtained that the race be restarted, albeit for just one lap. “Let the race be decided on the track”, the Red Bull Team principal ordered the race direction on that occasion.
This curious change of trend among Red Bull men was underlined by Ernest Knoors, a former engineer from Maranello. The Dutchman, speaking in a recent interview for Motorsport.com, in fact recalled how Red Bull had “a rather strange reaction”.
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“We all know what happened in 2021 and in that case they agreed, of course. But now I’m not anymore.” – The Dutchman then went on to clarify how, to all intents and purposes, the red flag guaranteed all the drivers to play their chances on the track in the final part of the Australian Grand Prix.
“I think the race direction did what was expected with the red flag. They gave everyone the opportunity to replace their tyres, especially those who had suffered damage from the debris from Magnussen’s Haas, guaranteeing the same conditions for everyone. I think it was the right decision. What happened at the restart is the result of the particular layout of the track. In Melbourne, accidents at the start are almost inevitable.” – pointed out former Ferrari engineer Ernest Knoors.
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