Australian Grand Prix winner George Russell put an off-kilter start to the first Formula 1 race of the year down to having no battery power left on the grid, opening the door to Charles Leclerc at the start.
Both Russell and team-mate Kimi Antonelli endured difficult starts to the race at Albert Park. Russell slipped to second as Leclerc made a fast start to grab the lead, while Antonelli dropped to seventh as he was swarmed by the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Arvid Lindblad, and Isack Hadjar.
Although Russell needed to recover and duly battled with Leclerc for the lead in the opening laps – a battle that, initially, he appeared to lose – the appearance of the virtual safety car for Hadjar’s stopped Red Bull ensured that Russell could stop relatively cheaply.
Ferrari ultimately did not respond in either of the earlier VSC periods, allowing Mercedes to move back into first and second.
Russell said that, after the start, it was difficult to hang onto the lead owing to the different deployment strategies used early in the race – and also with the straight-line mode causing understeer out of Turn 8.
“I’m feeling incredible. It was a hell of a fight at the beginning,” Russell said.
“We knew it was going to be challenging. I got on the grid and I saw my battery level – I had nothing in the tank! I made a bad start and then obviously there were some really tight battles with Charles.
“We had this suspicion that it was gonna be a bit of a yo-yo effect and as soon as one of us got in front, it just felt impossible to hold it.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
“Obviously, with this straight mode we lose a lot of the front end on the car, so we’re sort of just understeering a lot around these corners. So I’m sure maybe the FIA are going to have to improve that a little bit because it was a bit sketchy.”
Antonelli meanwhile had to exhibit a recovery drive after dropping to seventh, but reeled off moves on the cars ahead to get back on terms with his fellow runners in the top four.
Like Russell, he also hadn’t started the race with enough battery, which left him open to the fast-starting Ferraris and those behind who’d managed to preserve some energy on the formation lap. This wasn’t the first recovery of the weekend; Antonelli shunted in FP3, but his Mercedes team had been able to repair his car in time for qualifying.
“It was the best start [to the season] we could have wished for. Unfortunately, the start was really bad and lost a lot of places and I find myself having to recover,” he said.
“Overall, it was a good race. The pace was very strong, especially at the end and I’m just looking forward to next week!
“The racing was incredible the first few laps, with the overtake it’s powerful and that can give a lot of action. So it was really good fun at the beginning.”
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