Summary

  • George Russell wins Australian Grand Prix

  • Antonelli second, Leclerc third and Hamilton fourth

  • P5 Norris, P6 Verstappen, P7 Bearman

  • Briton Arvid Lindblad, 18, eighth on F1 debut

  • Lead kept changing in early stages with frequent overtakes

  • Oscar Piastri did not start after crashing on lap to grid

  • OUT: Piastri, Hulkenberg, Hadjar, Bottas, Alonso

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Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

  1. Russell leads from Antonelli

    Lap 36/58

    McLaren called in Lando Norris under the VSC and the world champion comes out on fresh mediums in eighth place. Race leader George Russell is going long on his hard compound, which are 24 laps old, same as his team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

  2. Lap 35/58

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Live

    Max Verstappen is still now behind Lando Norris, but he did manage to close right up as they came out of the virtual safety car.

    Verstappen won't take too long I don't think on his medium tyres to get past a slightly struggling Norris.

  3. Virtual safety car - debris on track

    Lap 34/58

    The VSC is out again for debris on the Albert Park circuit. The marshals run on and cleared it quickly, which is a bit of nery moment with cars still on track, but the VSC ends and we're back racing again.

  4. Team radio - Norris

    Engineer: "Could you do 26 laps on a medium?"

    Norris: "No, not at this rate. I just destroy the tyres after 10."

  5. Lap 33/58

    The discussions are hot over the team radio as to how many laps these tyres can do, are one-stops viable? Charles Leclerc and Ferrari look to be going for a one-stopper, while Kimi Antonelli isn't too sure about his strategy.

  6. Lap 32/58

    Lando Norris, winner of the drivers' championship last year. is having to look in his mirrors to check on the whereabouts of rival Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver is on the medium compound, while the McLaren man is on the hard compound.

    Lando NorrisGetty Images

  7. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Live

    George Russell can now go the rest of this race managing quite carefully the usage of those hard tyres that he now wants to see to the end of the grand prix.

    He's not under much in the way of pressure, so he's going to be able to manage that way better than he would be if he had a Ferrari in his rear-view mirrors.

  8. Lap 31/58

    George Russell and Kimi Antonelli are as you were in the top two places at Albert Park - will it be a Mercedes one-two for the season opener? Charles Leclerc holds the final podium place in third ahead of Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

  9. 'Alonso is back in this race'

    Jennie Gow
    F1 pit-lane reporter in Melbourne

    Fernando Alonso is back in this race in some form. They did a tweak to his car, it took a while, and now he's gone back out on the soft tyre. They are using this as a test session obviously to see what that car can do.

  10. Lap 30/58

    While the Ferraris and Mercedes battle for supremacy at the front, Fernando Alonso has popped out of the Aston Martin garage on a set of softs after coming in with an issue a few laps ago and is back in the mix in Melbourne.

  11. Team radio - Russell

    "OK, I think the one stop is viable."

  12. Get Involved

    Select the 'Get Involved' button to have your say

    Rebecca: Really impressed with Lindblad so far. He's not afraid of anyone. Hoping I'm not about to jinx him, but he could be looking at points on debut here.

    Ryan: Arvid is getting a side-eye back at HQs for sure!

    Al: 5 Brits in the top eight!!!

  13. Top five

    Lap 29/58

    1. George Russell (Mercedes)

    2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

    3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

    4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

    5. Lando Norris (McLaren)

  14. Russell overtakes Hamilton

    Lap 28/58

    It didn't take long for George Russell to close in on Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes shows a burst of pace to pass the Ferrari and retake the lead of this Australian Grand Prix.

    After the pass, Hamilton peels into the pits to take some fresh hard rubber and comes out in fourth.

  15. Lap 27/58

    Lewis Hamilton is the only driver who hasn't pitted at Albert Park and his Ferrari has the Mercedes of George Russell firmly on his tail. The gap out in front is three tenths but how long can the seven-time world champion stay in control?

  16. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Live

    There's still a little bit of graining on the left front tyre of Lewis Hamilton, but he's opted not to pit in the lap that followed his team-mate Charles Leclerc's pit stop.

  17. Leclerc pits

    Lap 26/58

    Charles Leclerc is the first Ferrari driver to come into the pits - Lewis Hamilton told the team not to box them together - and goes onto the hard compound. The seven-time world champion stays out and is now leading the grand prix from his former Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

  18. Lap 25/58

    Ferrari are out in front in this race but when will the Scuderia pull the trigger and pit their two drivers? One might be coming in just about now...

  19. Lap 24/58

    Former Alpine team-mate Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly are under investigation for an incident at Turn Three. Ocon is just outside the points in 11th, one place behind fellow Frenchman Gasly.

  20. Jennie Gow
    F1 pit-lane reporter in Melbourne

    I've been talking to Pirelli and they reckon it's possible to get those medium tyres, having had two virtual safety car periods, up to maybe lap 30-35. That could be a real game changer for Ferrari, maybe they've worked that out themselves.