The season-opener at the Australian Grand Prix got off to an eventful start despite the mixed feelings up and down the paddock about the new era of Formula 1.
Mercedes’ George Russell converted pole position into a race win, with team-mate Kimi Antonelli claiming a one-two for the Silver Arrows.
Here are my driver ratings for the first weekend in Melbourne:
George Russell – 9 – Imperious weekend from the Brit who has been title favourite since pre-season testing. Found himself with no battery for the race start which led to a poor launch off the line and lost him the lead of the race. Once through on Charles Leclerc, was rarely forced to push hard.
Kimi Antonelli – 7 – A good recovery from Antonelli, who was behind his Mercedes team-mate for the majority of the weekend. The huge crash in final practice left him and his mechanics with a lot of work to do. Only Max Verstappen’s red flag in qualifying allowed Mercedes enough time to get out and even then, the Italian looked on the verge of putting it in the wall. But a front-row grid spot, followed by a poor launch and recovery back to second, leads to a solid start overall.
Charles Leclerc – 7.5 – Solid, fast and a mega start to take the lead of the race at Turn One. Great fighting with Russell in the early stages. Didn’t put a foot wrong but ultimately Ferrari strategy cost him a chance at more.
Lewis Hamilton – 7.5 – Quick from the off. There’s a refreshed aura around Hamilton this year and while I was surprised to see him not qualify ahead of team-mate Leclerc, an equally brilliant start off the line saw him in contention. Let down by Ferrari strategy but had enough in the tank to keep on Leclerc’s heels right to the chequered flag.
Lando Norris – 5 – Not happy with the new regulations and got very limited running throughout the weekend with various issues. Couldn’t outqualify his team-mate Oscar Piastri but did keep things neat and tidy and fended off Max Verstappen at the end.
Max Verstappen – 5 – Another man absolutely fuming at the new regulations. Looked a little off throughout practice and an uncharacteristic crash in the first part of qualifying left him with work to do. Clawed his way up through to points from 20th but couldn’t pip Norris for fifth place.
Oliver Bearman – 7 – Kept quietly under the radar all weekend until it mattered most. Looked a little behind in the midfield pack through Friday running but outqualified team-mate Esteban Ocon convincingly and beautifully raced his way to seventh place. A great start.
Arvid Lindblad – 8 – Super impressed all weekend long. Had the measure of Racing Bulls team-mate Liam Lawson from the off but couldn’t deliver in the final qualifying lap which left him behind. A great start saw him climb to third from eighth. Raced well against Verstappen and a brilliant battery-management battle with Gabriel Bortoleto at the end resulted in an impressive eighth place on debut.
Gabriel Bortoleto – 7 – Having looked behind Audi team-mate Nico Hulkenberg up until qualifying, the pressure was on for the Brazilian in his second season but he made it into the top 10 in qualifying at the expense of the German. Kept his nose clean during the race, managed his battles well and delivered a smooth points finish for Audi’s maiden F1 race.
Pierre Gasly – 6 – Overall, it was a weekend full of disappointment for Alpine, who expected more. Still getting to grips with battery management and general operations. Gasly managed to convincingly beat team-mate Franco Colapinto and is rewarded with a hard-earned point.
Esteban Ocon – 4 – Couldn’t string things together in qualifying and beaten by team-mate Bearman. Up there in the race but eventually fell back. Ocon must start beating Briton Bearman to keep his F1 career alive.