2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix highlights

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

A chaotic 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix saw Lewis Hamilton claim the Team’s first podium finish.

On a wild afternoon in Melbourne, the race was interrupted by three red flag periods, a new F1 record, one Safety Car and one Virtual Safety Car.

A strong getaway at the initial start saw George and Lewis pass polesitter Max Verstappen and run one-two in the opening stages.

George pitted from the lead on lap seven under the Safety Car; the red flag was thrown only a lap later, though, comprising his strategy. Therefore, Lewis took the subsequent standing start first, having switched to the hard tyre under the red flag.

George quickly began his recovery, making up three positions and running fourth when a Power Unit failure ended his race on lap 17. Having been passed by Verstappen, Lewis was running second ahead of Fernando Alonso and managing his tyres.

A second red flag led to another standing start with a handful of laps remaining. Despite a third red flag and rolling start procedure after a crash-filled restart, Lewis kept out of trouble and took the chequered flag in second place.

Lewis Hamilton

Getting a podium today is amazing; I didn’t expect to be second this weekend, so I am grateful. Considering we’re down on performance, fighting with the Aston Martins is amazing for us at this point in the season. We’ve just got to keep fighting. A big thank you to all the people back at the factory. We can close that gap; it will be tough but not impossible.

It was very unlucky for George today. Our reliability has generally been pretty good, so that was unfortunate. Finally, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone here in Melbourne and Australia. I’ve had the best week here, and this town continues to put on a great show.

George Russell

We did everything right this weekend. We had a great Qualifying yesterday, and the start was perfect today. We managed the first stint well, and I could have extended it more. I’ve felt comfortable and strong in the car on all three days. I see no reason why we couldn’t have fought for victory today, so it’s disappointing. I felt something go as soon as I came through the high-speed turn 10. Three corners later, I was stopped. When it’s not your day, it’s not your day.

We still have a lot of work to do to catch Red Bull, but we can take the positives from this weekend. We couldn’t have done any more every time we’ve taken to the track. We maximised everything, and I’m proud of the job that we have done.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

We had a strong pace today, and it was really close with the Aston Martins and the Ferraris. That is good news for us, and I think we have made a step forward this weekend, both on one lap and race pace. We maximised what we have and need to comb through the data and continue learning about the car. This will help bring the upgrade packages, which will be the key to challenging the leaders more often.

It was unfortunate with George; he had a great stop from the lead and changed onto the hard tyre. It was absolutely the right call, and he would have been very much at the front. With the red flag, his race was not so good anymore. He still could have made it to the front, though, so he was unfortunate to have a Power Unit failure.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

It’s great to get the first podium of the year with Lewis, but it was a day of mixed fortunes for the team. Lewis drove a difficult race well and had to find a delicate balance between tyre management and defending. George had put together a strong weekend and was unfortunate that the Safety Car became a red flag. Things then got worse with the Power Unit issue. The car’s pace has been better than at the first two races; we’ve made some changes to the setup for the circuit, but hopefully, we can take some of that learning into the upcoming races.

Mercedes-AMG F1 Team best pictures:

2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, Sunday – Steve Etherington

2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, Sunday – LAT Images

2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, Sunday – LAT Images

2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, Sunday – LAT Images

2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, Sunday – Steve Etherington

2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, Friday – Jiri Krenek

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