George Russell took the lead and team-mate Kimi Antonelli closed the front row as Mercedes confirmed their off-season commitment by dominating qualifying at the Formula One season-opener Australian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Briton Russell lapped the Albert Park street circuit in one minute, 18.518 seconds, a mark that was 0.293 seconds ahead of Italian Antonelli, who returned from a serious crash in the final free practice earlier in the day.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was third fastest but around eight-tenths of a second slower than Russell’s pole position, the Silver Arrows’ first since Lewis Hamilton in 2019.
“It was a good day; we knew there was a lot of potential in the car,” Russell said. “It really came alive this afternoon.
“I’m also very happy that Kimi is here… All in all, a great day.”
Antonelli faces the anxiety of having to wait for his position to be confirmed, however, after his patched-up car dropped cold patches at the start of Q3 and defending champion McLaren Norris won one, sending dirt flying and triggering a red flag.
