Charles Leclerc span out of the Australian Grand Prix on just the third corner – before an Alex Albon smash saw the red flags waved in an action-packed start to the race in Melbourne.
The Ferrari driver span off the track on the first lap and into the gravel. Unfortunately for the Monegasque, his car was beached and he was quickly out of it, knowing that his race was already over when it had barely even begun.
The safety car was called out, which helped the drivers who had made early gains to consolidate their positions. That included the two Mercedes racers, who had enjoyed a dream start to the race by reeling in and overtaking pole-sitter Max Verstappen.
George Russell got a great launch off the line and took the inside route into the first corner, squeezing the Red Bull and forcing him to pull out. So the Brit had the lead, and his compatriot Lewis Hamilton was all over Verstappen as well.
The seven-time world champion was soon wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen and they made contact – much to the Dutchman's annoyance. As Hamilton moved past, the Red Bull star was quickly onto the radio to accuse his rival of forcing him off track.
The safety car period did not last long and soon Verstappen was all over the back of Hamilton. But Russell was also feeling the pressure from the Brit, as the race leader shouted over the radio: "You're asking me to manage and I'm being attacked by my own team-mate!"
He was soon in the pits though when another safety car period began on the seventh lap. Albon had started eighth after a brilliant qualifying, and got an incredible start which left him running in sixth place.
But then he lost control off his Williams and crashed heavily. Fortunately he was out of the car and seemed unscathed, but the amount of debris on the track was such that the race was red flagged while it was cleared up.
That was bad news for Russell, as everyone else got the chance to change tyres while he had already been into the pits to do exactly that. It meant he had given up the lead of the race to gain no advantage, and restarted in seventh place.
