MELBOURNE (PA Media/dpa): George Russell overcame a chaotic start to Formula One’s new era to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and lay down a significant maker in his world championship bid.
Russell traded the lead with Charles Leclerc on six occasions inside a wild first nine laps at Melbourne’s Albert Park before a Ferrari strategy blunder allowed the British driver to race off into the sunset.
Russell took the chequered flag 2.9 seconds clear of team-mate Kimi Antonelli as Mercedes completed a comfortable one-two with Leclerc holding off Lewis Hamilton for third.
Hamilton, who at one stage was involved in a frenetic three-way fight with Russell and Leclerc for the lead, finished just six tenths behind Leclerc as his wait for a Ferrari podium goes on.
World champion Lando Norris crossed the line in fifth, a sobering 51 seconds behind Russell. Max Verstappen recovered from 20th to take sixth place with Ollie Bearman and British rookie Arvid Linblad an impressive seventh and eighth.
Oscar Piastri’s race was over before it even started after he dropped his McLaren at Turn 4 and crashed into the barrier as he made his way to the grid.
The home favourite’s bizarre collision with the wall was the precursor to a fascinating start, which saw Leclerc thread his way from fourth to first by the first corner.
In the other Ferrari, Hamilton also propelled himself up the order as he launched three places to third.
Russell, so impressive over one lap on qualifying, was now the meat in a Ferrari sandwich. On the second lap, Russell flew past Leclerc and, in the old regulations, that might have been that.
However, the compromise of using the new-for 2026 overtake mode meant Russell’s battery did not have as much juice as Leclerc’s and the Mercedes man was vulnerable to attack.
So on the next lap, Leclerc was back ahead of Russell and that is how it stayed until the eighth lap. Russell zoomed ahead of Leclerc only for the Ferrari man to fight his way back past.
At the start of lap nine, Russell launched his Mercedes underneath Leclerc’s Ferrari at the opening corner, but he carried too much speed, locked up his front-left tyre, and Leclerc was back in the lead once more. Suddenly, Hamilton was in contention, too.
But on lap 11, Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull was up in smoke, and inadvertently, Ferrari’s hopes, too. With Hadjar’s Red Bull at the side of the road, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed.
In came the leading cars to change tyres, but Ferrari kept both drivers out.
"At least one of us should have come in,” said Hamilton over the radio as it dawned on the seven-time world champion that the blundering Italian team had messed up.
When the VSC ended on lap 14, Hamilton was informed Russell, now fitted with fresh tyres, was just 10 seconds back. "How are they only 10 seconds behind,” he snapped back.
Leclerc finally stopped for new rubber on lap 25. Russell sailed ahead of Hamilton on lap 28 to take the lead before the Ferrari man came in for a new set of tyres.
Russell declared his one-stop strategy would get him to the end of the race and so it materialised with the 28-year-old cruising to the chequered flag, lapping everyone up to sixth, to deliver on his status as the title favourite.
"Very nice,” said a delighted Russell on the radio. "I like I this car I like this engine.”
Aston Martin’s horror start to 2026 continued with Fernando Alonso one of five drivers who failed to make it to the end. Lance Stroll, who was in and out of the pits with multiple mechanical problems, was an extraordinary 15 laps behind when it ended. -- dpa
