Australian GP Recap:

Silverware and a Stunning Debut Down Under

Silverware on a Super Sunday at a Slippery Melbourne

Toto said on Thursday that he hoped the team had made progress to fight for podiums and wins in 2025.

While the latter was not possible because of the pace of those ahead, George’s calm and controlled drive in tricky conditions made the former a reality.

It was a 16th visit to the F1 podium for George, who scored his first with our team at the same venue three years ago.

Mercedes as a works team now stands on the brink of its 300th F1 podium, with George’s P3 bringing the Three-Pointed Star’s tally to 299.

Sunday’s trophy was very much a team effort.

As the weather played havoc at Albert Park, our team remained unflustered.

A big shoutout goes to the team member stationed on the beach at St. Kilda, who informed us of the intensity and direction of the incoming rain, allowing us to make the switch to Inters at the right time as the race came to its conclusion.

Our haul of 27 points is our best start to a season since 2022.

Debut Delight

While George’s race was somewhat straightforward, Kimi’s was anything but.

Out of position on the grid after unfortunately damaging the underside of his car on the kerbs in Q1, the 18-year-old responded brilliantly on what was one of the finest F1 debut drives in recent memory.

While the weather caught out those at both ends of the experience spectrum – the seasoned pros as well as the unlucky rookies – Kimi kept his W16 firmly on the tarmac.

Apart from an incredible save on the opening lap of the race, car number 12 never looked like pointing anywhere other than forward.

A superb late-race overtake on Alex Albon’s Williams in greasy conditions round the outside of the Turn 9 – the corner with the highest G-Force for an F1 driver on the entire 2025 calendar – was the icing on the cake.

Once the five-second penalty for an unsafe release had been rescinded post-race, Kimi was deservedly classified in the position he crossed the line: P4.

The third youngest driver to ever start an F1 Grand Prix became the second youngest to score an F1 point. Not a bad weekend to start your career.

A Very Important Meeting with Toto

A Team Principal, Toto takes part in many important meetings through the course of a weekend, but few would have been as special as the one he had with a young fan in the paddock on Friday.

While it might have been a bit *too* early to get the five-year-old into an F1 car, a meet and greet with the Boss and his autograph was not a bad compromise.

Watch the moment Toto made the young fan’s weekend here.

VB Rolls Back the Years

To some team members, our factory means more than just Mercedes. When F1 first came to Brackley in 1999, our current site was the home of British American Racing (BAR).

It would therefore have been special for those who have been with us for more than 25 years to watch Valtteri take one of the BAR F1 cars from that 1999 season for a demo run around Albert Park over the weekend, harking back to the V10 era of the sport.

Strømsted Starts Strong

Another fine debut on the streets of Melbourne came from within our Junior Programme ranks.

Dane Noah Strømsted, making his first appearance in FIA F3, also brought home some silverware from Melbourne, with a P2 finish in the Feature Race on Sunday.

A front row start was converted into a podium finish for Noah, who leaves Melbourne third in the championship standings.