Sports News

Russell leads a Mercedes one-two in Melbourne as F1's new rules era begins

George Russell won the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park on Sunday, 8 March, the first race under Formula 1's overhauled 2026 rules. He started from pole and finished just under three seconds ahead of Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc third. It was Russell's sixth Grand Prix win and Mercedes' first one-two since Las Vegas in November 2024, blue News reported.

Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton led early, but Russell took the lead mid-race and kept it. Hamilton finished fourth, defending champion Lando Norris fifth and Max Verstappen sixth after starting near the back following a qualifying crash.

“I love this car.” — George Russell on team radio, via The Sunday Guardian

Blue News, a Swiss outlet, put the drama before the start at the centre: Oscar Piastri crashed into the barriers on his way to the grid and his McLaren could not be repaired, and Nico Hulkenberg's Audi was withdrawn with technical problems. Gabriel Bortoleto scored two points in ninth on Audi's works-team debut.

The Sunday Guardian in India framed it as a perfect start to a new era for Mercedes, saying a one-stop strategy worked for them. It noted Russell had never won in Australia before, that Hamilton's wait for a Ferrari podium goes on after a 2025 season without one, and that Verstappen was voted driver of the day.

How each outlet framed it

• blue News — favourites delivering, and two cars that never started.
• The Sunday Guardian — Mercedes on top of the new rules; Hamilton still waiting.

What we don't know yet: how big Mercedes' advantage really is. Neither outlet explained the rule changes in detail, and The Sunday Guardian's published time gaps did not add up.