Australia’s wait for a hometown victor will extend to a 44th year, and Formula One’s chiefs have been left with numerous headaches as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli held off Ferrari to claim a Mercedes one-two triumph at the Australian Grand Prix.
As has been the case on multiple occasions for the Prancing Horse in recent seasons, an unusual tactical decision, namely not pitting under the first Virtual Safety Car as Mercedes did, came back to bite, Charles LeClerc unable to get close enough after pitting to force the Silver Arrows into a second stop despite nabbing the lead multiple times in the early laps.
F1’s new era promised closer racing and cars that could remain bumper-to-bumper for longer. And if the events of Sunday’s Albert Park, which is notorious for a lack of overtakes, season opener are anything to go by, the sport could be set for its most exciting era yet.
However, their ongoing reliability issues still pose a significant hurdle for the new-breed hybrid vehicles.
Audi’s Niko Hulkenberg didn’t make the start line due to suspected issues with his communication system, while three drivers failed to survive 20 laps before car trouble forced them to watch the afternoon from the sidelines.
Melbournian Oscar Piastri was left heartbroken again as he crashed on a reconnaissance lap, failing to even take his place on the grid.
But the racing itself leaves fans plenty of reasons to be excited.
Ferrari’s anticipated advantage off the line proved an instant game changer as LeClerc stormed into the lead from fourth at the first turn, Russell and Mercedes’ dominant Saturday left in the rear view.
LeClerc and Russell exchanged the lead six times in eight laps before a huge lockup into turn one dropped Russell back into range of veteran Lewis Hamilton.
Isak Hadjar, who produced his best-ever qualifying to start third, was out of the race after his Red Bull engine gave up on lap 12, while lap 18 saw honorary Aussie Valtteri Bottas retire as Cadillac’s debut weekend remained poor.
Ferrari’s extended first stint drew the ire of Hamilton and the seven-time World Champion was proved correct despite he and LeClerc leading the race at the time.
The pair lost the lead when they eventually stopped for fresh tyres, and as the race reached the pointy end, their gambit to force Mercedes into a second stop had failed.
Russell and Antonelli completed 46 and 45 laps respectively on the hards to claim the chequered flag.
To add insult, Hamilton finished off the podium in fourth.
Max Verstappen and reigning champion Lando Norris provided the late race entertainment, battling for fifth with the former having started at the back of the grid after his qualifying crash.
The McLaren man held Verstappen at bay while rookie and Britain’s youngest-ever F1 driver Arvid Lindblad scored points on debut, finishing eighth.
Gabriel Bortoletto also gave Audi their maiden F1 points in ninth.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/f1/formula-1-george-russell-claimed-australian-grand-prix-victory-at-albert-park-c-21873393
