George Russell has won the Australian Grand Prix with a commanding drive from the front of the grid and with his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in second, securing a strong one-two for the team.
He was ultimately in complete control in the first round of the new Formula One season in Melbourne on Sunday but only after Ferrari had brought a thrilling and feisty scrap to the opening stages, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finishing third and fourth for the Scuderia.
Defending world champion Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren but there was absolute heartbreak however for the local fans as his teammate, the Melbourne-born Oscar Piastri, crashed out on the formation lap to the grid. The McLaren driver clipped the kerb at turn four and was taken by surprise in how much power he had when hitting the throttle and was spun out into the wall, to a collective gasp of despair across Albert Park – an incident for which he held his hands up as part of the learning curve in how these new cars behave.
Max Verstappen delivered a typically determined comeback drive to claim sixth place from 20th on the grid for Red Bull and there was a striking debut for the British rookie Arvid Lindblad who claimed eighth for Racing Bulls, to take points on his F1 debut.
Mercedes did confirm their position as early season favourites with Russell taking the flag three-seconds in front of Antonelli with Leclerc a full 15-second back. However it was only after Leclerc and Hamilton made blisteringly good starts, with the Monegasque taking the lead and proving to have the pace to match and scrap with Russell for the opening laps until Mercedes took advantage of an early VSC and with clean air, fresh rubber and no longer in a toe-to-toe fight, were able to make their superior pace tell. Ferrari in turn might rue not at least matching the Mercedes strategy with one of their cars.
Coming on the back of an absolutely dominant performance in qualifying, in which Russell was the best part of a second in front of Mercedes’s rivals, it demonstrates the car is, in this opening phase, the best of the field. Moreover it looks to be the complete package. The Mercedes engine is clearly delivering no shortage of horses but crucially within the strictures of the energy management, that now plays such a central role in the sport, it is also proving the most efficient at harvesting and deployment of the electrical energy.
But the car too is a world away from the troublesome unpredictable rides the team struggled with through the preceding ground-effect era. As the engine manufacturer, Mercedes have an advantage in knowing how best to exploit it but it is notable that although McLaren, using the same engine, are still far from matching them. In terms of balance and drivability at race pace the Mercedes demonstrated in Melbourne that it was all but on rails.
Russell was made to fight for it in the early stages as Leclerc refused to yield but the British driver held his nerve and made it count after his early stop. Leclerc made an absolutely blistering start from fourth to claim the lead by through the first corner, the Ferrari’s form off the grid demonstrated in testing put to extraordinary use when it mattered. Russell held second and by lap two his superior pace showed as he swept past back into the lead. Hamilton too had made the most of his getaway and moved up to third by lap two.
Leclerc however retook the place a lap later as the energy deployment tactics played their part, while Hamilton closed on them both, with Ferrari showing real race pace that kept them very much in it with the Mercedes. The pair vied with one another for several laps but Russell made another move on lap eight, committing to using his extra energy only for Leclerc to come back at him at the end of the lap as the pair dived past one another three times in short order with Leclerc ultimately emerging still on top by lap nine. The new formula, much as it has been met with derision from drivers, at least offering a sense of the dramatic.
Isack Hadjar had to retire on lap 12, with what appeared to be an engine failure and a VSC was called and both Mercedes pitted a lap later, looking for clear air while Ferrari stayed out, despite Hamilton’s protestations that one of them should have taken a stop. It was key and when Hamilton and Leclerc did stop Russell and Antonelli had the lead from which they could not be caught.
It is Russell’s first win in Australia and the sixth of his career, while Mercedes have not taken the flag in Melbourne since Valtteri Bottas last did so in 2019.
He has opened his account with exactly the statement of intent he required, to lay down a marker to match his status as favourite for the title. On this form and showing the calm assurance he has always promised, he will be hard to beat, especially if Mercedes maintain this level of advantage. However Ferrari will take great heart in that they were in this fight from the off and could very much live with the Mercedes in a wheel-to-wheel fight.
Cadillac opened their account in F1 by achieving what was their opening target at the first attempt in managing to get a car to the flag with Sergio Pérez in 16th. Having built the team from scratch in little over 12 months, it was an impressive achievement. They are off the pace and he was three laps off the lead at the close but Cadillac have started with a solid foundation on which to build.
Audi too made a strong opening for their F1 debut, given they are manufacturing their own engines and having taken over the former Sauber team this year, with Gabriel Bortoleto taking points in ninth place.
Leave a Reply