Australian Grand Prix Review

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Five live Formula One Formula One is back. We are up and running in 2026 and we've made our way from Albert Park to the beach here in St. Kilda to chew the fat. After the first race of the season. My name is Harry Benjamin, and I'm joined by Jenny Gow and uh the former McLaren mechanic Mark Priestley. Uh a race. that saw the new regulations seen for the first time in race trim and it was won by George Russell and Mercedes. We will talk about how they won the race and our thoughts about that.

But first of all, Jenny, this new era of racing, did we like it? I liked it. I enjoyed it especially the first like 13, 14 laps. when it was dicey they were having you know, there was drama out on track and that's all for me I wanna see. I wanna see drama, I wanna see battles for the lead.

Yes, some could say it was a little bit artificial, but f I I was okay with that. I just I enjoyed the first few laps. Yeah, obviously we're we're getting to grips aren't we with this fifty percent internal combustion and a near fifty percent split with with battery management. And trying to work out how that is uh unfolding on track along with the new things like Active Aero Mark.

Yeah, there's so much that's new. I think that's the the point. There were there were a lot of doomsayers coming into this weekend, predicting I kinda well, predicting a bit of a disaster, I think. And we didn't get that. And I think, you know, you're right, we got some great wheel to wheel racing, a lot of positional changes and I think if you're a casual fan, that's exactly what you want to see.

The problem's gonna be and it always will be with anything brand new, the die hard fans, the people that have been watching forever really what they want is what they loved twenty years ago. They're never gonna get that again. So you do have to be open minded and I think with the very beginning of a a new set of regulations there was a lot to enjoy today.

Definitely room for improvement and things that we can tweak and and fine-tune, but that's the way that anything brand new starts out and so I'm okay with it. And I would say that every regulation set change, when it's a big one, it takes a little bit of time to go, oh okay, I get this and accept it. We as humans fear change. But actually once you get it and that's the new norm, you get it and it's fine and you accept it. A and I know that the diehards will roll against this.

But I think for most people it was a perfectly Fine right. One thing I will say is that, you know, the early part of the race, particularly where we saw um George Russell and Charles Leclerc, the Mercedes versus the Ferrari,

There were a lot of positional changes, but it was back and forward. So halfway around the lap, the Ferrari's in front, then later the same lap, the Mercedes has got back in front. That's going to be a feature. And it's, it's, the reason people will criticize this is because they will say it's not pure racing. racing and those positional changes were about different levels of energy in the battery at different stages around the lap.

But that's the era that we're in right now. So you can criticise it as much as you want. You can say that that's not pure, that's not what we've all been used to over the last generations of this sport. But actually it's what we've got and it can be entertaining. I think we got a glimpse into that. I think it could be even more entertaining than we saw today just because we're we're figuring it out.

One team, Mercedes, did a better job than everyone else around this track. That's not necessarily gonna be the case all the way through this season. I liked it. It felt like It felt like a normal F1 race. It was quite exciting at the beginning. We got some good overtakes. We had a four-car battle at the front at one point, Mercedes versus Ferrari. Then it kind of died down a bit.

Ferrari made the traditional strategy error and then lost out on a chance of getting any better than third with Charles Leclerc and then it got a bit boring for a few laps. Which is a normal F1 race. So kind of very F1y.

And and yes we it was a different way of going about it, but I wonder, look, I I I'm not going to to sit here and say this is the right way of doing things, but I I understand why we're doing it and it's the trickle-down effect, it's the road relevancy with all the power units and the technology and all of that. But at the end of the day, I wanna see overtakes and I I wanna see battles up and down the field, whether that's for podiums or wins. And I I'll tell I'll I'll give give you this.

I was on the bus back from Albert Park, outside gate one, all the way back to our hotel. It's a forty bus too. It's like a forty five minute walk. Like so ten minutes on the bus. Anyway, got on there and I was with about ten other Aussies who had all just clearly been in the grandstands watching the race and I was listening to their conversation.

And they were all absolutely loving those first fifteen laps and how back and forth it was and they wasn't sure which way it was gonna go. And then they were talking about how Lewis Hamilton was closing in on Charlecler at the end of the race. closing in, if there'd been another fifteen laps, could he have got Charles Leclerc for a podium, maybe even got Kimmy Antonelli who finished second? And ultimately listening to that I was like, well Job done.

Felly, mae'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd

Um, you know, wheel-to-wheel racing, lots of positional changes and people want to see that when you flick your TV on or you listen to our coverage. But I think because it was the first day of this new regulation cycle, we saw those two drivers, particularly I'm thinking George Russell and Charles Leclerc. Switching positions multiple times. I think what might happen and this could be a concern is as we get further into this and everyone works out how to optimize it.

If you're a a strategist, if you're sitting on the pit wall of one of those teams, it may well be that the optimum way to get through the early part of a race is not to do that and actually just to sit behind. One sit behind the other. manage your energy in a much more efficient way. That's not entertaining, but it might be the more efficient way around the racetrack and then maybe, you know, before the first pit stop window then you make your move, you you break.

brake cover, you go for your track position. And I think that might be a a potential concern because always in Formula One, the engineers and the and the teams behind these this sport Optimise these things down to the nth degree. Right now it's so unknown, so unpredictable. We got a little bit of chaos and a little bit of of, you know, unpredictability. It won't be like that forever. I think

as you say, F one teams learn really quickly, F one fans learn really quickly as well. So I think there's a good opportunity for everyone to learn so much more and I I know what you're saying, but there's a clever way to race, isn't there? And engineers get that clever way to race. strategists get their clever way to race. And I think they'll they'll want to impress, they'll want to race hard. So yes, they'll conserve and pick the right time. But with DRS. We saw the same thing in Vegas.

Carl of Science was right on it. He knew exactly when to deploy and when not to. So it's about the driver learning, about the teams learning, about us learning, how it works. Well, yes, I ironically I suppose the majority of the drivers that had something bad to say about the regulations weren't up at the sharp end of the field or where they would like to be. Uh one man who was uh who was fairly complimentary things was George Russell.

and Mercedes and that's what we always see with a big regulation change. We normally get one team that absolutely nails it and and maybe runs away from it. I don't know if we're gonna get that this year, but certainly from the off gen. Mercedes have nailed it and I think Toto told you after the race we are back. Yeah and it's nice to hear them saying that and having confidence in one race's performance.

So yes they're back. It's a bit like Braun in two thousand nine. It's a bit like when Lewis signed with Mercedes and and they started winning. You have to take a bet and a gamble on who has the best performance, who has the best car. Fernando Alonso took a punt and went to Aston Martin. hasn't worked out so far and yet you look at Mercedes There've been a whiz when it comes to engine regulations. This is an engine and chassis regulation set. So it it was obvious that they were gonna challenge

ha quite how much they're challenging and how much the advantage is is off the chart, really. But I'm excited for them as a team because all of a sudden they are back. Yeah, they're definitely back as things stand right now. And and you know, you go back to twenty fourteen when the the first iteration of the hybrid regulations came into the sport.

Mercedes and as you rightly say they enticed Lewis Hamilton from McLaren because they had this opportunity to design the power unit and the chassis and the you know the car together. Integrate the two.

designed them as one single package. They weren't buying an engine in from someone else. They had the opportunity to get early indications of how that should work. All the data was they had it first before anyone else and they did a very good job. It feels like they've done exactly that same thing again, but

You know, they're not the only ones that have that opportunity. Ferrari do the same, Audi do the same. You know, there are other teams that had the opportunity to seize hold of this set of regulations and do and do the same thing, but it is Mercedes that had the better job so far. So

I'd caveat the whole thing by saying because it's all so new, it's all uh it's so early in this regulation cycle, there's gonna be massive development. This season particularly is gonna be a development race more so than any other. Maybe even the first half of this season more so.

as other teams start to bring opportunities and new developments, upgrades to the car, get their head around how to utilize the technology. So you know Mercedes have hit the ground running, which was the right thing to do. They've capitalised on it today.

Others will get closer, I have no doubt. I feel like Mercedes was a slight hail. of two harsh because you had George Russell who who's been really the the favourite since testing or maybe even before we even went testing for all the reasons that you were saying, Jed about Mercedes and and their history. And then you had Kimi Antonelli Who is what 19 years old, back for his second season in Formula One. And he had a he had an up and down rookie year, didn't he, Mark?

And he had it up and down Melbourne too, but salvaged it all. Big crash in practice. Just about got out for qualifying. Definitely owes. The mechanics of beer. I bet as number one mechanic, I'm sure you'd be demanding a beer from Kimmy Antonelli after the shift you would have had to put in replacing that Mercedes car on all the bits on it. Got out for qualifying, stuck it on the front row, and then eventually

got second and made it a front row lockout. But it it was a well bad starts for both Mercedes though. should say. Yeah, it it's quite he's quite a difficult one to judge because he clearly made mistakes, you know, that that crash in F P three was a big one. The start of the race was poor, really quite poor from Antonelli.

But actually, if you take that to one side, the rest of it's been brilliant and he's recovered from those things extraordinarily well. So ta I think he lost five or six places at the start, didn't he? And yet, you know, he's finished. second behind his teammates. So it shows you the advantage Mercedes have in qualifying after the crash and the rebuild of the car. He had massive pressure to deliver and put the car on the front row. He did it

And it shows a certain level of maturity. Like last year he really struggled through the summer period. this race, he could have had the same fate of of of going back and doubting himself and doubting his ability, but actually he came back from that big smash Traction and and places at the start. he came back and I agree the pace is phenomenal for that Mercedes. It won't be like that all year.

But right now it is and they need to take advantage of that. And I would say he's come in, you know, he's starting his career in the right place. Mercedes under the leadership of Toto Wolfe Is a really good supportive environment, I think, to be in. When you're having struggles, you know, he started his Formula One career with a struggle, if you remember that.

That run out he had in free practice at um In Italy, yeah. Crashed it when all of the world's eyes were on him just before they were about to announ announce him as a as a racing driver. yw Toto a'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r That's a large partly to do with um with Mercedes and Toto and that leadership group.

Well, a great start for Mercedes. Let's hear what their drivers had to say after the race. Mae'n ymwneudol. Mae'n ymwneudol. Mae'n ymwneudol. Mae'n ymwneudol. Mae'n ymwneudol. Mae'n ymwneudol. Mae'n ymwneudol. with the overtakes, with the boost, with the energy. Um yeah some quite dicey action with Charles but yeah, brought it home. I fear asking this question already, but

I'm I don't know who take it race by race, or just enjoy the moment and there's no reason why we can't continue to fight for victories. But Ferrari were substantially more competitive than all of you guys thought. I think everybody expected a walk in

apart from Mercedes and it was far from that. Of course we were still the most competitive and uh that was great but as I said not walking apart. Kiwi congratulations, second place in the first race of the season. Just tell me how you're feeling after that. Yeah, it was uh you know, a bit mixed feelings to be fair. I I had a really poor start, uh I had an issue at the start but uh obviously then the the pace was very strong and uh you know the car was feeling i unbelievable so

So you know it was uh was good to see, it was good fun, uh and it was was a pretty flat out race. Um but yeah, definitely there's a lot of work to do but uh great result for the team and uh you know really really grateful. Yeah, I know it was uh I think the the race was uh much better than what people and what we all anticipated. I think, you know, with uh with the overtake boost being so powerful, he actually uh gave a lot of action in the first few lap and

Of course uh it was fun to to to fight back. It was not fun to to lose so many positions and I think that was uh really game changer for the race. But uh I think you know it was uh was good fun this weekend and uh you know I think next week in China we'll Well a great start for both Mercedes drivers, maximum points for the team.

But there was a nice little ding dong with Ferrari early doors. Um and well Mercedes poor starts as Mark was mentioning, Jen. And Ferrari came good with the lightning fast starts for both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who I think underperformed in qualifying. They were disappointed with that.

But Charles Cler took the lead by turn one and then had a great ding dong with George Russell, so much so that it then brought in Lewis Hamilton a couple of laps later and once Kimmy Antonelli recovered from his poor start, we had a four way fight for the lead at one point. And that was the the gift that we had in those first few laps because it was a ding-dong as you said. It was viral after Bahrain and testing of Lewis just coming from tents all the way to the front.

And they played it down and said that's not gonna happen in the race. It absolutely did happen the race. Okay, you didn't start tenth, but they were rocket ships. ac mae angen i ni'n ei wneud. Rydych chi'n ei wneud ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r hynny.

But it was great to see them take the fights to Mercedes at some point and we needed that as a spect spectator sport. Well as we said we loved we loved the overtaking at the start month but Isaac Hajar pulled off the side of the road, suspected engine issues at the time, virtual safety car. It it felt like almost everybody who was in a position to pitted, neither Ferrari did. Did that cost them a better result on Sunday?

Mae'n rhaid i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd. Whether they had enough pace to really take it to Mercedes I just don't know. And I'm not even sure they know. So maybe they kinda got away with it in that sense. But uh I still think if that was the mistake that we think it is, it's another example of Ferrari just not quite being clean with their and and

clinical with their decision making from the pit wall. So You know, Lewis Hamilton came off the back of last year, a really difficult, you know, season. But he was critical of his own team. He went into the winter saying things have to change, people have to change. you know, we gotta get we've gotta get a bit more tightened up with all this stuff. We heard Lewis on the radio actually being really quite demanding and adamant, you know, do not bring me in at the same time as Charles Leclerc.

He questioned should we have not made a pit stop during that safety cut, that virtual safety car? So Lewis is quite strategic in the way that he thinks. He will be really frustrated I think. He wasn't he didn't say that after the race. I think he was quite uh you know pragmatic about it. But um I think that was a a missed opportunity from Ferrari. What I will say about the start.

Ferrari do have a great start. A lot of people putting that down to the smaller turbo, meaning they can spin that up more quickly than other teams. I think it was exacerbated a bit today because both Mercedes had a problem in that they rolled up onto the grid with empty batteries. That will be something they need to look at. I don't know why that has happened, but with an empty battery, once you get up to the 50 kilometers an hour and you've got your initial launch.

they were missing that massive boost that comes from the electrical side of the power unit that everyone else had, Ferrari particularly. So it may well be that although Ferrari have an advantage at the start, maybe it wasn't quite as dramatic as we saw today. And I it it took me back to Qatar last year when McLaren didn't pick.

They didn't stop when everyone else did. And when you've got track position and you're leading the race, it's not as easy, is it, to make that decision. So you want to stay out, you want to stay ahead of everybody else. And it's very easy for the people behind you to make that decision of, Well, they haven't pitted so obviously we pit and we get tack position later on.

So I I think it's really hard to judge it when you're not on the pit wall in the team and two cars in that position. You could have done one of them, yeah.

I agree. Uh but uh despite all that, you know, they they kept in the hunt for that final podium place. And Hamilton was really actually closing in on Charles Leclerc at the end within half I think about six tenths of a second as they crossed the line at the checker flag. I wonder.

A few more laps. Yeah. Hamilton back on the podium. He didn't see it once last year. Yeah, I absolutely think so. He thinks so as well. And and what's The biggest thing for me to come out of this whole weekend is a brand new Lewis Hamilton who was upbeat, who was positive almost all weekend. Yeah, he finished behind his teammate, but that's not really the story of the weekend for them because actually on a number of occasions it was Lewis that was the lead for RE in terms of pace.

So I think Lewis suits this type of car a lot more than the ground effect era that he struggled so much, both at Mercedes and Ferrari. It may be that the tide is just turning and it's swinging back towards Lewis a little bit.

And as someone who's worked with Lewis, you can understand when he's got his head down and when he's actually got his chin up. And today I I felt like all in fact all weekend he had his chin up. There was we used to joke that there was more performance in keeping Lewis happy And keeping his emotional state in the right place than there ever was with any we could actually do with the car. So, you know, when he was going in a relationship with Nicole Scherzinger and that was off and on

The moments it was off, his performance dipped off and fell off a cliff. So I can tell you from experience, his emotional state affects his performance, as it does all of us. Yeah, exactly. You gotta keep me well fed, otherwise past eight PM and I get a bit cracked. And we're getting dangerously close to that. Uh I wonder when last orders are gonna be anyway. But we'll we'll move on then. But actually no, before we move on, let's hear from a rather upbeat

Lewis Hamilton. That was actually a lot of fun. It's a really good race. So um but great fun at the start, um first first laps. Uh lost well not I w I don't at at the battle I got to watch um from my position. Um got to do some overtaking as well. So yeah. Um super excited for for the rest of the season.

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Lando Norris, uh, in the only McLaren that finished the race. Actually, Oscar Piastri obviously crashed out on the way to the to the grid, didn't even make the formation lap. That's a whole thing. But Lando Norris and McLaren they Do Mark? Yeah. Uh

Probably the best they could do given the circumstances they found themselves in this weekend. Definitely not the best they would have hoped for. Don't forget, they have the class leading power unit in the back of their car. They got a Mercedes, the one that won the race by this. huge margin and it's dominated all weekends. The only difference is the drivers, the team and the rest of that chassis. A and the time zone uh the time scale of everything because they only got it

Just before the race. So that's the latest iteration and the one that Mercedes were testing in Bahrain, McLaren only got this weekend. So the one with Go Fast Stripes. So that that will have cost them to some extent, because you know, all the time you can get on track you're learning more about it. But I think there's still clearly some deficiency in the McLaren car, in the aerodynamics, in the way that it uses its tires.

That car's not quick enough. It's nowhere near quick enough if it wants to to take on a a Mercedes. So they've got a lot of work to do. Yes on the power unit side and getting to grips with that and understanding how to deploy it. You know, these power units are complex. Learning how to use it's not just the technology, it's how you use it, how you deploy it through a race scenario.

That's a big amount of learning they've got to do, but I think they've still got some work to do on the chassis side. Is it aerodynamically efficient? Is it using its tyres well? Has it got grip in the places it needs it? And I don't think it was even anywhere near a match for Mercedes today.

No, Norris uh certainly a McLaren with pace to find. Uh he did finish ahead. There was a bit of a battle brewing, wasn't there, with with Max Verstappen. I mean Max Verstappen's Australian Grand Prix weekend. Didn't really see much of him from practice, crashed out in the first part of qualifying. As a result, outqualified by t new teammate Isaac Hajar. Not by a little bit. And and finished sixth. Max Verstappen. What? I know. It's hard to believe, isn't it? This is

At the moment the best person, the best driver in Formula One. It just didn't go his way this weekend, did it? And he didn't he didn't put it together. And I wonder where that comes from, where it sum from w without having spoken to in in depth. It's hard to figure out where that was and what's going on. He's grumpy, he doesn't like the cars, doesn't like this era of Formula One. He needs food. That's the first that's the first thing.

And you know the the reason he's grumpy is he's he's he's not a fan of where we're going with Formula One as a whole and he's been very vocal about that. But in qualifying, in the first part of qualifying when he had his accident I don't think it was a driver error accident. He had the rear axle lock, and that was at least in part, I think largely to do with the complex systems that run

the energy harvesting going into that corner. So he was just a passenger. He hates that. He's a very, very highly competent driver, four time world champion, and yet he looked amateur And I think he hates that. So he did recover it well. Twentieth up to sixth. Good recovery drive.

The one thing I'm really intrigued about and I don't think we know off this weekend is how good is that car in the hands of Max on a clean weekend and I can't wait to find that out. Uh shout out to Isaac Hajar who did a brilliant job in qualifying third and doing kind of what

Red Bull have always wanted their second driver to do when Max Verstappen might not be in the equation. The other one is able to to maximize and get something out of it. Ultimately Hajar retired so so didn't get uh the result he wanted. So Norris fifth for Stappen six. I'll just just run you through the top ten, the point scorers. Oliver Behrman in the has seventh. Arvid Limblad on debut for Racing Bulls. The rookie, the British rookie in Formula One, eight.

Ahead of Gabriel Bortoletto who gets two points for Audi in their first race in Formula One and Pierre Gasly stole the final point in tenth. In terms of that best of the rest battle then, Jen, who's catching your eye? Uh undoubtedly. I there's only one person that can. And I'm not British biased. Obviously it was Limbad. He he did such a good job all weekend. Um he diced with everybody, he was up the front. I thought he showed composure. He's the only rookie this year.

And he was very impressive. Amen. completely agree. I thought he had a solid weekend. Building gradually as the weekend went on, which is you know from a team's perspective, that's what you need. You need a driver to not make mistakes, build their confidence as well as their experience, and then finally when it comes to race, they deliver and that's what he did. It's a clean sweep for Limblads. Uh it would be remiss of me. I think he was magnificent. I'm surprised actually.

was that he didn't quite get it together in the final part of qualifying because he got out qualified by Liam Lawson. But he was up to fourth at one point in this race. So he had a had a great battle with Max Verstappen, right? Yeah. This is the guy that he's supposed to be just helping his way through. Mover. Move over when Max turns up. He didn't get that memo. Max was in his mirrors for a long time, went wheel to wheel, and fought tooth and nail. I loved it.

It was incredible from Arvid Linblad, so well done uh to the rookie. Guts uh gets four points for eight.

Place. Um, and just before we come to our hero of the race, that's our new drive of the day that we kind of installed after Uh Fernando Alonso's incredible comments at a race last year and some radio gold. If you're wondering how the new team on the block, Cadillac, did uh well they had one car finish in the form of Sergio Perez, so managed to get some decent running with him. 16th. Uh and the Aston Martin situation

one of the bigger stories uh of the weekend with their Honda Power Unit uh being well not very powerful. Uh they did actually get both cars starting the race, Lance Stroll and Bernando Alonso, in and out of the garage it seemed. Um and Lancedraw did actually, although he's technically not classified, he did take the checkered flag but about 15 laps down. So obviously I'm in the pit lane and it was like a procession of in out in out. Okay, what are they doing now? Oh they're re retiring the car.

Oh no, he's back again. It was like um a phoenix from the flame. It didn't it didn't do anything for them apart from give them valuable testing data because they missed so much of the test. Rydw i'n meddwl bod hynny'n gwybod bod hynny'n gwybod bod hynny'n gwybod bod hynny'n gwybod bod hynny'n gwybod bod hynny'n gwybod bod hynny'n gwybod. And the thumbs and fingers.

And actually they went out and did more than the laps that they thought would uh harm them. So that's gotta be a good thing. Yeah, nerve damage from from the vibrations uh from the batteries in the engine that were making it impossible really for for Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll to drive a full Grand Prix distance. They did. Uh get good Lapajin though in the end, but uh Alonso retired, Bottas as well in the Cadillac along with Hajar, Piastri and Holkenberg did not make the start of the race.

Hero of the race. Who wants to go first? Mark. Jenny, Mark Jenny, Mark Jenny, Mark, Jenny. Why are you gonna? I mean look, I I think he you struggle to to look beyond George Russell because he he didn't really put too much of a foot wrong, other than turning up on the grid with an empty battery, and I don't know the reason then why that happened, but you know it's

He's got a car that's so dominant but he's still got to get the job done and he did exactly that. And that's why he's not my hero of the day, because he had the dominant car, he was on pole and he did what he needed to do, albeit with a great drama with Charles Leclerc. For me it's Limbard. Um he's rookie, he was so impressive off the start and he kept it in the top ten valuable points for um racing bulls and for me, British bias maybe.

I don't care. It's him. I'm gonna go for Limblad as well. Uh right, talk of hero of the race. I spy out the corner of my eye. A BBC F One correspondent. Should I give him my money? Get the orders in. Thank you very much. Cheers, Elvis. Don't make it awkward. Try not to spill the empty glasses behind. We won't make it a connection. It's the it's just the water, Andrew, that we we like to stay hydrated here at BBC F one. Um Andrew.

Uh you've just joined us uh having walked down from the paddock, a brisk walk. What is it, 35 minutes? Actually I beat Apple Maps by 15 minutes. Of course you did. Um right, you've been up and down the paddock uh uh since since what the checkered flower you were in the commentary box with us and then you dumped. Well, I think it's fair to say it's mixed. Basically, everyone went into this race in Formula One, a bit confused.

About what would happen, and with the with the open minds about whether the rules would need to be tweaked after three races, that's still very much the case. You know, the drivers are complaining about danger. You know, Lando Norris uh referred to that, uh George Russell. Russell caught his battle with uh Charles Leclerc Dicey.

Um we saw that the colour pinto nearly going into the back of Liam Lawson's slow uh racing bulls off the start line it's gonna be catastrophic. Exactly. Max Verstappen's obviously still not happy with the rules as you know. Um

It's about artificiality. That was a word that uh Andrea Estella, the McLaren team principal used, you know, this boost, this overtake. What was going on with LeClaire and Russell basically was that one of them was using either boost or overtake to get past, that would deplete their battery, then the other one would be able to challenge them again.

and the the also the effect of that was that it cost them a lot of race time which allowed Hamilton and Antonelli to close up. Now, as the season goes on, I'm sure the drivers will start to think about that a bit more. Is it the right way to Should we be doing this? Should is it best for our race to not actually race? Sounds a bit counterintuitive, but then counterintuitive is a word that's been used about these rules by Oscopiastri, for example. So lots of concern still. Having said that.

I would say that a lot of the worry was allayed to a degree in the sense that it still looked like a Grand Prix. You know, there was still some genuine racing. Um after qualifying The whole paddock was a bit shell-shocked by the advantage that George Russell had. The race made it clear that that wasn't anywhere near as big an advantage as it.

as it appeared to be. Um I've been speaking to the Mercedes engineers. They say a lot of that was Russell managing the energy properly on the lap, all the learnings that they've got through being the works team, him applying that better than Kimi Antonelli did. So that gap flattered his achievement as a driver. So if you want a driver of the day for me and a driver of the week from me and a driver of the weekend as good as Harvid Limblad was, I would give it to Russell just for that.

Um but I think i there's very much a sort of watch and wait and uh let's but with a with a an approach of We probably think we are gonna have to make some changes to this. It's just a question of what exactly they're going to be. But that's fine, isn't it? Making changes to a new rule set i is the DNA of F1. They have to tweak as they go. They learn so much so quickly. I know what you're saying that they shouldn't have to after three races or so.

Yeah, I mean you're right to a degree. Uh th the issue with these rules is that people there's been various ways of describing them, Cure its egg, Frankenstein's monster, um you know and so on and so forth. Uh

basically what happened is they created an engine and didn't really think about the car that would go with it and then when they started doing the car they introduced a load of compromises because of all the political battles that were going on that didn't really need to be there. There's all sorts of things that could have happened. Those things that could have happened can't happen now. So they've kind of kind of trying to sticking plus to them.

uh in one way or another. Or maybe they won't. Let's wait and see. But I don't think that's gonna happen until after the Japanese Grand Prix, which is the third race of the season in a couple of weeks' time. Well, exactly. We've just had the first race of the year under our belts and and the first proper chance to see what we're dealing with here. So Let's take it one race at a time and we haven't got very long until we go racing again. Literally a couple of days as everyone

Makes the trek over to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix and it'll be the first sprint race of the year as well. So we really are straight into it. and a double dosage of racing as well. But that's it, I think. Thank you very much to all the team for joining us. And if you've enjoyed our coverage throughout the weekend on BBC Radio 5 Live, make sure you're subscribed.

Uh to BBC Sounds and on YouTube. We're also available on iPlayer if you're watching us there for our Check and Flag podcast. We'll see you. In China. A new era of Formula One is about to dawn. I think the biggest step the sport has ever seen there are new rules, new cars, and a brand new team. In Formula One, it's just absolute brutal pure competition. Yeah. Has been years in the making. Somebody's gonna get it right and somebody's gonna get it wrong. I'm Rosamond Pike, and this is Back at base.

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