George Russell immediately lived up to his role as favorite in Melbourne. The Mercedes driver wins the Australian GP in dominant fashion, with a gap of over fifteen seconds to third-place Charles Leclerc. The two Mercedes drivers – Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished second – were a class above the rest of the field.
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The Mercedes driver didn’t get off the line immediately at the start and was overtaken by Charles Leclerc. A long battle between the two then broke out. Due to different pit stop strategies, Russell also found himself in a fight for the lead with Lewis Hamilton halfway through the race, but on lap 28 he passed his former teammate. The Briton then pulled away quickly from the Ferrari driver, closely followed by teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and did not relinquish the lead again.
‘Happy that I crossed the finish line’
“It was really a huge fight at the start,” Russell reflects after the race on the only moment his victory was in jeopardy. “We knew it would be challenging. I got onto the grid and saw that my battery wasn’t charged at all. Then I had a poor start and a number of battles with Charles. I was therefore really happy when I crossed the finish line. I especially want to thank the whole team. This car has been a long time in the making, and we couldn’t start the season any better.”
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According to Russell, the Grand Prix – despite the significant lead with which he eventually won the race – was anything but easy to win. Mainly because of the fight with Leclerc, where the drivers constantly overtook each other. “I’m glad you (the fans, ed.) enjoyed it,” the brand-new winner continues. “We already thought it would be a game of musical chairs (during overtaking maneuvers, ed.), and every time one of us got ahead of the other, it was impossible to hold the position.” Due to the new cars, the driver did suffer from understeer at some moments in the race and hopes that the FIA will still look into that.
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Read everything about the Australian GP here
