Verstappen wins in a chaotic F1 Australian Grand Prix finish.

Australia's MELBOURNE Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday in extraordinary circumstances following a chaotic F1 race that was dramatic from the start to the finish.

Red Bull's first victory in Melbourne since 2011 was anticipated, but the chaos that broke out at Albert Park during the race's closing laps made it an incredibly difficult victory.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton came in second after driving brilliantly for Mercedes, and Fernando Alonso for Aston Martin claimed third place.

Oscar Piastri, an Aussie, took advantage of the chaos to place eighth and earn his maiden championship points for McLaren. Just 12 of the 20 starters finished the race.

While being happy to have won, Verstappen questioned the stewards' choice to raise a red flag following a crash on lap 55 of the 58-lap race rather than bringing in a safety car.

At that point, he had a sizable advantage, but when the race restarted, Hamilton forced him to battle for the lead.

Verstappen stated, "Of course we are thrilled to have won the race, but I believe the race itself was a bit of a muddle with all the calls towards the finish. Many motorists were perplexed as to why we required a second red flag as a result. Today was very disorganized.

Hamilton was pleased with the development Mercedes displayed in Melbourne, which included a strong showing in Saturday's qualifying.

It was a big surprise, he remarked. We were all in awe at our second and third-place finishes in qualifying yesterday, which gave the squad a tremendous energy boost.

Verstappen was able to fend off Hamilton to the first turn on the restart on lap 55 as chaos broke out behind his Red Bull, which caused the standings to be rearranged.

On the first corner of the restart, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz struck lonso, who had battled Hamilton for second place for the whole of the race