Australian Grand Prix

Double victory for Mercedes, Verstappen’s comeback

George Russell (right) clinched the first victory of the new Formula 1 season.(Bild: GEPA)

Mercedes scored a commanding double victory at the start of the new rules era in Formula 1. World championship favorite George Russell prevailed over his teammate Kimi Antonelli in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were second and third. World champion Lando Norris finished fifth in his McLaren, while Red Bull star Max Verstappen moved up from 20th on the grid to sixth.

Oscar Piastri experienced a huge disappointment. The local hero lost control of his McLaren on the way to the starting grid and crashed into the track barrier, just like Verstappen had done in qualifying the day before. Starting the race was out of the question, and the more than 100,000 fans at the track had to do without their favorite. "The moment I crashed, I had more power than I expected," explained last year's third-placed driver in the world championship. "It's obviously a disappointment, it hurts a lot."

Here are the results in detail:

Blistering start and questionable strategy at Ferrari
Ferrari got off to the expected blistering start. Leclerc took the lead from fourth on the grid and then battled with pole-sitter Russell for several laps. Both drivers obviously used the extra electric power provided by the new powertrains at different sections of the track, resulting in numerous lead changes. Hamilton also briefly joined the battle.

It ended when Isack Hadjar's Red Bull, in his first race as Verstappen's teammate, broke down on lap 11. Russell and Antonelli took advantage of the ensuing virtual safety car to change tires, while Ferrari surprisingly left both drivers on the track. "At least one of us should have come in," Hamilton criticized over the radio. 

The record world champion was proven right: the chance of victory was gone because Ferrari had to make up for the stops in the middle of the race when the two Mercedes cars had already caught up again on fresh tires. Another virtual safety car after Valtteri Bottas's out was not usable because he had to park his defective Cadillac next to the pit entrance. 

Two top teams in a league of their own
Leclerc stopped first, putting Hamilton briefly in the lead. Mercedes controlled the pace in the second half of the race. Russell and Antonelli were consistently around six seconds apart, finishing just under three seconds apart. "I love this car, I love this engine," cheered Englishman Russell over the radio after the sixth GP victory of his career. Leclerc and Hamilton, close behind, drove similar lap times to Mercedes in the finish, but the competition was already well behind the two top teams. Norris finished 51 seconds behind, Verstappen 54. All other drivers were lapped.