George Russell won the Australian Grand Prix, while Kimi Antonelli finished second, securing a one-two result for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. The opening round of the season confirmed the strong potential of the new W17, which had already been regarded as one of the fastest cars in the championship during pre-season testing.
Russell admitted that the race was extremely intense. According to the British driver, he had a poor start due to a battery issue and was then involved in a tough battle with Charles Leclerc. He also noted that the new cars can be difficult to handle when the Straight Mode is activated, front-end grip decreases and significant understeer appears in the corners. Nevertheless, Russell thanked the team for their hard work and described the Mercedes one-two finish as a perfect start to the season.
Antonelli was also pleased with the result, although he acknowledged that he did not have the best start and lost several positions early in the race. The Italian driver later managed to recover thanks to the car’s strong pace and the intense on-track battles. The team will now focus on preparations for the next round of the championship, the Chinese Grand Prix.
