George Russell weaved his way through a chaotic start to the Australian Grand Prix to claim the victory that set up his world championship challenge in perfect style.
The British driver started on pole but exchanged the lead with Ferrari’s super fast-starting Charles Leclerc. The pair exchanged the lead six times in the first nine laps, but, lo and behold, Ferrari then conspired to fall asleep on the pit wall. Give the melatonin pills a miss, guys.
It is probable that Russell would have won at Albert Park anyway, his Mercedes quick, but Ferrari were right in the fight when a virtual safety car came out after Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull emitted a billow of smoke. No great drama there but it provided a chance to be capitalised upon.
Russell was summoned in, a lap after his team-mate Kimi Antonelli, and reshod. It was the right move. The Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, running first and third in a nip-and-tuck battle, stayed out.
As Hamilton said over the radio: ‘At least one of us should have come in.’
Quite right. But it was too late.
George Russell (pictured) got his 2026 Formula One season off with a bang, claiming victory in Melbourne on Sunday
The British driver (second from right) started on pole but exchanged the lead with Ferrari’s super fast-starting Charles Leclerc (right)
It is probable that Russell (centre) would have won at Albert Park anyway, his Mercedes quick, but Ferrari were right in the fight when a virtual safety car came out after Isack Hadjar ’s Red Bull emitted a billow of smoke
Russell was in at the end of lap 12; Hamilton not until lap 29, without the assistance of a safety car. By then Russell had passed Leclerc, himself in after 25 laps, for the lead. Russell then romped away to victory, confirming his status as title favourite. Antonelli, who started second, finished as runner-up – a big day for Mercedes on the first day of major regulation changes for the sport, with Leclerc third, 20 seconds back, and Hamilton fourth, six-tenths adrift of his team-mate on what was an encouraging day for him.
The chassis and engine have been radically remodelled. Power is now derived almost 50-50 between an internal combustion engine and electric propulsion, powered by a battery that requires recharging and managing each lap.
Battery charge is achieved in several ways. During braking. By running the engine at high revs (so low gears) in corners. By lifting and coasting at the end of straights.
And – this is where the excitement came in early on – as Russell, Leclerc and Hamilton exploited the new regulations – deploying extra power built up at crucial moments of jousting.
Using the overtake mode, you burn more energy and then do not have as much energy as the driver you have overtaken. That makes you vulnerable to attack. That is why the lead changed hands so many times, Russell once faltering as he locked up under Leclerc’s pursuit, but a lot of it a result of the results shift.
The sport was on trial given the new regulations and the action was not as madcap as many predicted. It was not a bad race.
Russell and Leclerc swapped the lead six times in the first nine laps of the race
Melbourne favourite Oscar Piastri crashed at Turn 4 on the way to the grid, his car was subsequently removed from the track
Russell was totally dominant, his pole a masterclass in calmness, and he lapped all but the top six, comprising Lando Norris in fifth and Verstappen sixth having started 20th
The four top teams, Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull are in a league of their own – miles away from the rest, and that is a problem
There were three in-race retirees – Hadjar, Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso – while the Melbourne favourite Oscar Piastri crashed at Turn 4 on the way to the grid. That was not what a crowd of 137,869, many wearing green and gold, had bargained for. Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi was also wheeled into the garage before the garage.
And Aston Martin – a disaster. As well as Alonso’s retirement, Lance Stroll was pulled in for some changes but finished 15 laps back, 10 seconds off the pace. I mean, that is barely credible. The big-spending team’s dreams of the title as distant as Pluto.
Russell was totally dominant, his pole a masterclass in calmness, and he lapped all but the top six, comprising Lando Norris in fifth and Verstappen sixth having started 20th.
The four top teams, Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull are in a league of their own – miles away from the rest, and that is a problem.
British rookie Arvid Lindblad was eighth on his debut for Racing Bulls, a good day for him. His compatriot Ollie Bearman was a place higher in seventh for Haas.
But it was Russell punching the air as God Save the King was played, a smile across his face that told of his own belief that he is the man to beat and may remain so for some time.
