Australian Grand Prix: Cadillac Debuts As George Russell Wins Season-Opening Race In Mercedes One-two Finish

George Russell opened the new Formula One season, winning the first Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia, as home favourite, McLaren's Oscar Piastri crashed out in Mercedes' one-two podium finish. 

Russell was dominant from the start to the finish, despite facing repeated challenges from Charles Leclerc. The Briton kept his car bolting down the lane and finished quickest in 1:23:06.801 seconds, followed in second place by his teammate, Kimi Antonelli. It was Mercedes' first one-two podium position in a Grand Prix win in Melbourne since 2019.  

Russel battled through laps against the Ferraris, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. On multiple occasions, the provisional pole was shared between Russell and Leclerc. Ferrari's pit stops for hard tyres worked in favour of Russell and Antonelli. The Mercedes led on from Lap 30 through to the finish line. 

The season-opening race was a huge disappointment for McLaren, as neither the F1 defending champion, Lando Norris, was near the front row throughout the race. Piastri crashed out on his way out of the pit lane. Norris was alone to defend the team. 

Red Bull was not the racing team of the past seasons. Max Verstappen finished sixth behind Norris. Despite Norris pitting for the second time for hard tyres after closely trailing Verstappen, the four-time champion was unable to use that to his advantage. However, Max blamed his tyres for his performance. Neither could Isack Hadjar live up to his performance at the qualifying session. He retired due to an engine failure midway through the race.

Cadillac's debut saw a little improvement on the part of Sergio Perez, who improved from the back row of the starting grid to finish ahead of the Aston Martin duo, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. However, Valtteri Bottas, a 10-time Grand Prix winner, retired from the race, following a car. 

List of Australian  Grand Prix Top 10 Drivers 

George Russell (Mercedes)...1:23:06.801s

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

Lando Norris (McLaren) 

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 

Oliver Bearman (Haas) 

David Lindblad (Racing Bull)

Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) 

Pierre Gasly (Alpine)