Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who finishes second at the Australian Grand Prix: "It was the best start we could have wished for. Unfortunately the start was really bad, lost a lot of places. I found myself having to recover. But overall, it was a good race. The pace was really strong, especially at the end. Looking forward to next week.

"The racing was incredible. The first few laps, with the overtake, is so powerful that it can give a lot of action. It was really good fun at the beginning and now, a bit of a rest and looking forward to China."

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes’ George Russell, who converts his pole position into a race victory: "I'm feeling incredible, it was a hell of a fight at the beginning. We knew it was going to be challenging and I got on the grid and I saw my battery level had nothing in the tank.

"I made a bad start and obviously some really tight battles with Charles [Leclerc], so I was really glad to cross the finish line.

"Thank you so much for the whole team, it's been a long time coming to have this car beneath us."

On the race: "I'm glad you guys enjoyed it, we had the suspicion that it was going to be a bit of a yoyo effect, as soon as one of us got in front it felt impossible to hold it.

"Obviously with this straight mode, we lose a lot of the front end on the cars, so we're sort of just understeering a lot round these corners.

"Maybe the FIA are going to have to improve that a little bit because it was a bit sketchy, but I made it in one piece and I'm glad to be one-two."

Champagne momentpublished at 05:48 GMT

05:48 GMT

Image source, Getty Images

The top three have reached the cooldown room and are chatting about energy deployment and lack of battery at the race start. The audio keeps cutting out, though, a bit like when Big Brother used to do on the live feed, so maybe there are a few naughty words being said.

George Russell, Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc makes their way to the podium next to soak up the applause of the Australian fans below. Russell lifts that fantastic Sir Jack Brabham trophy above his head and the crowd cheers loudly.

Pop that champagne - it's time to celebrate!

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Live

Everybody else now in Formula 1 scratching their head and wondering where that huge chunk of performance is going to come from.

Behind the top three, Lewis Hamilton takes fourth place after qualifying in seventh, world champion Lando Norris finishes in fifth and Max Verstappen, who didn't even set a time in qualifying yesterday because of his crash, came through the field to claim sixth spot.

Haas are off the mark thanks to Oliver Bearman's seventh place, Brit rookie Arvid Lindblad scores points on his debut by finishing eighth, new team Audi collect points through Gabriel Bortoleto in ninth and Pierre Gasly continues his points scoring for Alpine by securing 10th position.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Live

The dream start for Mercedes, they could not have wished for anything else this weekend.

They were clear of the field and not really a challenge coming from anywhere.

Engineer: "You ripper. Great job, awesome drive, awesome weekend. Well done mate."

Russell: "Woo. Very nice, very nice. I like this car, I like this engine, Great job."

The end is almost near for Mercedes and George Russell, so a quick recharge of the battery and off the race leader goes to start his final lap.

Charles Leclerc is sitting in third place, just a fraction ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in fourth.

BBC 5 Live's Jennie Gow speaking to McLaren's Oscar Piastri after he crashed on the way to the grid: "I'm feeling pretty disappointed obviously. It was a situation that shouldn't happen, we need to review a bit further on what exactly happened.

"A combination of a few things like cold tyres, probably being a bit optimistic on the kerb on the first lap, but also I had 100 kilowatts more power than what I expected which is not insignificant.

"I think if you put all of those together, even if you have one or two of those things then you can manage it, but when you put all of them together it caught me by surprise."

On picking yourself up: "I mean just try and learn as much as I can. It's clearly been an interesting race, so just try and learn what I can."

George Russell is looking cool, clam and collected out in front, ready to take his first win of the new campaign. All the Brits are in the top 10 at Albert Park, so a good points day haul for the UK drivers overall.

The new era of Formula 1 is under way and it's been an eventful day in Melbourne, which started with home driver Oscar Piastri crashing out on his way to the grid. I think Australian fans will be pleased with the rest of the action on track, though. Certainly with the changing of the lead between George Russell and Charles Leclerc in the opening stages.

Ryan: Very impressive performance from Verstappen, indeed. Fastest lap against these Merc rockets!

Andrew: A very enjoyable opening race of this new F1 era. Those opening 15 laps were some of the most chaotic I have ever seen, you could watch it back 5 times and see a different thing each time.

Toto Wolff looks happy in the Mercedes garage - the Silver Arrows boss is only a few laps away from both his drivers occupying the top two steps of the podium for the first race of the 2026 season.

1. George Russell (Mercedes)

2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

5. Lando Norris (McLaren)

Image source, Getty Images

George Russell is 4.9 seconds ahead of his team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who crashed heavily in third practice yesterday, as the chequered flag is almost ready to come out. Charles Leclerc is third and Lewis Hamilton is fourth, but the seven-time world champion's engineer still thinks a surprise could happen to shake things up.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Live

We questioned Ferrari's strategy in that early part of the race when they didn't make a pit stop, but almost everyone around them did under that virtual safety car.

I still think that may have been the wrong decision, but actually to finish third and fourth, I don't think they've got a car capable of chasing and fighting with the two Mercedes on this particular weekend.

So maybe they've still come out of this, if it remains as it is right now, with the best result they could have found anyway.

Engineer: "Keep pushing. You never know."

As the end of the race is closing in, what have you made of the Australian Grand Prix and the new regulations? Have you enjoyed what you've seen/heard so far? Let us know your thoughts by using the 'Get Involved' button on the page.

Sam: For all the doom and gloom coming into this race, this is a far better racing product than we have had in most races throughout the last few years.

Tom: Good start from Ferrari, certainly so far a improvement from last season.