Former Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko has commended Mercedes for its lightning start to the new season, believing it is one second per lap faster than the competition.
George Russell took pole position on Saturday at the Australian Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli, setting a time that was eight tenths ahead of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar in third.
Mercedes faced a challenge from Ferrari in the opening stages of the grand prix, but a strategy variance allowed the former to bring home a one-two finish.
Whilst Russell battled with Charles Leclerc for the lead in the early stages, Antonelli was forced to recover from a poor start.
Studying the pace of the Silver Arrows, Marko has concluded that it is a significant step ahead of the rest of the field.
"Antonelli dropped back to seventh at the start and then quickly moved back up to second," Marko told sport.de.
"During that phase, he was roughly a second faster than the rest."
The Austrian added that the W17 challenger was "like it was on rails" and was "really good, unlike in previous years."
Marko parted ways with Red Bull at the end of the 2025 season, bringing an end to his 20-year tenure with the squad.
However, the 82-year-old suggested he still has a connection with the team.
"My pulse was racing because I knew the start would bring some surprises," he said.
"When two Red Bull cars were at the front in the first lap, my pulse definitely went up."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look back on the Australian GP and look ahead to China! The trio discuss the first taste of F1's new regulations, Max Verstappen's frustration but also Lewis Hamilton's striking positivity.
Rather watch this episode? Then click here!
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!