Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix was in many ways a grim day for the governing body of F1, as the FIA found plenty of criticism being dished out towards it from a number of prominent personalities.
The race in Melbourne can best be characterised as “messy” as a number of red flags were raised throughout tits course, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen eventually coming out on top.
Three red flags came out in total over the course of the race, with a safety car being deployed during the end of what turned out to be a two-and-a-half hour marathon of a Grand Prix.
In a sport that has the USP of being exclusively fast as the pinnacle of motorsport racing, it was unfortunate that the drab ending to the race prompted comparisons with overtime finishes in NASCAR.
It brought a MotoGP legend in Casey Stoner to also publicly shame the manner in which F1 is being operated.
In a rather crude message sent out via social media, Stoner accused FIA of prioritising entertainment over the true essence of the sport, which is racing
@fia you have embarrassed yourselves today with @F1 What an unnecessary mess.
— Casey Stoner AM (@Official_CS27) April 2, 2023
Please remember everyone, this is a sport first and entertainment second, not the other way around.
“@fia you have embarrassed yourselves today with @F1 What an unnecessary mess,” Stoner’s tweet began.
“Please remember everyone, this is a sport first and entertainment second, not the other way around.”
The second time red flags were brought out was met with widespread criticism as Kevin Magnussen’s late crash was followed by utter mayhem.
Eventually, Carlos Sainz dropped to P12, while Alpine driver Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were forced to exit the race due to a crash.