Why the Australian GP Was So Chaotic

The Australian Grand Prix was out of chaos, and Sunday’s rain certainly spiced things up deluxe. I shot the start from this photo window at turn two. Cars were coming towards me on the formation lap, and then I saw Isack Hadjar’s V carb car going backwards at a high rate of speed towards me. In fact, he hit about five meters from where I was standing. It was a dull thud; it wasn’t a huge sound.

He stopped and sat in that car for a very long time—minutes. Before getting out, I noticed him holding his helmet with his hand. A marshal was saying, “Look, we’ll get you a seat. Do you want a seat?” He just stood there, visibly shocked and heartbroken. As he said later on, he was embarrassed by the whole thing.

As you know, there were plenty of incidents in the race. A car was assigned to his car. I didn’t see the spin, but I saw his car underneath the photography tower at turn two. I thought, “Well, you can’t park there.” But indeed, that car was parked there for the remainder of the race.

Of course, shooting Formula One, I can only be in one spot, but the crowd always gives away what’s going on. They’ve got access to screens, and when a huge roar goes up, that’s my cue to look at the screens.

Now, let’s talk about Oscar Piastri. Disappointment for the young Australian who promised so much. At one stage, he looked like he could have even taken the lead. Post-race, this was the scene out the back of the FIA garage as he was talking to Sophie, his PR person, giving a brief of what happened during the race. Despite the spin, he still managed to finish in the points. I see him as a strong threat for the World Drivers’ Championship this year.

Of course, Oscar Piastri is sponsored by Quadlock, as is this channel. Quadlock has sent me their latest product launch just in time for the Australian Grand Prix in collaboration with the McLaren Racing Formula One team. They have a brand new range of Mag cases and a new addition, the Mag water bottle.

If you’re a true F1 fan, especially a McLaren, Oscar, or Lando fan, you’ll love these. The cases have it all with Mag technology, durability, and style, featuring the signature papaya-colored MagRing. Plus, they’re compatible with all Quad Lock Mountain accessories.

Did McLaren celebrate their victory yesterday? Yes! It happened well after the press conferences, and most people had already left. But Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri joined the rest of their team for a celebration in the pit lane. Typically, McLaren doesn’t douse their drivers in champagne post-race, but that changed yesterday with a number of the mechanics having access to some Chandon champagne, a local Australian brand, and dousing Lando in it once they’d done their team photographs.

While I was waiting down there for the celebration, I glanced up at the screen. If you were trying to get out of the track via gate one on a tram, you had a sixty-minute wait. But of course, there was a very big crowd. I checked, and yes, 465,000 people attended the event, even with that nasty weather on race day. That’s just shy of the crowd they get at Silverstone. Why is it such a popular race? Typically, the weather’s pretty good, but yesterday was an exception.

Going back to Parc Ferme, you might have seen me pop up on television. I found myself between Mark Berryman, Lando’s manager, and Zac Brown, the CEO of McLaren. I could hear every word that Lando was saying to them. The thing that stood out to me was what he said: “The inters were shit.” Coming up shortly, I’ll run through what the drivers drove to the track in terms of their road cars.

Now let’s go through family members that I spotted. Oscar Piastri’s mum, Nicole, was at the track, as was his dad, Chris. This moment here was when Oscar set a fast lap during FP3. Oscar’s sister Hattie was there as well. Lando Norris’ mum, dad, and sister Flo were in attendance. You might have seen a vision of this moment where his mum and dad were giving him a hug with Flo just off to the left.

Anthony Hamilton was in attendance, and you probably saw some touching vision or stories about him consoling Isack Hadjar in the paddock. He’s a class act, and I’m sure that Isack appreciated that hug. Kimi Antonelli’s dad was there along with his sister Maggie. Pierre Gasly’s girlfriend Kika looked stunning in her Meshki outfit on Sunday.

It was good to see Lewis out there on Sunday talking to a lot of people on the Melbourne Walk as he made his way in. Now let’s have a look at the outfits that Lewis Hamilton wore during the four days of the Australian Grand Prix—stylish and colourful as usual.

Let’s talk about what the drivers drove to the track. Most of the F1 drivers stayed in the city, and the drive from the city to the track is no more than about 15 minutes. McLaren drivers were not in McLarens; they were driving the Ford Everest Platinum V6. Fortunately, the drivers’ names are on their car parks, so it’s easy to tell.

Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly were in Renault Meganes, while the Sauber drivers drove Audis. Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar drove Honda Civic Type Rs, and in the Williams car parking spots, we had a Mercedes GLC 300 and an Audi Q7.

Let’s have a look at the Ford drivers. They arrived in a Mustang, a Ford Mustang Mach E. This car is supremely quick. Both Ferrari drivers arrived in pure style, rolling up in a V12 Ferrari Purosangue, which develops 725 horsepower. Unfortunately, this year, we weren’t allowed to photograph on the walk, but the fans who were there invested so much time, and F1 quite rightly didn’t want the fans’ experience to be tainted by a scrum of photographers.

Before the start of the race, all of the drivers presented on track for the annual start of the season group photo. The positioning of the drivers caused some comments about why Yuki was put behind George, but they were positioned based on how the teams finished.

What caused the chaos at the Australian GP?

The chaos was primarily due to rain affecting the race conditions, which led to several crashes and incidents, including Isack Hadjar’s crash and Oscar Piastri’s spin.

How many people attended the Australian GP?

Approximately 465,000 people attended the event, even with challenging weather conditions.

What did McLaren drivers celebrate after the race?

McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri celebrated their victory with a champagne shower in the pit lane.

Who were some notable family members at the race?

Notable family members included Oscar Piastri’s parents, Lando Norris’ family, and Anthony Hamilton, who was seen consoling Isack Hadjar.

What cars did the F1 drivers drive to the track?

The drivers drove a variety of cars, including McLaren drivers in Ford Everest Platinum V6s, Ferrari drivers in V12 Ferraris, and others in Audis and Hondas.