George Russell has offered an honest view on Lando Norris' victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, by stating that when leading in the rain it is "your worst nightmare". Russell started the first race of the 2025 F1 season from fourth on the grid, and never looked in a position to challenge the McLarens or Max Verstappen for a podium. The Briton was in fourth for almost the entirety of the race, until Lap 44 when Oscar Piastri slid off the circuit at the penultimate corner. A sudden heavy downpour caught out several drivers, with Piastri's error having promoted Russell to fourth. He kept the position for the closing laps, with third marking his best-ever result in a season-opener. “It was a great race to come home in P3," said Russell. "I just want to say a massive well done to Lando. "I think in a race like that, when you're leading, it's probably your worst nightmare. But he did a great job. "Also, really well done Kimi [Antonelli] to come back, which is a really impressive first race. For us, it wasn't our strongest weekend, but to end up on the podium, I'm super happy. Let's see what we can do next week."
Russell enjoys wet chaos
The remarkable conditions during the race offered Mercedes a great opportunity to score big points, especially with Ferrari having struggled. To add to the team's delight of Russell finishing on the podium, Antonelli recovered from 16th on the grid to fourth on his competitive debut. Russell loved the tricky weather as it allowed the Silver Arrows to capitalise on the mistakes of those around them, and also praised Antonelli's impressive performance. "It was good fun," added Russell on the difficult conditions. "I was quite enjoying it, to be honest, because I was hoping the two guys ahead would make a mistake and I could slip through, but that just didn't seem to be the case today. "Really tricky, but that's what F1's about, and that's what makes it exciting for us."
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