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George Russell claims a dominant Australian GP win as Formula 1 new era begins. Ferrari strategy doubts and intense early battles shape the dramatic race.
At the start of the new Formula 1 season, George Russell comfortably won the Australian Grand Prix. After a brief initial battle with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, the race was a new era of Formula 1.
Russell and Leclerc battled closely for the first 10 laps, with the lead changing hands frequently, but Ferrari's decision to stay out during the Virtual Safety Car period put him out of contention for victory.
The Briton led his teammate Kimi Antonelli, while Leclerc had to settle for a final podium position ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Russell said, "I'm feeling great. It was a tough battle at the start. We knew it was going to be tough, and I went to the grid and noticed my battery was low."
"I had a bad start and obviously had some very tough battles with Charles, so I was very happy to cross the finish line."
McLaren's World Champion Lando Norris finished fifth, holding off a challenge in the final laps from Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who recovered from 20th on the grid to finish sixth.
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Norris's teammate Oscar Piastri crashed on the way to the grid at his home race, losing control on a kerb and experiencing a sudden spike of power that sent him crashing into the wall.
Arvid Lindblad, 18, became the youngest Briton to race in F1 and impressed on his debut, finishing eighth behind compatriot Oliver Bearman for Haas.
The key stories from a race that saw interest dwindle after initial excitement were:
- Mercedes' resounding victory, returning to the forefront of F1 after four difficult years
- Ferrari's strategy questioned again
- A new kind of racing with increased hybrid power and new overtaking methods
How Russell won
Russell's pole position – 0.8 seconds ahead of the fastest non-Mercedes car – created a stir in the paddock on Saturday, but the race was initially much closer than qualifying.
Both Ferrari drivers made expected electric starts, and Leclerc overtook the Ferrari from fourth on the grid to take the lead at the first corner.
Russell used extra electrical energy between Turns 10 and 11 on lap two to overtake the Ferrari.
But Leclerc wasn't going down without a fight and overtook the Mercedes in a similar fashion on lap three, racing into Turn Nine.
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Russell tracked Leclerc closely. He challenged for the lead at Turn One on lap nine, but the Ferrari driver held him off, leaving Russell to fight to maintain his position against Hamilton, who had by now joined the leading line of cars.
Antonelli, who had initially fallen to seventh before being overtaken by the Red Bulls of Norris, Lindblad, and Isaac Hadjer, then joined them, and after 10 laps there were four cars in the leading group, and they continued to race together until Hadjer retired on lap 12.
The French driver, who was running fifth, spun on the back straight, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car, which is usually triggered by teams pitting and taking advantage of the time loss compared to pitting in racing conditions.
But while Russell and Antonelli pitted, Leclerc and Hamilton did not. Hamilton immediately questioned the call, saying on the radio: "At least one of us should have pitted."
Instead, he ran for a long distance, sticking to his pre-race plan of a one-stop strategy.
When Leclerc took a pit stop on lap 25, Russell was just five seconds behind him, and the Ferrari was 14 seconds off the lead.
On fresh tyres, Leclerc might have been expected to close the gap on Russell, but he didn't, and the battle for the lead was over.
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