George Russell took a cushty victory within the Australian Grand Prix initially of a brand new period of Method 1 after a quick early scrap with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Russell and Leclerc staged an in depth combat for the primary 10 laps with frequent lead adjustments earlier than Ferrari’s determination to remain out throughout a digital security automobile interval took them out of competition for the win.
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The Briton led house team-mate Kimi Antonelli whereas Leclerc needed to be happy with the ultimate podium place forward of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris completed fifth, keeping off a problem within the closing laps from Crimson Bull’s Max Verstappen, who recovered from twentieth on the grid to complete sixth.
Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri crashed on his solution to the grid of his house race, dropping management over a kerb and spinning into the wall.
Arvid Lindblad, 18, grew to become the youngest Briton to race in F1 and impressed on his debut to take eighth behind countryman Oliver Bearman within the Haas.
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The important thing tales of a race that light in curiosity after early pleasure had been:
Mercedes’ dominant victory to mark a return to the entrance of F1 after 4 troublesome years
Questions over Ferrari’s technique – once more
Was it racing, or simply vitality administration?
How Russell gained
Russell’s pole place – 0.8 seconds away from the quickest non-Mercedes automobile – had despatched shockwaves by way of the paddock on Saturday however the race was initially a lot nearer than qualifying.
Each Ferrari drivers made their anticipated electrical begins, and Leclerc vaulted from fourth on the grid to take the lead on the first nook.
Russell powered previous the Ferrari on lap two between Turns 10 and 11 by utilizing additional electrical vitality.
However Leclerc was to not go down with out a combat and drove previous the Mercedes in a similar way on the run to Flip 9 on lap three.
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Russell tracked Leclerc intently, difficult him into Flip One on lap 9 just for the Ferrari driver to fend him off and depart Russell to combat to retain his place from Hamilton, who made it a three-car prepare within the lead.
Antonelli, who had dropped again to seventh initially, then joined them to make it 4 vehicles within the main group after 10 laps, they usually circulated collectively till Isack Hadjar’s Crimson Bull retired on lap 12.
The Frenchman, who had been working fifth, pulled off on the again straight, bringing out the digital security automobile, often the set off for groups to pit and profit from the lowered time loss in contrast with pitting beneath racing situations.
However whereas Russell and Antonelli pitted, Leclerc and Hamilton didn’t. Hamilton instantly questioned the decision, saying over the radio: “A minimum of one in all us ought to have pitted.”
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As a substitute, they ran lengthy, sticking to their pre-race plan of a one-stop technique.
By the point Leclerc pitted on lap 25, Russell was solely 5 seconds off the lead, and the Ferrari emerged 14 seconds behind.
On brisker tyres, Leclerc might need been anticipated to slender the hole to Russell, however he didn’t, and the combat on the entrance was over.
Extra to comply with
The broken McLaren of Oscar Piastri is pushed away on a truck after he crashed on the best way to the grid earlier than the Australian Grand Prix [Getty Images]
