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MONDAY | MAR 9, 2026

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RESULTS 1. George Russell (Mercedes) 2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 5. Lando Norris (McLaren) 6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 7. Oliver Bearman (Haas) 8. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) 9. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) 10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 11. Esteban Ocon (Haas) 12. Alexander Albon (Williams) 13. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) 15. Carlos Sainz (Williams) 16. Sergio Perez (Cadillac) WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVERS (Top 5) : 1. George Russell (GBR) 25pts , 2. Kimi Antonelli (ITA) 18 , 3. Charles Leclerc (MON) 15 , 4. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 12 , 5. Lando Norris (GBR) 10 . CONSTRUCTORS (Top 5) : 1. Mercedes 43pts , 2. Ferrari 27 , 3. McLaren 10 , 4. Red Bull 8 , 5. Haas 6 . Australian Grand Prix

Race winner Mercedes’ George Russell (right) celebrates alongside runner-up Kimi Antonelli at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park Circuit yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Mercedes 1-2 Down Under

Dominant Russell wins Australian GP after thrilling battle with Ferrari’s Leclerc

G EORGE RUSSELL kept his cool to win a frantic season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday from Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli after a thrilling battle with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The pole-sitting Briton took the chequered flag by 2.974secs in Melbourne with Leclerc third and Lewis Hamilton fourth in a race that tested Formula One’s new-look cars for the first time in competitive conditions. World champion Lando Norris came fifth – 51 seconds adrift – in his McLaren with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a sensational sixth after starting from 20th following a crash in qualify ing. But there was disaster for home hero Oscar Piastri, who crashed on his out-lap to the grid and failed to start with major damage to his McLaren. With the virtual safety car repeatedly brought out, pre-season favourite Russell stayed calm to clock a sixth Grand Prix win and his first since Singapore last year. “Feeling incredible. It was a hell of a fight in the beginning,” said Russell. “We knew it was

match that? Zero chance. “We have to learn from this part of the sea son, the more we learn, the more we under stand, the better we’ll be at the end of the sea son, I was happy with P5.” Shattered home hope Piastri took responsi bility for the crash on his way to the grid that ruled him out of the race, saying he was “very disappointed”. The Australian, who qualified fifth fastest, hit the kerb at Turn 4 and spun into the con crete barriers. It left his McLaren with the front right wheel hanging off and substantial bodywork damage, ending his hopes before the Melbourne race even began. “It’s a shame. Things like that shouldn’t be happening anywhere, especially at my home race where it’s obviously even more disap pointing,” he told reporters. “We need to review fully what happened. I think, I got on the kerb a little bit. “We had a couple of things going on but I think the first part I want to stress is that there is certainly a big element of it that was me,” he added. – AFP/Reuters/The Independent

In fine conditions, Haas’ Ollie Bearman was seventh and rookie Arvid Lindblad eighth in his Racing Bull. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10. “It was a very, very tricky race. None of us knew what to expect,” said Leclerc. “It has been quite challenging. It looked like Mercedes had a bit more pace than us today.” Norris could not hide his disdain towards his current predicament after falling 51.7 sec onds behind Russell and almost a second per lap “We finished where we deserved to, Red Bull is clearly quicker, Max came from last and almost beat us,” a disgruntled Norris said. “We made some tweaks, we’re nowhere near where we need to be, clearly, from a car perspective, we’re a long way off, a long, long way off. “We’re running the same care (as Oscar). This is nothing that is going to happen over night, or one, or two weeks time. I was almost a lap off. “Ferrari, from what we see, have the best car, their cornering speeds are unbelievable, to

going to be challenging. “I made a bad start and some really tight battles with Charles at the start. Just really glad to cross the finish line. “Very nice, I like this car!” Russell added. “I like this engine, great job.” Under new rules, half of every power unit now is a battery and drivers had to recharge while braking or by lifting off the throttle to avoid it draining. The challenge of Melbourne’s 58-lap Albert Park circuit was its long sweeping straights, which deplete batteries, and relatively few twisty turns to brake and charge it up again. Five cars failed to finish as they grappled with the changes, including Piastri, Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. “Was not the best start we could have wished for, lost a lot of places and I had to recover,” said Italy’s Antonelli, who crashed heavily on Saturday and only just made quali fying after a major car rebuild. “But overall was a good race, the pace was really strong especially at the end.”

Mercedes’ George Russell on his way to the chequered flag during yesterday’s race. – REUTERSPIC

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