George Russell won the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, marking the first race of the season. The event took place in Melbourne, where Mercedes achieved a one-two finish with Kimi Antonelli securing second place.
Charles Leclerc from Ferrari finished third after leading at several points during the race. Local fans experienced disappointment when Oscar Piastri of McLaren crashed during the formation lap and was unable to start.
Lando Norris, also from McLaren and last season’s champion, finished fifth. Max Verstappen of Red Bull placed sixth after starting from the back due to an accident in qualifying.
Four-time world champion Verstappen managed to move up through the field despite his poor starting position. Sergio Pérez returned to racing and finished sixteenth for Cadillac, which made its debut as a team this season. Audi also debuted, with Gabriel Bortoleto finishing ninth.
Franco Colapinto of Alpine gained two positions to finish fourteenth, while Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin was among several drivers who did not complete the race.
Mercedes had shown strong performance in Saturday’s qualifying session and confirmed their dominance at the start of this season. Russell started from pole position but was overtaken by Leclerc at the beginning before regaining and maintaining his lead.
“¡Fue una pelea infernal al principio! Hice una mala salida y tuve algunas batallas realmente intensas con Charles en la arrancada. Estoy muy contento de haber cruzado la meta,” said Russell.
