A new era in F1 began with 120 overtakes, including a fierce battle between George Russell and Charles Leclerc at the start of the Australian Grand Prix.
Russell beat Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in the opening race in Melbourne, with Leclerc third and Lewis Hamilton fourth, but there was plenty of talk in the paddock about the new style of racing.
New power unit regulations put more emphasis on the use of electric power, leading to variations in straight-line speed entering the corners, as Russell and Leclerc showed by exchanging the lead seven times in nine laps.
Russell was able to overtake Leclerc several times, but the Ferrari driver had overtake mode (an activation that allows for higher speed tolerance throughout the lap when the driver is one second behind), so he passed him again on the following lap.
“Honestly, the first 10 laps of the race, I haven’t seen anything like this in the last 10 years,” said Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur.
“We have to keep this in mind, but we can’t predict how the weekend will go. It’s a very good start for the sport and a very good start for the show.”
“The fans are probably enjoying the early stages a lot, but let’s keep going. If we have to react at some stage after a few races, we will react, but it would be a mistake to do it too soon.”
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Mercedes and Ferrari join the race as George Russell and Charles Leclerc battle for P1 at Australian Grand Prix
However, some drivers, including reigning world champion Lando Norris and Haas’s Esteban Ocon, criticized Sunday’s race as “artificial”.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: “The regulations at the moment mean that when you’re in a close race with another car, it’s very difficult to get out of it.”
“So it’s going to be exciting if it really continues like this because it’s going to be a concentrated performance. Once you have that free air, the pace will come after that.”
“But both components are part of a great race. And the race pace at the end was very encouraging for us. But at the beginning there was nothing between Ferrari and Mercedes.”
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Russell and Leclerc watched the thrilling battle in the cool-down room
Some drivers, including Verstappen and Norris, criticized the regulations.
Max Verstappen has voiced concerns about the new 2022 regulations since they were first announced, saying during pre-season testing that they were like “Formula E on steroids”.
Verstappen is referring to a “lift and coast” or “super clipping” element where drivers stop accelerating towards the end of the straight to recharge the battery and use more of the electrical energy coming out of the corner.
“I love racing, but there’s only so much you can do,” he said after the Australian Grand Prix, where a bizarre crash in qualifying saw him rise from 20th to sixth.
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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen left confused after Q1 loss at Australian Grand Prix
“I know the FIA and F1 are listening to what they’re saying, but I just hope some action is taken because it’s not just me saying that, a lot of people are saying the same thing.
“As drivers and fans, we just want what’s best for the sport. We’re not being critical just for the sake of criticizing. We’re critical for a reason. We want it to be F1, you know, proper F1 on steroids. Of course, that wasn’t the case today either.”
During pre-season testing, Norris hit back at Verstappen’s comments, quipping: “If you want to retire, you can retire.” However, the McLaren driver appears to have changed his stance after the opening race.
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Lando Norris, who finished 5th at the Australian Grand Prix, reflects on his first race of 2026
“It’s a shame. It’s very artificial,” he said.
“Depending on what the power unit decides to do and does it randomly from time to time, you could be overtaken by five cars or not be able to do anything at all.”
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Russell was in upbeat mood as he chatted with Simon and Bernie after winning the Australian Grand Prix
Hamilton ‘loves’ new race, Russell asks for patience
Hamilton, who openly disliked the previous ground effects cars introduced in F1 in 2022 and 2025, was the most positive driver about Sunday’s race, with a perfect view of the fight for the lead.
“Personally, I really liked it. The race was really fun to drive. It was really, really fun to drive the car. I was watching the cars in front of me and there was a good battle back and forth,” he said.
“It was great. It might have looked different because there were 20 cars in front of me, but from where I was, I thought it was great.”
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Lewis Hamilton was happy with the result of the first race but insisted Ferrari had work to do to catch up with Mercedes
Both Russell and Leclerc called the track “different”, with the Mercedes driver pointing out that Albert Park is one of the more challenging tracks in terms of energy deployment.
“What’s interesting about these records is that every track we go to isn’t always going to be like this,” Russell said.
“Next we go to Shanghai, where they have one big, long straight, so most drivers spend their energy on that one straight. They don’t have to split their energy between four people like they do here in Melbourne.
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Mercedes’ Russell wins Australian Grand Prix
“Everyone is quick to criticize things. You have to give it a try. We are 22 drivers. When we had the best car, the least tire degradation and were the happiest, everyone bemoans the crap of racing.
“Right now the drivers are not completely happy and everyone says it was a great race, so we can’t have everything and we should give it a chance and see how it goes in a few more races.”
Perhaps Wolff put it best when he said that fans’ opinions should be taken into account and whether, despite complaints from drivers, the Australian Grand Prix “made for pretty good drama on TV”, as Russell put it.
F1 heads to Shanghai this Friday for the first sprint weekend of the 2026 season, the Chinese Grand Prix, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
