Mercedes magic and fast-starting Ferraris – What To Watch For in the season opener in Australia
Chris Medland picks out five key things to keep an eye on when the lights go out for the season opener at Albert Park in Melbourne.

.webp)
From Mercedes drivers fighting from the front row to balancing first lap aggressiveness, and from Max Verstappen charging up from the back to reliability challenges, here are five things to look out for as we get a new era of racing underway in Melbourne…
1. A Silver Arrows battle
A year ago it was McLaren who were eyeing a season-long battle between their drivers for the championship, with both starting on the front row in Melbourne. Could that now be the case for Mercedes after George Russell beat Kimi Antonelli to pole position?
Next Up
Related Articles
Russell shares ‘big question mark’ facing drivers in Spain
The key challenges F1 drivers will tackle at the Madring
Lindblad highlights positives despite FP2 crash in Spain
'Insane' – What the F1 drivers make of the new Madring
Hamilton opens up on ‘racing relationship’ with Leclerc
Madring Qualifying 'going to be an exciting one' – Leclerc
