Toto Wolff had praise for Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s recovery drive in F1 Australian GP, as the Italian and George Russell look at the positives.
Mercedes’ Russell made a decent start in F1 Australian GP to hang around the back of the Top 3 while keeping Charles Leclerc at bay in the first stint. But by the end of the run, he was already down on the Top 3 in a lonely fourth place for most part of the grand prix.
He eventually gained third after the spin for Oscar Piastri and most importantly, he did not make any mistake, neither did the team in strategy, which helped them to secure the podium. Teammate Antonelli, meanwhile, had a spirited drive up to fourth which included cancellation of a penalty.
With the rookies around him having issues, it seemed like Antonelli will have the same fate when he spun early on. But he recovered from that and chipped in to find himself inside the Top 10 by the time rain arrived for the third time. He was up to fifth after their last pit stop.
He passed Alexander Albon but was handed 5s penalty for unsafe release against Nico Hulkenberg – a moment which was not broadcasted on the world feed. The penalty was reversed after Mercedes challenged it and Antonelli was back on fourth to aide his team to be tied on points at the top.
McLaren still leads considering the win. The gap still remains as Wolff noted. They wanted to be close to Red Bull if not McLaren, but Max Verstappen managed to create a solid gap, something that Mercedes needs to figure out. Antonelli, meanwhile, was praised by Wolff for his determination.
The pressure drive after a low-key qualifying was Antonelli’s first competitive run in the wet too. Post-race, he was under the podium to cheer for Russell in a rare moment for a teammate to support in F1 unlike F2 or F3. He explained how Russell has been helping him all weekend long.
Race situation –
Russell: “Yeah, I think just staying out of trouble, to be honest. It was pretty clear from the beginning that these guys were too quick for us, and we were quicker than Ferrari. So, I was kind of in no man’s land. I made a decision quite early on that the best way to approach this race was just to bring it home. If I risked it more, there was no extra reward on the table because they were just so far ahead. Very difficult, any small mistake and you’d be punished. But pleased to come home with this result because I don’t think this is probably our strongest circuit. Especially after yesterday with the hot temperatures, I was also very happy with the P4 in quali.”
Antonelli: “I think today we got all the possible worst conditions for a first race. I mean we got wet, slicks on damp, slicks on wet and then back to wet. So definitely a really really eventful race but really happy how it was managed from my side and from the team. Of course, I did a couple of mistakes, especially the spin, but the conditions were super, super tricky. Also, those white lines were a killer. I’m really happy. The team really helped me throughout the whole race and made all the right calls and I definitely cannot complain about today. The first stint I struggled a little bit on the inter, I was trying to learn the tyre to see how it was working and the grip and everything.
“When I put the second set, I got a lot more confidence. So, I think it was good, really good experience. I didn’t really know I had the penalty. I just knew that the team told me to keep pushing even on the last lap. So it’s a shame… But I cannot complain about today. Everything went well. And definitely, I feel like I was quite lucky with the spin, other than all was managed well. It is certainly a good boost of confidence. I don’t know what the result would have been with a good qualifying, it was disappointing. I knew with the rain, anything could have happened but yeah, it is a really boost of confidence ahead of China.”
Wolff: “P3 and P5 (P4), that’s the result. If you look at the real pace today, pace result would be P4, P5, and I think it’s a solid first weekend. But looking at it always from the glass-half-empty side, you have to say that the pace of the McLaren is just very strong. Something which we need to understand, the way they are able to manage the tyres and extract performance from these. We need to get better if we want to fight on merit for race victories and for a championship. There is definitely something that we need to find.”
Strategy:
Russell: “The process started this morning, to be honest. We had some really good conversations about how we were going to make these decisions, what they needed from me, what I needed from them. I knew the rain would be getting heavier, so it was down to me to make that decision. Similar to Lando, I made the call five seconds in advance, and the guys were ready to change the tyres. That was a key moment in the race. I’m really happy about it because these mixed-condition races—for both of us, to be honest—they’ve gone away from us in the last couple of races. When we look at Brazil last year, we both got it wrong with strategy. Also in Montreal, it kind of went away from us as well. I think now, just to be here, is a good result.”
Antonelli: “I wanted to stay out for one more lap because it felt like at the end only sector 3 was wet, but you know the rest of the track was dry, but it was good to stay on the safer side, because it started to rain quite heavily. I think staying out one more lap maybe could have worked, but it was good to come in and that the team did great. Definitely, that was the right call.”
Podium moment:
Antonelli: “We all did a good race, so from his side…at the end today, it was really hard to stay on track, also him to grab the podium is a really good result for the team. It was good to go down there because he has been helping me to improve this weekend, so definitely looking forward to working with him in the future as well.”
Antonelli’s drive:
Wolff: “We always knew the potential [Antonelli has]. You see we followed him since he was a kid and he performs under pressure. Yesterday in qualifying that wasn’t his doing. He just hit the bump at the wrong place and, he would have qualified much further ahead, and today you saw that. He was able to just properly reel everybody in slowly but surely without making any mistakes. He had a little spin but otherwise, P5 which was P4, is the result that he merits.”
Competition:
Wolff: “How Red Bull managed to turn around a non-performing car from the Friday to the Saturday is something which you always need to bear in mind. They hit the sweet spot there. I think when you look at the pecking order in terms of tyre management, it’s McLaren, then it’s Red Bull and then it’s us this weekend. I think we would have wished to have a fight with the McLarens and with Verstappen under normal conditions. We have a deficit in keeping the tyres in the window. They are able to do that better and get faster, and with us we’re seeing a degradation because they’re simply getting too hot. That’s why I would have liked to be a bit closer to them, but that’s the reality. It’s an impressive gap [to McLaren].
“It’s reminiscent to these years where we just wanted to disappear into the distance, but you must never give up. We’ve just done the first race weekend, we’ve finished third and fifth. It would have been fourth and fifth on merit, but we are where we are and that’s why you can never take your foot off the throttle. We have to analyse what is it we can do to manage the tyre better. We’re not missing 20 points in downforce, that’s not the thing. It’s just literally on the mechanical side what we can do to keep in the sweet spot. So it hasn’t changed anything in terms of how do we prioritise 2026 versus this year just after the first race weekend. You have to keep your cool and continue your trajectory.”
Here’s how F1 Australian GP panned out
