MELBOURNE, Australia — George Russell claimed victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix Sunday at Albert Park.
The British driver led teammate Kimi Antonelli to the checkered flag to secure a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of the Ferrari duo in an action-packed event that saw the Silver Arrows make a one-stop strategy work to their favor.
“Honestly, thank you so much to the whole team because it’s been a long time coming to have this car beneath us and we couldn’t start off in a better way,” Russell said. “We had this suspicion that it was going to 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.
“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. It was a bit sketchy, but I made it in one piece and I’m just glad to be 1-2.”
A thrilling start to the race saw Charles Leclerc surge forward from fourth on the grid, seizing the lead from Russell before the two continued to swap positions over the next few laps.
Both Mercedes cars subsequently pitted when a Virtual Safety Car was deployed due to Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar pulling off the track – while the Ferraris opted to stay out.
Another VSC phase followed due to the retirement of Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas, during which Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton again remained out on track.
When the Scuderia’s drivers later made their stops, Russell and Antonelli returned to the front – leading to questions over how each team’s strategy calls would unfold, given that Ferrari looked likely to run until the end of the race while Mercedes may potentially have to stop again.
Despite their aging tires, the Silver Arrows stayed out until the finish, with the Scuderia pair having not closed in enough to pressure the leading duo into making another stop – and the plan worked. Russell crossed the line 2.9 seconds ahead of Antonelli to secure a sixth career victory.
Leclerc and Hamilton were forced to settle for third and fourth, with reigning world champion Lando Norris following in fifth for McLaren.
Max Verstappen drove his Red Bull machine from 20th on the grid to finish sixth. Oliver Bearman was seventh for Haas F1.
Sergio Perez brought his Cadillac home 16th in the first race for the team.
