Australian Grand Prix result: George Russell wins from Kimi Antonelli as new era F1 era begins

Russell’s pole position (0.8 seconds clear of the fastest non-Mercedes car) sent shockwaves through the paddock on Saturday, but the race was initially much closer than qualifying.

Both Ferrari drivers made the expected electric start, with Leclerc jumping from fourth on the grid to take the lead at the first corner.

Russell passed the Ferrari on the second lap, using extra electrical energy between turns 10 and 11.

But Leclerc was not going to give up without a fight and passed the Mercedes in similar fashion heading into Turn Nine on lap three.

Russell followed Leclerc closely and challenged him to enter Turn One on lap nine, but the Ferrari driver fended him off, leaving Russell struggling to maintain his position against Hamilton, who had taken the lead with a three-car train.

Having dropped to seventh at the start, Antonelli later joined them to take the four-car lead group after 10 laps, and they remained together until Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull retired on lap 12.

The Frenchman, running in fifth place, overtook the straight to bring out the virtual safety car; This often triggers teams to pit and benefits from less time loss than pitting in race conditions.

However, while Russell and Antonelli pitted, Leclerc and Hamilton did not. Hamilton immediately questioned the call and said over the radio: “At least one of us should have pitted.”

Instead, they ran for a long time, sticking to the pre-race one-stop strategy.

When Leclerc pitted on lap 25, Russell was just five seconds behind and Ferrari was 14 seconds behind.

With newer tyres, Leclerc might have been expected to narrow the gap to Russell, but he did not and the battle at the front ended.