Race Report: Mercedes dominate Australian GP

Mercedes confirmed pre-season speculation by taking a dominant 1, 2 at the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli led Charles Leclerc to the podium and the race raised another Ferrari strategy doubt in the process.

The new regulations were laid bare on a track that was always going to challenge the new 50/50 energy combination. Despite the strategy call, Ferrari did secure a podium and even though the track may have favored Mercedes, they didn’t win by a country mile over Ferrari.

Win

A win for Mercedes with George and Kimi locking out the top steps. Mercedes were tipped as favorites and so it would seem, at least at this track. The performance, for me, looked good but also, running long on tires that others were struggling with graining on is also a good sign.

A win for Ferrari with a podium and a car in 4th to start the season. At least at the start of the season, Ferrari aren’t too far off Merc’s pace and given track-specific characteristics, they could be more and less competitive over the season.

A win for Ollie Bearman, and Haas F1. I felt they looked good in testing but Friday and Saturday was concerning as they seemed well off the pace so Ollie’s P7 was a good recovery

A win for Racing Bulls rookie, Arvid Linblad who had a terrific first race with a points-scoring result. He looked poised, on pace and comfortable with the energy use and strategy. Very impressive.

A win for Audi who scored points in their first race as a constructor with Gabriel Bortoleto in P9. A huge accomplishment despite Nico Hulkenberg not starting the race.

I had big hopes for Alpine with a new Mercedes engine and in testing, they looked very positive but over the weekend, alarm bells were going off in my head. Thankfully, Pierre GAsly secured a point for the team in the first race and perhaps other tracks might favor their chassis. Fingers crossed.

Fail

A fail for Ferrari who chose track position over pit stop during the first VSC. They didn’t even split the strategy to cover all bases. I think I have it right that the missed the pit entry during the second VSC but the first one was a tough call. A little early for a 2-stop strategy but Mercedes rolled the dice. Perhaps Ferrari felt their tire performance wasn’t going to ever give them a chance at a 1-stopper but perhaps splitting strategy may have been Wirth a try.

A fail for McLaren and Red Bull who finished off the podium. While Lando held off Max for 5th, Oscar crashed on the formation lap and Isack had an engine failure. While 5th and 6th for LAndo and Max respectively isn’t bad, these are two teams who were winning last year so they clearly have ground to make up against Mercedes and Ferrari.

A fail for Williams who have seemingly missed the plot in 2026 with their car. They struggled all weekend for pace and are running at the back of the pack which is not good for a team who was fighting for 5th in the constructor’s championship last year. Carlos will not be happy as they were supposed to be moving forward and James Vowles wrote off the last two years in favor of putting all his focus on the 2026 car.

WTH

Not sure what caused the torque energy spike that caused Oscar to crash but that was not good.

I’m not excited about the new regulations if I am honest. The cars look good but the yo-yo impact of the energy harvest/deployment is just too Formula E for me and the passing is even more artificial than DRS was. Let’s hope the FIA make some tweaks to the regulations to balance the series out. Keeping hybrid assistance is fine but not parity with combustion. No race format that depends on visible under-driving to keep the battery alive would be far better. Restoring a more dominant ICE contribution might even give us a chance to talk about the one thing no one is talking about, high technology sustainable fuels. Guess we forgot all about that in the shadow of the battery and energy talk.

Pirelli Report:

DARIO MARRAFUSCHI – PIRELLI MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR

As we expected yesterday, the first Grand Prix of the season was won with a one-stop strategy. The Mercedes drivers crossed the finish line in the same positions in which they started on the grid, adopting an identical strategy. The final stint on the hard tyres could be extended compared to Saturday’s forecasts thanks to limited degradation, which allowed the drivers to complete the race with the same set they had during the VSC.

Those who opted for two stops took advantage of the neutralisations to change fresh tyres without risking losing too many positions, in some cases even using the Softs for a final sprint.

All three compounds therefore proved useful during the race, with the C3 capable of supporting stints of up to 46 laps thanks to its consistency. The left front was the tyre most affected by graining, though without causing excessive wear or degradation issues.

We are, however, at the beginning of a new technical cycle and on a track that is not particularly demanding on tyres. With the development of the cars and the arrival of more challenging circuits, we expect inevitable changes in tyre management. Tyres remain one of the many variables teams will have to consider among the numerous innovations of this season.

Australian GP Results: