Russell elated after coming through "a hell of a fight" to take F1 season-opener in Oz

HANDS UP: Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain celebrates on the podium after winning the Australian Formula One Grand Prix with second placed teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, left, of Italy at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Scott Barbour)

George Russell said he overcame a "hell of a fight" to land an "incredible" win in Australia and lay down a heavyweight marker in his world championship bid.

Pole-sitter Russell lost out to a fast-starting Charles Leclerc at the first corner in Melbourne before going on to trade the lead with his Ferrari rival five times during a frenetic start.

At the beginning of the ninth lap, Russell locked up under braking as he attempted to clear Leclerc, but their yo-yo battle ended when Isack Hadjar stopped with an engine failure and the Virtual Safety Car was deployed.

Russell pitted for new tyres but Ferrari erroneously kept Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton out on track. Ferrari's blunder allowed Russell to race to the chequered flag unopposed.

"I am feeling incredible," said Russell. "It was a hell of a fight at the beginning.

"I had some really tight battles with Charles, so I was glad to cross the finish line. It's been a long time coming to have this car beneath us."

Russell, 28, joined Mercedes when their stranglehold on the sport came to an end.

But the Englishman, now in his fourth season there, has a car to fight for the biggest prize in motor racing with Mercedes positioning themselves as the team to beat. In the other car, Kimi Antonelli dropped to seventh but finished a comfortable second in the end.

"The most important feeling is so much contentment we feel as a team," said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

"We had such a long winning stretch, winning eight championships. Then a difficult period. But after a solid one-two, you feel you are fighting for a world title.

"Ferrari were strong and in the fight. We have a contest on our hands. But the most contentment is that Mercedes are back."

Indeed in the early laps, Russell had been the meat in a Scuderia sandwich after rocket-launch getaways from Leclerc and Hamilton propelled them each three places to first and third respectively. However, both men fell out of contention when they failed to pit under the VSC.

But despite Ferrari's strategy blunder, there were encouraging takeaways for Hamilton, whose struggles in his first season in red were well documented.

"There's no mixed emotions," said Hamilton, who crossed the line just six tenths behind Leclerc. "I feel great. We got a third and fourth and ultimately Mercedes were quicker than us.

"We need to see if stopping would have been better. I definitely thought we should have come in or, at least one of us, to cover the Mercedes. We will look to see what we can do better.

"But the team did a great job overall. There are lots of positives to take. A couple of more laps and I would have had Charles, so I know we can be fighting for podiums.

"We're not as fast as Mercedes but we're right in the fight. We've got a lot of work to do to catch them but it's not impossible."

PA