Australian GP red-flagged after Albon, Magnussen accidents

Albon was running in sixth place but lost the rear of the FW45 through Turn 7 to career across the gravel trap and nose heavily into the barrier before bouncing back towards the asphalt.

The Thai-Briton lost the front wing and damaged the rear wing in the immediate impact before the car came to rest over the kerbs and was unable to continue.

An initial safety car was deployed before the race was halted due to the gravel - which showered the passing Alpine of Pierre Gasly - and debris that has been dragged onto the track.

The stoppage appears to have hurt early leader George Russell.

The Mercedes driver enjoyed a superior launch over polesitter Max Verstappen to challenge the Red Bull, then cemented first place with the inside line into Turn 1.

The two-time champion was delayed at corner exit to hold up second row-starter Lewis Hamilton, but the second Mercedes then dived down the inside into Turn 3.

Hamilton came out on top to take second in a robust battle, for which Verstappen's claims that he had been run out of room were dismissed.

With the advantage of track position, Mercedes opted to pit Russell in a slightly slow 3.6s stop and he rejoined in seventh place.

However, the red flag will deny the advantage of taking a theoretically quicker pitstop behind the safety car, as Hamilton and Verstappen can change tyres under red flag conditions.

Similarly, fourth-running Carlos Sainz also pitted initially but has been bumped back to 11th.

Second red flag

The race was red-flagged for a second time to tee up a two-lap showdown for victory between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

After a crash for Albon on lap nine of 58 forced the race to be halted due to gravel and debris on track, proceedings were stopped for the second time on lap 56.

The red flag was caused by Kevin Magnussen running wide out of Turn 2 to glance the wall, which ripped the rear-right hard compound Pirelli off the wheel rim of the Haas.

While Magnussen brought the car to a controlled stop, the rim came to a rest on track while the FIA noted further debris to render a full safety car insufficient.

After Verstappen lost four seconds by locking up and running over at the penultimate corner, his advantage over the chasing Mercedes of Hamilton has now been wiped out.