Formula 1 drivers - including Mercedes’ British star George Russell - have been told to ‘stop whingeing’ about the timing of the Australian Grand Prix by the chief organiser of the event, which took place last weekend.
F1 returned to Melbourne for the first time since 2020, when the race was abandoned as Covid-19 began to spread around the paddock. The last time the sport had raced at Albert Park was in 2019, but the sport’s return was sealed as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took the chequered flag after starting on pole position to extend his lead at the top of the championship.
It was Leclerc’s second win of the season after he won in Bahrain at the season-opening race before he finished behind reigning world champion Max Verstappen in Saudi Arabia. This meant the Australian Grand Prix was the third event on the calendar - an unusual slot for a race which traditionally opens the season.
The timing of this year's race stirred debate among figures in the paddock, with Red Bull star Sergio Perez and Mercedes newcomer George Russell complaining about the schedule while Down Under. In fact, the Mexican even claimed the timing of the trip to Australia was ‘painful’ - a comment not taken lightly by Australian Grand Prix organiser Andrew Westacott.
“We've proven that we can have success both opening the season and coming in after a couple of races,” Westacott said defiantly. “The time for Formula One in Australia is early in the season. The drivers have got to stop whingeing in some respects.”
The return of the Australian Grand Prix to the F1 calendar saw the event make its case to be reinstated as the season-opening race going forwards. Over 420,000 fans flocked to the Melbourne circuit to watch Leclerc storm to victory, a stark and very welcome contrast to the empty stands and available seats in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Despite the clear success of the race Down Under, Russell joined Perez in voicing his frustration with the trip to Australia as a stand alone race. Russell said: “I think Melbourne here as the season-opener was really cool because everybody came up here early and there was a lot of excitement and anticipation.
“But I think having Melbourne in between races, especially as a stand-alone, is too tough for the teams and everybody. People came out on Saturdays and Sundays to get acclimatised to the conditions, to the time zone change and it is just too much.
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“I think it needs to be thought about more. There is no reason we couldn't do a back-to-back with one of the Middle Eastern races. But it feels like another double-header for all the teams with the amount of time they spend in this part of the world.”
Perez - who finished P2 in Melbourne after teammate Verstappen suffered engine issues for the second time in the opening three races - added: “As the season is getting longer and longer, we need to get a better balance.
“It works well at the moment because we are doing the winter testing in Bahrain, it makes sense to stay there. But it really has to be back-to-back with one of those races because just coming to Australia for a single race is quite painful for everyone.”
Russell would finish one spot behind Perez, securing his first podium since completing his highly-anticipated move to Mercedes after several years at Williams. The 24-year-old reached the line ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, who finished P4, and Russell remarkably sits second in the Drivers’ Championship behind Leclerc, who has a healthy 34-point lead over the Brit.
