The season opener at the Australian Grand Prix delivered drama before the race had even begun, as home favourite Oscar Piastri crashed on his way to the grid and was unable to start in front of his home crowd.
When the lights finally went out, the action only intensified. A lightning start from Charles Leclerc saw him charge from fourth to first at Turn 1, immediately throwing himself into the fight at the front with George Russell and the chasing pack.
Virtual Safety Cars, technical issues, and bold strategy calls kept the order constantly shifting throughout the race, before Russell ultimately came out on top to secure victory and lead Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team to an impressive one-two finish.
Lights out
After a brilliant start for Leclerc, he managed to get from 4th to 1st in Turn 1 to lead the Australian Grand Prix. Antonelli had a worse start from second and was down to seventh.
On his first race, Lindblad gained 5 places to get up to fourth. However, as he was scrapping Hadjar for another place Hamilton passed both drivers to move up position.
Lap 2 saw Russell reclaim the lead from Leclerc in Turn 11. This didn’t last long as Leclerc came back at him a lap later.
Showing off the pace of the Mercedes, Antonelli brought the car up to fourth.
5th change of leader
Russell attacked Leclerc on Lap 8 for the lead once again. However, Leclerc got him back in Turn 9.
A Red Bull’s On Fire
The Red Bull of Hadjar faced a technical fire on Lap 12. He managed to pull over to a safe space and only a Virtual Safety Car was called.
Under the VSC, the pit window opened with Norris taking to the Pit Lane after the top 5 opted to stay out. Norris was followed by Ocon and Gasly.
On the next lap, both Mercedes cars came into the pits, while the Ferraris stayed out. This was met with a call from an unhappy Hamilton on the radio who stated:
“At least one of us should have come in!”
Green Flag
The green flag was waved once again on Lap 14. Ferrari still had another chance to pit both cars before the VSC ended.
Lap 15, Fernando Alonso visited the Pit Lane to retire his car. But on Lap 25, he re-joined the track to continue his race 10 laps behind the rest of the pack.
Another Yellow Flag
A second Virtual Safety Car was called on Lap 19 as Bottas stopped on track with a technical issue. Not an ideal scenario for the honorary Aussie on his first race back.
The position of Bottas’ car meant that the Pit Lane had to close. Both of the Ferraris were still to make their stops.
Green Flag
The Cadillac was removed from the track, and racing was able to begin again on Lap 20.
Ferrari decided to pit Leclerc from the lead on Lap 26. Following a 2.2s stop, he joins the track in fourth – 7s behind Antonelli.
Russell eased past Hamilton for the lead on Lap 28. Hamilton finally made his stop on Lap 29. Another good stop for Ferrari saw him re-emerge 6 seconds behind his teammate.
Alonso Retires
Lap 37 saw the Spaniard bring his Aston Martin into the pits to retire from the race. The retirement was in order to “conserve components”. Similarly, Stroll was also brought into the pits, but joined the race again 15 laps later.
After pitting for fresh tyres, Norris was able to pass Bearman with ease to claim 7th. A few moments later he was also able to pass Lindblad for 6th.
10 Laps Remaining
With only 10 laps to go, Verstappen continued to close in on reigning World Champion, Lando Norris, in the battle for 5th. Hamilton also closed in on his teammate for the final podium position.
Six laps remaining it looked as if Russell was on course for his first win of the season. Meanwhile, Norris was defending from Verstappen with everything he had.
Norris extended the gap between him and Verstappen to two seconds on Lap 56, he had officially seen Verstappen off for the day.
George Russell Wins the Australian Grand Prix!
An ideal start to the season for Mercedes as they claim a one-two. With tough competition, Antonelli matched his career best.
Leclerc held off Hamilton to claim his first podium of the season too – Hamilton is still waiting for his first podium with the team.
Norris was able to hold Verstappen off for the remainder of the race, the reigning World Champion finished in 5th place.
With plenty of overtaking, reliability issues, and tight battles throughout the field, the opening round has already set the stage for what promises to be an exciting season ahead.