AUSGP A NEW ERA BRINGS A FAMILIAR TALE

March 8, 2026
Admin
Formula 1
0 Comments

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have gone 1-2 for Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 at the Australian Grand Prix as Formula 1 enters a new era of the hybrid formula.

The result rekindled memories of 2014 when the last major overhaul occurred.

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 mastered those changes for nigh on seven years.

Are about to see a repeat over the first six races of 2026?

Why six races you might ask?

Well, that is the first of three ‘trigger’ the FIA has built into the rules to avoid a repeat, where engine development bans kept an unhealthy status quo for years.

SEE OUR FULL GALLERY HERE

Additional development opportunities, the 3% rule and cost cap relief will kick in at the conclusion of the Bahrain Grand Prix (or perhaps Imola).

In the meantime we will see teams strive to maximise what they have in their arsenal and gain a better understanding of the peculiarities of these 2026 machines.

Terms like harvesting, lift and coast, torque deployment and super clipping are just some of the new buzz words and strategies that teams and drivers are still to fully understand.

Just ask Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen’s qualifying ended uncharacteristically early when the rear end of his Oracle Red Bull RB 22 went into limp mode and sent his car bouncing across the Turn 1 gravel and into the wall.

Piastri didn’t make the starting grid after a sudden torque surge on cold tyres triggered a spin into the Turn 5 wall.

One just has to look at the post-race statistic on fastest laps with a massive five second separating the field for best times. It was Max Verstappen who recorded the best with a 1.22.091, while the Cadillacs were at the other end of the ledger with a 1.27.364.

The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton took the fight to Mercedes over the first portion of the race, with the smaller turbo units on the Ferrari SF26 allowing the pair to split Russell during the early stages of the race. Antonelli was slow off the line as Isack Hadjar initially took the fight to Russell and made the better getaway as the lights went out.

He held onto the leading group for the opening ten laps but stopped with a suspected power unit issue on Lap 11, which saw the first VSC of the race.

Whilst many of the leaders chose to pit, both Ferraris stayed out in a move which bewildered Hamilton.

A second VSC a short time later was no help to Ferrari after Valterri Bottas’ Cadillac stopped adjacent to the pit entry road, closing the pitlane.

Neither Team Principal Fred Vasseur, nor drivers Leclerc or Hamilton felt the decision cost the team a win, though Hamilton did question it at the time.

All conceded that the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 cars were around three to four tenths of a second faster than the Ferrari.

And so it was George Russell who cruised to a 2.9 second victory over teammate Antonelli, with Leclerc in third place some 15 seconds from the winner and Hamilton just another second further back.

Norris and Verstappen diced for fifth, which went in favour of the British driver as the pair ended the race just shy of a full minute from Russell. They were the last of the finishers to complete the full 85 lap distance.

Bearman, Lindblad (on debut), Bortoleto, Gasly, Ocon, Albon and Lawson all finished a lap down, while Colapinto and Sainz trailed by two laps as sixteen cars were classified as finishers.

SEE OUR FULL GALLERY HERE

Lance Stroll was still running at the chequered flag, though his Aston Martin team had elected to treat the race as a test and stop on regular instances to complete further repairs or simply gather some more information for use some time in the future.

“I’m feeling incredible. It was a hell of a fight at the beginning. We knew it was going to be challenging,” George Russell told F1 media.

“I got on the grid, saw my battery level had nothing in the tank, made a bad start and then obviously [had] some really tight battles with Charles, so I was really glad to cross the finish line.”

SUBSCRIBE TO VELOCITY MAGAZINE

For all our news keep your eyes peeled on the Velocity Magazine website and social media, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for our daily updates and to get the latest edition of our glossy magazine subscribe here from just $55 for 12 months subscription.

GET OUR LATEST ISSUE NUMBER 55 HERE