George Russell (right) and Kimi Antonelli gave Mercedes their first front-row lockout since the 2024 British Grand Prix, when the Briton was on pole and Lewis Hamilton started alongside him
George Russell said he believed a "perfect storm" accounted for the chasm between Mercedes and their rivals in qualifying at the first race of the new Formula 1 season.
The Briton's remarks were a reference to the fact that Max Verstappen, whom Russell said Mercedes believed was their closest rival, crashed without setting a time.
But it may also be that the remark works as a more general reflection of an Australian Grand Prix grid that looks as if it was a function of possibly the most controversial set of new rules F1 has ever seen.
McLaren's Lando Norris, the world champion, said after qualifying sixth in Melbourne: "We've come from the best cars ever made in Formula 1, and the nicest to drive, to probably the worst."
