George Russell wins Australian Grand Prix as Mercedes make early statement

[p]The pole-sitting Briton took the chequered flag by 2.974secs in Melbourne with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leclerc-charles/KlCOSRub/"]Leclerc[/a] third and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hamilton-lewis/tI5Vpe1h/"]Lewis Hamilton[/a] fourth in a race that tested Formula 1's new-look cars for the first time in competitive conditions.[/p][p]World champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/norris-lando/WSVABbVF/"]Lando Norris[/a] came fifth - 51 seconds adrift - in his McLaren with Red Bull's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verstappen-max/UV3mgeXB/"]Max Verstappen[/a] a sensational sixth after starting from 20th following a crash in qualifying.[/p][p]But there was disaster for home hero [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/piastri-oscar/MqKAIeUf/"]Oscar Piastri[/a], who crashed on his out-lap to the grid and failed to start with major damage to his McLaren.[/p][p]With the virtual safety car repeatedly brought out, pre-season favourite [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/russell-george/xxF56RaN/"]Russell[/a] stayed calm to clock a sixth Grand Prix win and his first since Singapore last year.[/p][p][b]"Feeling incredible. It was a hell of a fight in the beginning,"[/b] said Russell. [b]"We knew it was going to be challenging.[/b][/p][p][b]"I made a bad start and some really tight battles with Charles at the start. Just really glad to cross the finish line."[/b][/p][embed guid="aedf8e28-0ec6-42a5-9025-f9f7b6178478" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2030515578104946850" social-type="twitter" /][p]Under new rules, half of every power unit is now a battery and drivers had to recharge while braking or by lifting off the throttle to avoid it draining.[/p][p]The challenge of Melbourne's 58-lap Albert Park circuit was its long sweeping straights, which deplete batteries, and relatively few twisty turns to brake and charge it up again.[/p][p]Five cars failed to finish as they grappled with the changes, including Piastri, Audi's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hulkenberg-nico/GfW4SMu7/"]Nico Hulkenberg[/a], Red Bull's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hadjar-isack/8SAk38Ui/"]Isack Hadjar[/a], Cadillac's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bottas-valtteri/bRJJqiGb/"]Valtteri Bottas[/a] and Aston Martin's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alonso-fernando/rVRhR90U/"]Fernando Alonso[/a].[/p][h2]Strong pace[/h2][p][b]"Was not the best start we could have wished for, lost a lot of places and I had to recover,"[/b] said Italy's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/antonelli-andrea-kimi/ptGu0mT1/"]Antonelli[/a], who crashed heavily on Saturday and only just made qualifying after a major car rebuild.[/p][p][b]"But overall was a good race, the pace was really strong, especially at the end."[/b][/p][p]In fine conditions, Haas' [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bearman-oliver/tMI3u5xo/"]Ollie Bearman[/a] was seventh and rookie [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lindblad-arvid/bgk1rl5a/"]Arvid Lindblad[/a] eighth in his Racing Bull. Audi's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bortoleto-gabriel/8zwcIVil/"]Gabriel Bortoleto[/a] and Alpine's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gasly-pierre/nqYFMBBf/"]Pierre Gasly[/a] rounded out the top 10.[/p][p][b]"It was a very, very tricky race. None of us knew what to expect,"[/b] said Leclerc.[/p][p][b]"It has been quite challenging. It looked like Mercedes had a bit more pace than us today."[/b][/p][embed guid="fba062de-e10b-428e-80cb-a5e6c5492c55" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2030527945584898090" social-type="twitter" /][p]When the lights turned green Leclerc, on medium tyres, got a jump on Russell while Antonelli, who started second, slid down to seventh.[/p][p]Hamilton also had a flying start for Ferrari and surged to third, ahead of Hadjar.[/p][p]Russell immediately hit back, reclaiming the lead on lap two before Leclerc responded a lap later to go first again as they and Hamilton began pulling clear.[/p][p]It morphed into a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle at the front, with the lead changing hands three times on lap eight as Russell and Leclerc fought for supremacy.[/p][p]The virtual safety car came out on lap 12 when Hadjar's car stopped with Russell and Antonelli pitting and coming back on hards.[/p][p]Leclerc and Hamilton stayed out and when they resumed the Ferraris were 10 seconds clear of Russell, with Lindblad, Antonelli and Verstappen making up the top six.[/p][embed guid="68437d17-2fa2-42bf-a53d-e6d1a5216023" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2030518691742224680" social-type="twitter" /][p]The virtual safety car was again deployed when Bottas retired with Russell eight seconds behind the Scuderia when they got going again.[/p][p]With his tyres starting to wear, Leclerc pitted on lap 26 but Hamilton stayed out and was passed by Russell before coming in.[/p][p]Russell radioed that he thought a one-stop race was viable and he began pulling clear, with Antonelli second.[/p][p]And there was no way back for the Ferraris, who were 15 seconds behind and barely made a dent in the Mercedes advantage in the second half of the race.[/p][p]The season moves to China next weekend before Japan. Rounds four and five are scheduled for Bahrain and Saudi Arabia but are under threat given the war in Iran.[/p]