The Australian Grand Prix was halted several times for incidents that could otherwise have been dealt with by a safety car. Was it in search of drama?
The question of whether the red flags for the accidents of Alex Albon (on lap seven) and Kevin Magnussen (on lap 54) were necessary was raised by several drivers. Max Verstappen was understandably highly aggrieved by the second one, as it wiped out his 10sec lead with just two scheduled laps left from another standing start. As it happened, his start was good and the victory secured. But both incidents could have been covered by a safety car (or even a VSC). It led to questions about whether red flags are being used excessively, possibly in a drive to create some drama in a season which looks likely to be dominated by one team.