‘The disappointment is even greater’: Hometown curse continues as Russell triumphs amid the carnage

A spectacular showdown between Mercedes and Ferrari has delivered victory for George Russell in the opening race of the Formula 1 season, but hometown hero Oscar Piastri did not make the starting line because of a devastating crash during the warm-up.

As a crestfallen Piastri apologised to fans who turned up hoping to see an Australian on the podium for the first time in the event’s 30-year history at Albert Park, McLaren promised a thorough investigation into what went wrong to send his car spinning into the wall.

Russell notched a sixth career victory ahead of Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli to open the new era of Formula 1 regulations.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third after slugging it out with Russell for the lead for much of the race. It was Mercedes’ first one-two finish – without Lewis Hamilton driving – since 1955.

The papaya-clad crowd was left stunned by the Piastri accident, which happened 30 minutes before the start, as he headed to the grid to start the race.

McLaren boss Zak Brown said there was a “torque spike” when the Australian’s new car struggled to balance its hybrid electric and internal combustion power, sending him spinning into the wall.

Piastri lost the car under acceleration at turns four and five, smashing the left-hand side of the McLaren car into the outside wall, with debris strewn across the track.

The 24-year-old Australian emerged unscathed but was unable to continue, with his McLaren’s front right wheel hanging off and substantial bodywork damage.

He accepted responsibility for his part in the incident.

“We had a bit of an issue out of the pits with no battery, basically,” Piastri said.

“With the actual crash, there was a combination of a couple of things [at play] – it was a large element of just me, cold tyres … I also had 100 kilowatts more power than I expected, so you put all of those together and, unfortunately, it ends in the result we got.

“I’m very sorry for everyone that came out to support me. It’s obviously not the way I wanted to start the year either.

“I think last year, whilst the result wasn’t what I wanted, I felt like there was a lot of positives from the weekend. This year obviously the disappointment is even greater.

“But I think up until today, I think we did a lot of things well ... We need to identify some things we need to change and do a better job at. But I think through practice and qualifying, [I] felt pretty comfortable, as comfortable as you can do in these cars.”

There has never been an Australian on the Albert Park podium – excluding Daniel Ricciardo who was disqualified in 2014. Piastri spun out of his home grand prix while in contention during last year’s race, and rallied to finish ninth. Australia’s drought continues, at least until 2027.

In the seventh year of his Formula 1 career, Mercedes driver Russell was finally in the right place at the right time.

The British driver crossed the finish line to clinch his maiden Australian Grand Prix on Sunday in a dramatic race marred by numerous crashes, red flags and issues with engines and power.

The 28-year-old Russell, who made his debut with a struggling Williams team at Albert Park in 2019, has been waiting his entire career for a car like this. Now he’s got it. But he had to fight a resurgent Ferrari in the first half of the race.

When the red lights extinguished, a pole-sitting Russell hurtled forward, but Ferrari’s Leclerc was able to snatch the lead. Ferrari’s 2026 engine has a smaller turbocharger than its rivals, meaning it spools up faster than larger turbochargers and has less turbo lag, allowing them to overtake quickly at the start of the race.

Lewis Hamilton took evasive action onto the grass, with Russell stuck back in second, desperately trying to catch Leclerc.

Both Russell and Leclerc swapped places as race leader numerous times, as spectators got to watch the two biggest teams in F1 history go head-to-head.

The race claimed two further casualties when Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar and Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas bowed out, meaning the safety car was called which interfered with pitstop strategies.

Russell was ecstatic, screaming out, “Very nice, I like this car” over the radio.

But not everyone is a fan of the new cars and regulations.

In a post race press-conference Russell was asked about comments days earlier by McLaren driver Lando Norris – last year’s world champion – who said, “We’ve come from the best cars ever made in Formula 1 and the nicest to drive to probably the worst.”

Russell joked: “If he [Norris] was winning, I don’t think he’d be saying the same.

“So, you know, everyone’s always going to look into themselves, and we’re all selfish in this regard.

“The truth is, last year, we had the same engine as them, and McLaren did a better job than us, and they beat us. Now, McLaren have got the same engine as us, the same as Williams and the same as Alpine and so far, we’ve done a better job than them. So that’s just how the game goes.”

With Hamilton at the helm, Mercedes owned the grid from 2014 to 2020 and it appears the Silver Arrows team are now back and ready to conquer.

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