By STEWART BELL Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Mercedes’ George Russell won a thrilling season-opening Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, with teammate Kimi Antonelli following him home, after a double-stacked pit stop under the virtual safety car outmaneuvered a lightning-quick start by Ferrari.
Mercedes said this was its 132nd GP victory overall and 61st 1-2 finish.
“We knew it was going to be challenging,” Russell said. “I go onto the grid; I saw my battery level. I have nothing in the tank, made a bad start and honestly some really tight battles with Charles (Leclerc).
“I was really glad to cross the finish line, but honestly, thank you so much for the whole team because it’s been a long time coming to have this car beneath us, and I’m yeah, going to start off in a better way.”
Pole sitter Russell had a sluggish start, as did Antonelli who dropped to seventh, allowing Ferrari’s Leclerc — making best use of his quicker getaway — to take the lead into turn one.
The Monégasque then diced for the top spot with Russell, passing and repassing, before the lap 12 deployment of the virtual safety car to cover the stopped Red Bull of Isack Hadjar saw both Mercedes cars take an opportunistic pit stop — a move that proved decisive.
Russell’s teammate was relieved to fight back to second, having dropped down to seventh at the start before weaving his way back into the podium positions.
“Yeah, the racing was incredible,” Antonelli said. “The first few laps, the overtake is so powerful that you can give a lot of action. So, it was really good fun at the beginning and yeah, now, a bit of rest and looking forward to China.”
Ferrari outmaneuvered
Leclerc was third for his first podium for Ferrari since Mexico last year, with the 28-year-old frustrated to not go one place higher after the Scuderia erred by failing to follow Mercedes’ quick thinking for a cheap pit stop under the virtual safety car, when the rest of the field drove at a slower pace.
Leclerc, though, didn’t think the win was possible.
“I don’t think so, but maybe I’m wrong,” he said. “Yeah, it looked like Mercedes maybe had a bit more pace than us today. But, maybe not as much as what we saw yesterday, so that’s a good thing. But I don’t think we could have won.”
Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton was fourth, 0.6 seconds behind at the flag, having chased him hard in the closing laps. The seven-time world champion was vocal over the radio at Ferrari’s apparent strategic blunders.
“At least one of us should have come in,” Hamilton said as both Mercedes’ pitted.
Sorry day for McLaren
Earlier, the local fans in the stands were disappointed after McLaren’s Oscar Piastri crashed out on the way to the grid at the exit of turn four, likely due to an energy spike in his power unit, which ruled him out of his home race before the start.
Lando Norris, the sole McLaren in the race after Piastri’s crash, closed out the top five. The reigning world champion not only moved up one place from sixth on the grid but in the closing laps, fought off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who rocketed from 20th on the grid to finish sixth. The Dutchman was the last racer to finish on the lead lap, albeit 54.6 seconds behind winner Russell.
Oliver Bearman was seventh, up from 12th on the grid, and the sole Haas to finish in the points, with his teammate Esteban Ocon finishing 11th. Bearman finished ahead of 2026’s sole rookie, Arvid Lindblad, who scored four points on his F1 debut for eighth place — but was as high as fourth during the race.
Gabriel Bortoleto was ninth for German giant Audi’s first points in its first race, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly closed out the top-10, earning his first point since last year’s São Paulo Grand Prix.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing