Fraser MasefieldThe Scuderia Ferrari Formula One team confessed themselves happy to finish as best of the rest behind the winning Mercedes duo at the season opening Australian GP.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished in third and fourth places respectively in what was the first race in the new F1 hybrid era power units and aero packages.
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“We were quite strong in the race, which was a positive given that our expectations yesterday were not that high,” commented Leclerc on the official Ferrari press release.
“I had a good start and learned a lot on those opening laps.
“There are lots of things to manage at the same time, energy deployment, tyres, overtakes, and I’m happy with how I handled the situation from inside the car.
A fantastic drive from Charles earned him a well-deserved podium 👏#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/wvl8pkU23m
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 8, 2026
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have the pace to hold onto first place later on.
“We’ve got to be on it in terms of development and push to the maximum to reduce the gap.
“We have gained a lot of insight in these days. We will take that knowledge with us and work on making a step forward for China.”
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Ferrari has shown in Bahrain testing that they had become masters of the launch off the line practice starts and so it came to pass, Leclerc rocketing into the lead from fourth and Hamilton making inroads from seventh.
Indeed, the opening laps saw the lead between eventual winner George Russell and Leclerc change hands several times as push to pass and battery harvesting produced intriguing racing.
Watch the lights 👀
And in the blink of an eye the 2026 season is GO! #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/dVQ6WH0NeF
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 8, 2026
Then came the crucial moment, Ferrari opting to stay out on track whilst the majority of the field pitted for fresh rubber at the first Virtual Safety Car due to Isak Hadjar’s on track retirement.
It ultimately meant that Mercedes were allowed to escape in clean air and nurse their new hard compound rubber effectively enough to the chequered flag.
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Was it a tactical mistake that cost Ferrari the chance of a race win? Possibly not, as Mercedes may have had the pace for the win in any circumstance.
“From our side, third and fourth is a good result,” commented Fred Vasseur Team Principal. “We saw after qualifying that there was a performance gap and so this result was the best we could do today.
“We have a long season ahead of us and we must improve many aspects over the coming months. With regards to our strategy, we decided not to pit under the VSC, as we were focused on our optimal strategy.
“Then, we and I think also Mercedes, were very surprised by the long life of the tyres and with the second VSC we were a bit unlucky as the pit lane entry was closed when we could have pitted.
“It is what it is and now we are focussing on the next race. We can be positive, because we know where we need to improve, even if we know it will be a challenge.”
For Hamilton, who endured a torrid opening 2025 season for his new team, there is certainly much cause for encouragement in this new era of F1 racing.
“I was happy with the performance for our first race of the season,” added Hamilton. “There has been a lot of learning over the weekend, and we squeezed everything out of today and took absolutely all the performance that was on the table.
“I feel great!” 🤩
Lewis Hamilton is taking plenty of positives from the first race of the season, where he finished P4 in the end 👊#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/8I5eHObSt6
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 8, 2026
“From the first laps I felt switched on and throughout the race understanding more and more about the car and adjusting my inputs to get the most from it.
“There is still lots to learn and work to do but it’s clear we’re in the fight. We’ll stay grounded, stay precise, and keep pushing to build on this.”
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Craig Scarborough