Around the Park; driver reactions from the Australian GP

While it was romp for George Russell and Mercedes, with some great exchanges between the Briton and Charles Leclerc in the opening laps of the Australian Grand Prix – there were plenty of narratives around the park, woven into the Formula One season opener.

Max Verstappen (P6)

Voted as the official Driver of the Day too, the four-time world champion scythed through the field from 20^th to score Red Bull’s only points in sixth – after teammate Isack Hadjar retired with a series of power-unit issues.

Verstappen added further to his sentiments regarding the 2026 engine regulations, by emphasising his love of racing and want for the sport to listen and address driver concerns.

“I think they’re willing to listen. I just hope, of course, that there is some action. I mean, it’s not that I’m the only one saying it. I think a lot of people are speaking the same. It’s drivers, fans, we just won the best adequate sport. It’s not that we are critical, just to be critical. We are critical for a reason. We want it to be Formula One.”

Liam Lawson (P13)

The Kiwi locked horns with his old foe in Sergio Perez, who raced in his first grand prix since 2024 for the all-new Cadillac team.

Lawson had a poor getaway that saw him plummet from eighth on the grid, to outside the top ten in no time. He then endured a difficult recovery, en route to 13^th while his rookie teammate scored points.

On his battle with Checo, Lawson while on fresher tyres was pushed to the edge of track limits – before eventually the Mexican conceded.  

“Yeah, I mean, two years later, he’s not over it. So he’s, yeah, fighting me like it’s for the world championship and like, he’s 16th. So, yeah, I mean, obviously. I don’t really care too much.”

Arvid Lindblad (P8)

Contrasting with Lawson, rookie Lindblad had a blinder on debut and scored points with an eighth place finish.

“It feels very special. I mean, I wasn’t expecting this result. I think points on debut is is really good, especially, you know, from where we were in Bahrain,” the 18-year old said speaking with written media including F1 Chronicle after the race.  

“So big thanks to the team and RBPT and Ford for the work they’ve done. And then I’m also very proud of myself. I don’t think I’ve really made any mistakes this weekend. I think I’ve maximised the car in almost every session.

“Yeah, that was pretty cool [battling Max]. I mean, I don’t think saying just points on debut really summarises that race. I mean, I think I was P3 at one point on Lap 1, which is which is pretty nice to think about, you know, sharing the track with battling with, you know, Lewis, Max, Lando, and all these guys, it’s very special.”

When asked by F1 Chronicle about his start, Lindblad said, “I just focussed on my procedure. did my bit right, and then as soon as the lights went out, I was just searching for every gap there was and getting stuck in.”

Gabriel Bortoleto (P9)

The former F2 champion delivered a strong result for the works Audi team in their F1 debut, converting a top ten start to a points finish, ahead of the favoured midfield teams in Williams and Alpine.

As well as losing positions at the start, while teammate Nico Hülkenberg didn’t make the start of the race, with Audi still investigating the cause of what halted the car on the way to the grid.

“I mean if someone told me we were going to score points in our first ever race and being in Q3, man, I wouldn’t say, you know, what they were drunk or what?” Bortoleto said to written media including F1 Chronicle.  

“Because it was a bit tough at the beginning for us, you know. A lot of problems, a lot of things happening, but the team has managed to put an incredible piece of art and deliver a great result.”

Alex Albon (P12)

Williams scored no points, with Albon highest placed in 12^th and a lap down from the leaders. Teammate Carlos Sainz was 2-laps down and finished 15^th after qualifying at the bottom of the grid.

“Realistically, we’re not really in the midfield fight and we are in front of the Astons and the Cadillac. So we’re a little bit by ourselves. We need to find at least half a second to start thinking about being part of that midfield fights.

“This is no worse than 2022, so. It is painful. We’ve been in this position before. We’ve turned it around before.”