George Russell struck the first blow in ​the Formula One championship for Mercedes as he ‌claimed an emphatic victory in the ​season-opening Australian Grand Prix ahead ⁠of teammate Kimi Antonelli and crushed an early challenge from Ferrari.

Having dominated qualifying, pole-sitter Russell's first win ‌at Albert Park underlined Mercedes' promising pre-season form.

The Briton finished nearly three ‌seconds ahead of Antonelli, with Leclerc ‌more ⁠than 15 seconds behind on a ⁠cloudy afternoon at the lakeside circuit on Sunday (March 8, 2026).

Russell engaged in a thrilling early duel with Leclerc as the ​racers swapped the ‌lead seven times in the opening nine laps.

But there was soon daylight between Mercedes and the rest.

After swapping out medium tyres ‌early following a virtual safety car ​deployment, Russell rode the hard compounds for 45 laps and Mercedes' pace ⁠did the rest.

"Great job everybody, it's been a long time since we've been here," he ‌said over the team radio.

It was a tough day for McLaren, with home hero Oscar Piastri's race over before it begun with a crash during a reconnaissance lap some 40 minutes before the start.

His ‌teammate and defending champion Lando Norris finished fifth, one ​place behind seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari.

Four-times champion Max Verstappen ⁠was sixth for Red Bull.

Only 20 of the ⁠22 cars started, with Audi's Nico Hulkenberg scratched just before the race ‌due to a reliability problem.

Another three cars failed to finish, Red Bull's Isack Hadjar ​among them.