Mercedes boss Toto Wolff declared the team was “back” after a one-two win at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but insisted the Silver Arrows were ready to take on Ferrari.
Mercedes, who had been touted as favorites throughout pre-season after major regulation changes, backed up their position in Melbourne with George Russell leading Kimi Antonelli at home.
The result comes after a difficult period under the previous regulations, in which Mercedes had not won the constructors’ title for four years, despite achieving an incredible record of eight successive championships.
“The most important thing is that I’m very happy with the team at the moment,” Wolff said.
“We’ve had a winning streak in the last eight championships, but then it’s been a very difficult year.
“We still won the race and finished second in the championship, but a solid one-two that made us feel like we had a season ahead of us meant we could be fighting for the world championship, which we haven’t had for a long time.
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2026 Australian Grand Prix Highlights
“So, knowing the difficult years, when you bounce back like this, you’re probably all the more grateful to just keep going. So I’m very happy for you all.”
Many expected a queue after Mercedes achieved a dominant front row lockout in qualifying, but Ferrari was competitive in the early stages, with Charles Leclerc overtaking Russell at the start and holding the lead early on.
When Isak Hajar’s Red Bull broke down on lap 11, a de facto safety car was brought in and control of the race was returned to Mercedes. Russell and Antonelli pitted, but Ferrari chose not to bring in Leclerc and Hamilton, who was running between the Mercedes cars in third place.
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur insisted after the race that this decision had not cost Ferrari, arguing that Mercedes’ superior pace would have ensured a one-two for the Silver Arrows regardless of whether they had pitted under VSC.
Mercedes clearly had the advantage in terms of pace, but Russell overtook Leclerc twice in the early stages, both times quickly being passed by Monaco’s Leclerc, leading many to believe that Ferrari might have had a better fight if it had pitted on lap 11 and maintained track position.
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Russell and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff were thrilled after taking a commanding pole position in the opening race.
Despite having new tires, Leclerc and Hamilton were unable to advance into the second half of the race, finishing third and fourth respectively.
Wolff said: “As for Ferrari, before the race people were saying, ‘You’re going to disappear into the distance, we’re looking at your long runs,’ but that wasn’t the case.”
“We knew they were going to be strong at the start and that’s what happened. It was an all out battle between Charles and George at the beginning.
“At one stage it was a three-way battle between the two Ferraris and George, but Kimi caught up in the end.
“For me, the predominant feeling now is that there is a fight with Ferrari waiting for us.
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Join Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc as they get off to a great start in Australia
“What we were worried about was that it wouldn’t be exciting in terms of combat. With the boost and overtaking modes, it was very interesting to see, especially on tracks that are difficult for Energies. So we’ll see how it goes in Shanghai (this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix).”
“But above all, there was a certain satisfaction that Mercedes was back.”
Sky Sports F1 China GP Schedule
Thursday, March 12th
5am: Driver press conference
8am: Paddock uncut
Friday, March 13th
1:05am: F1 Academy practice
3:00am: Chinese GP Practice (session starts at 3:30am)*
5:30am: Team boss press conference*
6am: F1 Academy Qualifying*
6:45am: Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying (session starts at 7:30am)*
Saturday, March 14th
2:25am: Chinese GP sprint build-up*
3am: Chinese GP Sprint*
4.30am: Ted’s Sprint Notes*
5:30am: F1 Academy Race 1*
6:30am: Chinese GP qualifying build-up*
7am: Chinese GP Qualifying*
9am: Ted’s Qualification Notebook*
Sunday March 15th
2:35am: F1 Academy Race 2*
5:30am: Preparation for Chinese Grand Prix: Grand Prix Sunday*
7am: Chinese Grand Prix*
9am: Chinese GP reaction: Checkered flag*
10am: Ted’s Notes*
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
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
