Formula 1: George Russell wins Australian Grand Prix after taking advantage of early VSC
· Yahoo Sports
George Russell took advantage of an early virtual safety car and preserved his tires over the final stint to easily win the season-opening Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
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Russell, the betting favorite to win the 2026 championship, started from the pole and traded the lead with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the opening laps of the race. After Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar had an engine problem and was forced to pull off the track, Russell and teammate Kimi Antonelli were among the drivers who pitted for fresh tires on lap 12 of the 58-lap race.
That turned out to be the winning move. While Leclerc and his teammate Lewis Hamilton stayed on the track, the Mercedes cars were able to lose less time on pit road by pitting under the VSC. That became a big deal later in the race, when both Ferrari cars — who were committed to a one-stop strategy themselves — pitted under green and lost more time than the Mercedes cars did.
The prevailing wisdom figured the Mercedes drivers would have to stop a second time because of how early they pitted. But the team’s pace advantage was a massive benefit, as Russell was able to run fast enough laps as his tires wore down in the race’s last 20 laps to prevent the Ferraris from being much of a threat.
Antonelli finished second, with Leclerc in third and Hamilton in fourth. Mercedes and Ferrari had by far the best race pace of any other team; 2025 champion Lando Norris was a distant fifth ahead of Max Verstappen in sixth. Verstappen started 20th after a crash in the first round of qualifying.
New rules lead to more overtakes
The race was the first Grand Prix for F1’s new car rules. The cars have been designed with less downforce and drag and feature power units that rely half on traditional combustion engine technology and half on battery power.
The reliance on battery power has led to a lot of consternation among drivers. Instead of simply trying to go as fast as they can down every straightaway, drivers are forced to manage their battery power in certain sections of the track and even slow down well before corners to preserve the battery charge.
That battery management led to a lot of overtaking, especially in the early stages of the race. The battle between Leclerc and Russell was similar to a video game as they traded the lead as they learned where best to deploy the full power of their cars’ engines.
But you wouldn’t be out of line to feel a sense of emptiness while watching the passing throughout the field. Drivers forced to rely more on their power management ability than their pure driving skill and the excellence of their cars isn’t really what racing is about. Or what F1 has been about, anyway.
Yet this is F1’s new hybrid era. As drivers and teams all figure out where best to deploy their engine power, it reasons that teams will all have more similar power management tendencies as the season goes on. And that could lead to fewer overtaking opportunities for drivers.
Oscar Piastri doesn’t start the race
Oscar Piastri didn’t even get to complete a lap of his home Grand Prix after crashing out on his reconnaissance lap before the race.
Piastri, who was set to start fifth, crashed in Turn 4 after leaving the pit lane to head to the grid. Piastri’s car snapped loose on an upshift and he smashed into the outside wall.
It was a massive disappointment for thousands of fans in attendance who had come to see the only Australian driver in the field.
Aston Martin and Cadillac predictably struggle
There were no surprises from Aston Martin and Cadillac. Both teams’ struggles and lack of pace were on full display as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas both retired.
Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll finished over a dozen laps down and Sergio Perez was also multiple laps behind Russell at the finish.
Cadillac’s struggles are easier to understand than Aston Martin’s. After all, it’s the team’s first season in F1. Aston Martin has been a mainstay in the paddock. However, the team’s new engine partnership with Honda has been a disaster so far thanks to a vibrating car and battery issues. It’s hard to see how things will quickly get better for either team. And it’s anyone’s guess which team will first score a point in a Grand Prix in 2026.
Race 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. Ollie Bearman, Haas
8. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
9. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi
10. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
11. Esteban Ocon, Haas
12. Alex Albon, Williams
13. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
14. Franco Colapinto, Alpine
15. Carlos Sainz, Williams
16. Sergio Perez, Cadillac
17. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
Not Classified: Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin; Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac; Isack Hadjar, Red Bull; Oscar Piastri, McLaren; Nico Hulkenberg, Audi