George Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix to get his world championship bid up and running as Mercedes overcame a gripping early challenge from Ferrari to finish first and second in Melbourne.
Polesitter Russell had lost out to Charles Leclerc and was under pressure from Lewis Hamilton too during an incredible start to the first race of F1’s new rules era after the Ferraris had, as widely expected, catapulted off the line from fourth and seventh on the grid.
Leclerc overtook Russell into Turn One – the first of an incredible seven changes of lead between the pair in the opening nine laps as they traded positions with amazing regularity as F1’s new racing tactics and energy deployment modes played out in dramatic live style.
Leclerc emerged at the end of that action-packed early phase still in lead from Russell and Hamilton but the race turned on lap 11 when Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull broke down on track to initiate a Virtual Safety Car period.
Mercedes took the chance to pit both of their cars – including Antonelli, who had dropped backwards from second on the grid at the start with deployment issues – but Ferrari stopped neither of theirs.
They also chose not to pit during a second brief VSC when Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac stopped near the entry to the pit lane.
The Scuderia’s cars instead went all the way to lap 26 and lap 29 in the lead respectively before changing tyres in normal racing conditions but, despite their tyre advantage for the rest of the race, Mercedes’ pace on older rubber was such that Russell and Antonelli were able to stay ahead and, crucially, avoid having to make another pit stop.
“What Ferrari gave up was track position and they lost control of the race,” said Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle.
“That was the critical thing.”
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Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s Ferraris rocket away at the start of the Australian GP
With Russell beating Antonelli by 2.9s, Leclerc finished 15 seconds behind the leading Silver Arrow – although only just ahead of Hamilton, whose wait for a first Ferrari podium just remained tantalisingly out of reach as the seven-time champion caught his team-mate in the race’s closing laps to offer encouragement for a better second season in red.
With Mercedes and Ferrari clear of the pack in race trim – as had been expected after pre-season testing – McLaren and Red Bull, the fastest cars at the end of last season, had to settle for a distant battle for fifth between reigning world champion Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
Norris won out, although Verstappen could still be content with his recovery drive from 20th on the grid after qualifying in qualifying. Both drivers made two pit stops.
While Hadjar retired when running well from third on the grid early on, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri did not even make the start as the Australian suffered home heartbreak when he crashed on the way to the grid before the race.
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Home hero Oscar Piastri crashes on way to the Australian GP grid
All five British drivers in the 2026 field finished in the top eight and therefore scored points.
Haas’ Oliver Bearman was seventh while 18-year-old debutant Arvid Lindblad capped a stellar debut weekend in F1 with a fine eighth for Racing Bulls.
Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto – whose team-mate Nico Hulkenberg did not take the start on technical grounds – was ninth ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in 10th.
More to follow..
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
