Mercedes driver George Russell struck the first blow in the Formula One championship as he claimed an emphatic victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli and crushed an ​early challenge from Ferrari on Sunday.

Having dominated qualifying, pole-sitter Russell’s first win at Albert Park underlined Mercedes’ ‌promising pre-season form while giving the team their first Melbourne victory since Valtteri Bottas claimed the 2019 race.

“Great job everybody, it’s been a long time since we’ve been here,” Russell said over the team radio.

The Briton finished nearly three seconds ahead of Italian Antonelli, with Leclerc ​more than 15 seconds behind on a cloudy afternoon at the lakeside circuit.

It was a tough day ​for McLaren, with home hero Oscar Piastri’s race over before it begun with a crash during ⁠a reconnaissance lap some 40 minutes before the start.

His teammate and defending champion Lando Norris finished fifth, one place ​behind seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari.

Four-times champion Max Verstappen was sixth for Red Bull after starting 20th on ​the grid following a crash in qualifying on Saturday.

Thrilling duel

Russell engaged in a thrilling early duel with Leclerc as the racers swapped the lead seven times in the opening nine laps.

“It was a hell of a fight at the beginning,” said Russell. “I made a bad start, ​and some really tight battles with Charles at the start - just really glad to cross the finish line.”

There was ultimately ​daylight between Mercedes and the rest, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar proving an unlikely determinant in the race’s outcome. His car stopped ‌on lap ⁠12, with smoke billowing out of the rear, triggering a virtual safety car.

Mercedes called both their drivers in to pit, swapping out medium tyres for hard compounds and they rode them for the final 45 laps without issue.

Ferrari stayed out, much to the chagrin of Hamilton, who complained that at least one of them should have gone in.

Only 20 of ​the 22 cars started, with ​Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg scratched just ⁠before the race due to a reliability problem.

Fourth on the grid, Leclerc had a terrific start, sneaking through a tight gap between Hadjar and Russell to snatch the lead at ​the first corner.

With Piastri out of the race, Hamilton had a clear run in ​front of him ⁠and was soon up from seventh to third, leaving Russell in a Ferrari sandwich.

Furious racing ensued as Leclerc and Russell fought wheel-to-wheel, and Russell nearly came unstuck when he locked up during one skirmish on lap nine.

While the Mercedes cars pitted early, ⁠Leclerc finally ​came in on lap 26, with Hamilton following a couple of laps ​later after surrendering the lead to Russell.

Out in front with teammate Antonelli one behind, Russell was confident one stop would be enough and so it proved ​as they burned away from the Ferraris for a thumping win.