How Lewis Scored Our First Podium of 2023

A first podium of the season for the Team

Having briefly had our hands on a trophy in Saudi Arabia, we can now officially say we've scored our first podium of the season. And we don't need to hand the silverware back, this time!

Lewis's P2 finish in Australia capped a strong weekend for the Team. One that saw us maximise our current package amid changeable conditions and chaotic on-track action. It could have been an even larger points, and dare we say trophy haul if it not for a Power Unit issue ending George's race prematurely. Nevertheless, the progress was clear.

"We weren't expecting that, that's for sure!" Ending Qualifying with a front-row start for George and Lewis close behind in P3 was, to be honest, a bit of a surprise. The Team managed to find the sweet spot with the car for that session, as well as the right strategy for getting the most from the tyres - how hard to push them, prep laps, track evolution; all of that came into play.

Lewis agreed: "I'm proud of the team. We're all working as hard as we can to get right back up the front, so to be this close to the Red Bull is incredible. Hopefully tomorrow we can give them a bit of a run for their money."

We knew the Red Bull of Max Verstappen would be hard to beat on Sunday. The start would be the key opportunity to get ahead and give ourselves a chance of fighting for the win. And we did just that! An electrifying getaway from George and Lewis, coupled with two firm but fair overtakes, saw them jump Max on the opening lap.

We opted to split the strategy at the early Safety Car to maximise our opportunities later in the race. Unfortunately, the resulting Red Flag didn't work out for George, but Lewis was in a strong position taking over the race lead.

Having recovered ground on the restart, a Power Unit failure then put George out of the race. A disappointing end to what had been an impressive performance from him across the weekend.

"It's frustrating to not see our good work turn into a result and fail to make the finish," he said afterwards. "We are ticking all the boxes every time we hit the track though. We probably couldn't do much more. I take pride in that. There are plenty of positives we can take from this weekend."

Lewis added: "It was very unlucky for George today. Our reliability has generally been pretty good so that was unfortunate."

The Red Bull was too fast for Lewis to hold back, but it was then a case of trying to manage his Hard tyres to the end, while also fending off Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin behind.

The two multiple World Champions were trading faster lap times all race long. Lewis, driving a calm and composed race was comfortable in second though. Despite a dramatic conclusion to the race, the 38-year-old kept a cool head amid the chaos to take the chequered flag in P2.

"They're in a different category, the Red Bulls, but I'm still really happy with the result we got," said Lewis. "To finish ahead of an Aston Martin is a great result and it was really hectic out there, so to score those points is really great for the team. It's a positive showing and we have just got to keep fighting. A big thank you to all the people in the factories, let's keep pushing.

"And to have three World Champions in the top three. That's just epic!"

It was a positive weekend of progress in Australia, carrying on from the steps we made in Saudi Arabia. Now, we need to keep this momentum going.

"It was a weekend where we maximised what we had," said Toto. "It was good to see that we are racing Ferrari and Aston Martin, we just need to consolidate that and the more we learn about the car and bring upgrades to it, that will help challenge the leaders more often."