Australian F1 Success: Mercedes 1-2

 

Season kicks off in style with 1-2 in Melbourne

• George Russell finished first with Kimi Antonelli second in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
• The duo lined up first and second on the grid with the Medium tyre, but it was no easy run to the flag with multiple challenges to overcome.
• Both drivers lost spots off the line with George and Kimi having a low battery level as the lights went out; George dropped to second with Kimi falling to P7.
• The Italian fought back immediately and cycled through to P4, behind George and the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the opening laps.
• George meanwhile enjoyed a back-and-forth battle with the Monegasque driver with the lead changing hands multiple times with the Ferrari able to edge ahead as the race settled down.
• The race complexion changed on lap 12 with the Virtual Safety Car deployed to rescue the stranded Red Bull of Isaac Hadjar.
• George and Kimi boxed for the Hard tire whilst Ferrari stayed out; they both held and gained track position but had to forfeit that when they made their first stops.
• Whilst the early stop left the team with the option of two-stopping, it became clear as the Grand Prix progressed that degradation was low and the pace was sufficient to one-stop.
• Both George and Kimi managed their car and tyres to the end to take a 1-2 finish, the 61^st for Mercedes in F1 and the three-pointed star’s 132^nd victory in the top tier of the sport.
• It also marked the first 1-2 for the team with a full line-up from the junior program.
• Hywel Thomas, Managing Director of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, represented the team on the podium.
• The team is back on track next week as the second round of the 2026 season takes F1 to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Driver	Grid	Result	Fastest Lap	Start Tyre	Stop One
George Russell	P1	P1	1:22.607	Medium	Hard (L12)
Kimi Antonelli	P2	P2	1:22.417	Medium	Hard (L12)

George Russell

That wasn’t a straightforward afternoon, but this win feels very sweet! Congratulations to the whole team; they’ve done an incredible job and this victory is for them.

We had a difficult and chaotic start and from there, were yo-yoing with the overtakes between Charles and me. I could have perhaps used my energy more smartly to defend when I first overtook him and that cost me when he passed me back. It was quite stressful from in the car but hopefully meant we put on a good show for the fans.

We stopped quite early on when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed and knew we were going to have to manage our tyres from there. We were not clear on whether the one or the two-stop was going to be quickest or which one was the right decision to help us take victory. The strategy team made a great call though and I am really happy we could take the victory and the 1-2. It’s a perfect way to start the season and we will enjoy this moment, but it is still very early days in the championship, and we know our rivals will be trying to close the gap quickly. It wasn’t easy for us so let’s see how we perform in China next week.

Kimi Antonelli

What an afternoon and what a weekend! It has not been easy on my side of the garage here in Melbourne, but we’ve come away from here with a great result. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone at Lauda Drive and Morgan Drive; they’ve produced a really strong car and a platform for us to build on. This 1-2 is for them and due to all the hard work and effort they’ve put in over several years.

Coming to the grid, I had a lower battery level so the start was very stressful! We obviously made a slow launch but from there our recovery was good and our pace was strong. That enabled us to fight our way back to the Ferraris and ultimately, after we went through the pitstops, to take a 1-2 for the team.

There is a lot we’ve learned about our car and how to operate within these new regulations this weekend. Whilst we were the strongest team in Melbourne, we are going to have to work really hard to stay ahead. I’m now looking forward to China and seeing what we can do in Shanghai.

Toto Wolff, CEO & Team Principal

We feel a lot of contentment coming away from Melbourne today. It is great to see Mercedes back at the front of the field at this opening race of the season. The teams at Lauda Drive and Morgan Drive have done a brilliant job to get our package to Australia in such a strong place. To see us take a solid 1-2 in race one with the season ahead hopefully means we can try and fight for a world championship. It will take a lot of hard work, and we know our competitors will be chasing us down, but this is exactly how we wanted to start the year. Congratulations to the whole team, the drivers, and everyone involved on this result.

We were going into the unknown this weekend, but I think F1 put on a good show with some exciting racing today. The back-and-forth fight between George and Charles (Leclerc) in those early stages was fun to see and I am looking forward to seeing how things play out in Shanghai next weekend. There is lots we learned here in Melbourne, and I am sure it will only get even more interesting from here.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

It's a great result for everyone at Lauda Drive and Morgan Drive to start the new era of F1 with a 1-2. Preparing for this year has been a long road, with many difficult moments, but every member of the team should be proud that the effort has paid off.

The start was difficult; we didn't do a good enough job of managing the limited energy around the formation lap and both drivers ended up at with low battery on the line. Kimi in particular became a sitting duck off the line. George fared slightly better but still lost a lot of ground. The drivers did a great job to stay out of trouble but dropped a lot of places and we had to go into recovery mode. The strategy team did well reacting to the incidents and ultimately the car had good pace.

We weren't quite sure if the one stop was a possibility having pitted so early but both drivers managed the tyres well. It was nice to see that we could hold the gaps to the chasing cars in the final stint. There is plenty that we need to improve on, but the team and drivers should be pleased with a great start to the season.

1936 Hansa 1700 -- A Masterful Restoration

 

Hansa 1700 -- about 6000 made between 1934 and 1937. A standard 41 HP engine, hydraulic ATE Lockheed brakes on all four wheels.

Hansa 1700 open-top sedan, built from 1934 until 1939, prewar photo

Australian F1 Grand Prix -- Saturday Preview: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

 

Front-row lockout to kick off the season in Melbourne

• George Russell took pole position with Kimi Antonelli second as the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team locked out the front-row at the season-opening Melbourne Grand Prix.
• It was not a straightforward run to that though with Kimi suffering a heavy accident near the end of FP3. Fortunately, the Power Unit and chassis did not need changing, and the team were able to get the Italian out on track in the closing moments of Q1.
• Both drivers successfully navigated their way through to Q3 with Kimi setting provisional pole on his final effort before George posted the fastest time to take the eighth pole of his F1 career and first here in Australia.
• That marks the 250^th pole position for Mercedes-Benz power in F1, going all the way back to Juan Manuel Fangio at the 1954 French Grand Prix, and the 85^th front-row lock-out for Mercedes.

Driver	FP3	Q1		Q2		Q3
George Russell	P1	8 Laps	P1	6 Laps	P1	8 Laps	P1
		1:19.507	Soft	1:18.934	Soft	1:18.518	Soft, Soft
Kimi Antonelli	P7	5 Laps	P6	6 Laps	P3	7 Laps	P2
		1:20.120	Soft	1:19.435	Soft	1:18.811	Soft, Soft

George Russell

Everything came together well today, and the team did an amazing job. They got the car into a good place, and we know that we’ve historically been quick in cooler conditions. Everything fell our way and we were able to convert that into pole. Equally, we know that the advantage we had today is not the true gap to our competitors. The team at Brackley and Brixworth have provided us with a really strong platform to build on but, if we want to win this championship, we will need to improve the car in several areas. This is only the first Qualifying session of the first race, and everyone is still on zero points.

We will do our best to convert P1 and P2 into a strong result tomorrow. It will be a long afternoon, and we will see what challenges get thrown our way. We had good long run pace on Friday, but we need to execute well if we want to fight for victory. Let’s see what we can do.

Kimi Antonelli

I clearly like to make my life difficult! We were on the back foot after my crash in FP3 but today, the heroes are the mechanics and everyone in the garage. I cannot thank them enough for repairing my car in time for Qualifying. We were so tight on time that we weren’t even able to set the car up properly, but they still gave me a rapid machine that enabled us to lock out the front-row.

We now have the chance to fight for a good result tomorrow. There are no points scored on Saturday, and it will be a long Grand Prix with these new cars. It is only the first race of the year and there are still lots of unknowns and things that can trip us up. We will need to do a good job tomorrow to turn this positive into a good points haul. I’m excited for the challenge and to get the season underway properly.

Toto Wolff, CEO & Team Principal

I don’t know where to start with the congratulations today as there are many that I need to make! The team has done a brilliant job to turn around Kimi’s car after his FP3 accident and to get it ready for Qualifying. It did not seem realistic to me when the car got back to us, but they put in an incredible effort. The team across Brackley and Brixworth have also done such a strong job to get the W17 to Melbourne in such a strong position and for the race team here in Australia to help put it P1 and P2 today. Both drivers also did brilliantly; George was on a different level out there and put in a fantastic performance whilst Kimi also recovered well and kept a cool head to deliver the front-row lockout.

Whilst we are very happy with today’s performance, it is only Qualifying and the first race of the season. The points are scored tomorrow so we need to show that we can be just as strong in the Grand Prix. We also know that our competitors will have much more to show than they did today and this will be no indication of how the rest of the season is likely to play out.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Well done to the team for managing to get Kimi's car back together and out before the end of Q1. It took so many people to make it happen and it was great that the hard work paid off with a front-row lock-out.

George also did a brilliant job to start the year with a pole position. He had the session under control from start to finish and made it look easy, but that's all down the fact he worked hard and left no stone unturned in his preparations. Kimi had a less smooth day; the crash in FP3 will have set him back but he will learn from that. He did a fine job under enormous pressure though to make it through the sessions and end up on the front row. Finally, well done to the team in Brackley and Brixworth; it's impressive to see how hard everyone has worked preparing for these regulations, but they can all be immensely satisfied to be starting the first race of a new era with both cars at the head of the field.  

Carl Borgward's Pre-WWII Three-Wheelers: The Goliath Pionier and F400

 

"Light Cars" and cycle cars were popular during the Depression-Era 1930s, and one -- the Goliath Pionier proved to be the springboard for Carl Borgward's empire of the 1950s that featured 2 makes of trucks and three cars. The Goliath made sense for many cash-strapped Germans, as it did not require a use tax or even a driver's license. It's body was made of wood and fabric, and it was powered by a rear engined one cylinder, two cycle engine of either 200 ccs or 247ccs. Weighing only 767 pounds and costing 1,460 RM, it had a top speed of 32 mph, although turning it at 30 mph could well cause the vehicle to tip over. 4000 units were sold between 1931 and 1934.  These little cars that feature an electric starter an still be found in small villages in northern Italy, where very narrow roads favor a small, agile car with enough power to climb the hills.

You can see one at the Lane Motor Museum, in Nashville, TN. Apparently on 4 survive??

A long-forgotten path-breaking automobile, the Hansa 1500 (1949)

 

Borgward Factory and neighboring, after bombing in 1945. Bremen_in_ruins_Hastedt_Hemelingen_Borgward-Werke_1945.jpg (807×843)

Rising from ashes and rubble, Germany returned to automobile manufacturing with a heroic effort. Much has been written about the Volkswagen, but the Borgward Hansa 1500 sedan of 1949 has been largely forgotten, particularly in English language scholarship. There was considerable carry over from 1934-1939 models -- all independent suspension and back-bone frame, for example. And the 1500 engine was a direct descendent of the 1100. Rather ugly with its slab sides and v-windshield, it did have a first, however -- the first factory installed automatic transmission in a European car. A modest seller, the transmission's operation was often not understood by owners, as it had to be dead stopped before putting it into reverse, thus causing a real problem for Borgward frequently to repair.

The Hansa 1500 set the stage for the striking model of 1954, a car you might have seen on recent American TV commercials. The tale of Borgward's end in 1960s remains a contentious story, perhaps retelling in a later post.

From a 1951 Brochure:

"This convertible represents the peak of perfection. Putting up and folding back the completely weather-proof roof, equipped with guides. is a matter of utmost simplicity. On the outside the roof is covered with a durable fabric specially developed for convertibles and on the inside it is lined with horse-hair as a protection against cold. The horse-hair lining is covered with a fabric matching the color of the interior. The cozy and smart interior is upholstered in high-quality leather and affords ample space for five passengers in the comfortable seats. Six different color schemes are available and harmonize throughout -- finish, roof and leather upholstery. The tilting backs of the front seats can easily be folded down."

"Top speed is approx. 95 miles per hour -- Fuel Consumptiom under normal operating conditions 30 miles per gallon."

Source Brochure, "Eine Klare Enschiedung,"Source  National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library.

"...one single operation suffices when your car is equipped with the fluid clutch. You simply press the accelerator. there is only one lever, which is located below the steering wheel. It has three positions: one for forward run, one for reverse and one for parking."

Authorize USA dealer in 1951 for the Hansa 1500 was Europa Motors, 991 Sixth Avenue, NYC 18,  New York.

"Hot Car," a 1958 Training Film for Police on Automobile Theft

 I just caught wind of this film last night. It is short film teaching police about auto theft, a huge problem in the 1950s, mostly because of joy riding.  but there is also a message about organized crime and chop shops. The recovery rate in any area is key to understanding what the source of the auto thefts are, whether joy-riders or organized crime where the car disappears forever.

I was struck by police use of the hot sheet in their cars, and how it was counted on a drum-like apparatus.  I had little to say about this important tool in my Stealing Cars: Technology and Society from the Model T to Gran Torino (2018). I also noted the fabricated tools to enter a car of the 1950s. A clear weakness that opened the door for thieves was the vent window.  But oh how great it was to use and play with if you were a kid driving along on a hot day.

Note also the under-the-hood hot wire technique -- jumper from battery to coil and then using pliars to bridge the gap between solenoid and battery connection.