George Russell believes Mercedes look 'a step ahead' of Ferrari as he shares podium pride in Australia

George Russell believes that Mercedes appeared “a step ahead of Ferrari” at the Australian Grand Prix as he secured an impressive podium finish.

The Mercedes driver enjoyed his most successful F1 season-opening weekend to date, finishing third in Australia, an outcome one place better than his previous best from the 2022 Bahrain round.

The result saw him join race winner Lando Norris and reigning World Champion Max Verstappen on the podium in a Grand Prix that was full of drama, with the 27-year-old also benefitting from a late-race off for McLaren driver Oscar Piastri that saw the home favourite drop out of contention.

However, amid the treacherous wet/dry conditions there was plenty for Russell and Mercedes to be happy about. Arriving in Australia, it was believed that there was little to separate Mercedes and rivals Ferrari on pace, but after comfortably outqualifying Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton on Saturday and finishing five places clear of the former on Sunday, Russell believes his team has gained an early upper hand.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 16: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG — Russell managed to secure an impressive podium spot in Australia

“The pace of the car was kind of where we finished, really,” he said. “We definitely seemed a step ahead of Ferrari but the McLarens especially seemed a big step ahead of us.”

Asked later on in the post-race press conference what had been key to finishing on the podium, Russell added: “It was just staying out of trouble.

“To be honest, from the beginning, it was clear that these guys were just too quick for us and we were quicker than the Ferraris, so I was kind of in no man’s land and I just made the decision quite early on that the best way to approach this race was just to bring it home.

“If I risked it more, there was no more reward on the table because they were just so far ahead.”

‘Just keeping it on the road was a handful’ admits Russell after podium in Australia

Russell added: “I’m very pleased to come home in P3. It was not an easy race for anyone and just keeping it on the road was a handful in itself but I’m really happy with the podium.”

Russell was joined in the top four by rookie team mate Kimi Antonelli, as a five-second time penalty imposed for an unsafe release that initially dropped him to fifth was reversed post race.

Sparing a word for the Italian, he said: “He did an amazing job to come all the way to P4 from 16th, so he deserved that after yesterday because he definitely deserved a better result than what he had in Qualifying.”

HIGHLIGHTS: Relive the exhilarating Australian Grand Prix action as Norris takes a remarkable victory while rookies struggle