In an Australian Grand Prix rocked by three red flags and eight retirements, hometown prodigy Oscar Piastri collected his maiden Formula 1 points on Sunday evening.
And in a remarkable twist, the McLaren rookie finished in the points courtesy of Alpine’s two drivers, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, crashing out of the race in the dying stages.
Piastri famously defected from Alpine in ugly circumstances in September last year, after Formula 1’s Contract Recognition Board had to make a call on whether Alpine or McLaren owned his signature.
AS IT HAPPENED: Australian Grand Prix
READ MORE: Sheens takes dig at own team as Tigers woes worsen
READ MORE: ‘Shock’ as rugby league icon rushed to hospital
While Piastri was a member of the Alpine academy, and was an Alpine reserve driver for the 2022 Formula 1 world championship, he also had a deal with McLaren after signing as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement.
An Australian Grand Prix already packed with mayhem took its most chaotic turn of the day after the drivers set themselves for a restart with two laps remaining.
Carlos Sainz tagged Fernando Alonso, which led to Gasly and Ocon colliding and bombing out.
The race finished under a yellow flag as Max Verstappen cruised to his first Australian Grand Prix win.
Gasly and Ocon were in the points before the last crash occurred, and while Piastri was placed 11th at the time, the 21-year-old finished eighth.
Piastri joined Mark Webber and Ricciardo in scoring his first career points in Melbourne.
Monster crash for F1 underdog stops Australian GP
Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso rounded out the podium, while the rest of the top 10 consisted of Lance Stroll, Sergio Perez, Lando Norris, Nico Hulkenberg, Piastri, Zhou Guanyu and Yuki Tsunoda.
Sainz copped a five-second penalty for clipping Alonso, leaving the Ferrari driver fuming as he plummeted from fourth to a 12th-placed finish.
“That was absolute mayhem,” Jenson Button said of the last restart.
David Croft described the late crash as “hugely costly” for Alpine.
The first red flag was brought out following an Alex Albon crash on lap nine, with race control revealing gravel on the track had prompted its decision to halt proceedings.
The second red flag was introduced after Kevin Magnussen crashed on lap 55, with his rear-right wheel falling off as debris from his Haas sprawled across the track.
Then came the most dramatic point of the race as the sun settled on an Australian Grand Prix that will never be forgotten.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
