Mercedes driver George Russell struck first in the Formula One championship, beating off an early challenge from Ferrari ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Pole-sitter Russell’s first win in qualifying at Albert Park on Sunday confirmed Mercedes’ pre-season form, giving the team their first Melbourne victory since Valtteri Bottas in 2019.
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“I like this car. I like this engine. Great job,” Russell said over the team radio after crossing the checkered flag.
“Good job, everybody. It’s been a long time. It’s been a long time to have this car under us.”
Benefiting from an early change of tyres, the British driver drifted more than 15 seconds after his team’s tire strategy failed, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third, nearly three seconds ahead of Italian Antonelli.
It was a tough day for McLaren with home hero Oscar Piastri’s race starting with a crash on the reconnaissance lap 40 minutes before the start.
His teammate and defending champion Lando Norris finished fifth, one place behind the Ferrari of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton – but more than 50 seconds after Russell passed.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was sixth for Red Bull after starting 20th on the grid following a crash in qualifying on Saturday. His teammate Isak Hajjar suffered an early retirement.
‘Hell of a Fight’
Russell engaged in a thrilling opening duel with Leclerc, the pair swapping the lead seven times in the opening nine laps.
“It was a hell of a fight in the beginning,” Russell said.
“I had a bad start and some tight battles with Charles at the start – really nice to cross the finish line.”
The turning point in Hudger’s retirement between Mercedes and the rest was the final one. His Red Bull car stopped on lap 12, smoke billowing from the rear, triggering a virtual safety car.
Mercedes called both their drivers into the pit, swapped the medium tires for the hard compounds and they rode the final 45 laps without issue.
Ferrari was out, much to the chagrin of Hamilton, who complained that at least one of the team’s drivers should have gone in.
Leclerc was unconvinced that Ferrari could have come out on top even if they had taken an earlier stop.
“I was happy to get out of the war at first, but then it didn’t help us,” he said.
“I don’t think we can win.”
Ferrari sandwich
Fourth on the grid, Leclerc had a terrific start, sneaking through a tight gap between Hudger and Russell to grab the lead at the first corner.
With Piastre out of the race, Hamilton had a clear race ahead of him and soon moved from seventh to third, leaving Russell sandwiched between Ferraris.
Fierce racing ensued as Leclerc and Russell battled wheel-to-wheel, and Russell was almost dislodged when he locked up during a skirmish on the ninth lap.
While the Mercedes cars pitted early on, Leclerc finally came through on lap 26, and Hamilton followed a couple of laps after giving Russell the lead.
With team-mate Antonelli one behind, Russell was confident that one stop would be enough and so he burned away from the Ferraris for a resounding victory.
Haas’ Oliver Bearman finished seventh, the best of the younger teams, while 18-year-old rookie Arvid Lindblad, the youngest British F1 racer, finished eighth, scoring points in his debut race for Racing Bulls.
Audi driver Gabriel Bortoletto in ninth and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10.
New team Cadillac had an underwhelming race debut in Formula One, with Bottas retiring early and teammate Sergio Perez finishing 16th, last in the classified results.
Struggling Aston Martin saw two-time world champion Fernando Alonso retire after 21 laps and a lengthy spell in the garage.
His teammate Lance Stroll managed 43 laps and held on to the finish, but the result was not classified.
Only 20 of the 22 cars started with Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg scratched shortly before the race due to reliability issues.
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