george russell
It wasn’t a simple afternoon but this win feels so sweet! Congratulations to the whole team; They did an incredible job and this victory is for them.
We had a rough and chaotic start, and after that the field between Charles and I began to move forward quickly. When I first passed him I could have used my energy to defend smarter and it cost me dearly when he passed me back. It was pretty stressful in the car but hopefully we put on a good show for the fans.
We stopped pretty early when the Virtual Safety Car came into play and from there we knew we had to manage our tires. We weren’t clear whether one stop, two stops would be fastest, or which decision was the right one to help us get the win. The strategy team made a great decision and I’m really happy we were able to get the win and 1-2. It’s a great start to the season and we’ll enjoy this moment, but it’s still very early days in the championship and we know our rivals will try to close the gap quickly. It hasn’t been easy for us, so let’s see how we perform in China next week.
Kimi Antonelli
What an afternoon and what a weekend! It wasn’t easy having the garage on my side in Melbourne but we got a great result from it. I want to say a big thank you to everyone at Lauda Drive and Morgan Drive; They have produced a truly powerful car and a platform on which we can build. This is 1-2 for them and thanks to all the hard work and effort they have put in over the years.
When I got to the mains, my battery level was lower so booting up was very stressful! Of course we had a slow start, but from there our recovery was good and our pace was strong. This allowed us to get back into the Ferraris and get a 1-2 for the team after the pit stops.
We learned a lot this weekend about our vehicle and how to operate under these new regulations. Even though we are the strongest team in Melbourne, we will have to work really hard to stay ahead. Now I’m looking forward to China and seeing what we can do in Shanghai.
Toto Wolff, CEO and Team President
We feel great satisfaction as we leave Melbourne today. It’s great to see Mercedes back at the front in this opening race of the season. The Lauda Drive and Morgan Drive teams have done a great job to bring our package to Australia in such a strong position. With the season ahead, seeing us get a solid 1-2 in race one means we can hopefully try to challenge for the world title. It will take a lot of work and we know our competitors will follow us, but that’s exactly how we wanted to start the year. Congratulations to the entire team, drivers and everyone who achieved this result.
We were heading into the unknown this weekend but I think F1 performed well today with some exciting racing. It was fun to watch the back and forth between George and Charles (Leclerc) in the early stages and I can’t wait to see how it develops in Shanghai next week. There’s a lot we learned in Melbourne and I’m sure it will get even more interesting from here.
Andrew Shovlin, Director of Lineside Engineering
It’s a great result for everyone like Lauda Drive and Morgan Drive to start the new era of F1 with a 1-2 finish. It has been a long road to prepare for this year, with many difficult moments, but every member of the team should be proud that the effort has paid off.
The beginning was difficult; We were unable to adequately manage the limited energy during the formation lap and both drivers ended up at the line with low battery. Kimi, in particular, went off the line and became a complete duck. George performed slightly better but still fell far behind. The drivers did a great job of staying out of trouble but a lot of places fell off and we had to go into recovery mode. The strategy team reacted well to events and in the end the car had good pace.
We weren’t quite sure if it would be possible to make a pit stop after such an early pit stop, but both drivers managed the tires well. It was nice to see that we were able to keep the gaps between the cars following us in the last section. We have a lot to improve, but the team and drivers should be pleased with a great start to the season.
Automobile Magazine – English
