George Russell won the Australian Grand Prix, but the Mercedes driver has called for immediate change

Race winner George Russell has called for the FIA to make changes.

George Russell confessed he felt incredible after securing victory in the opening race of the season but has urged the FIA to tackle problems with the Straight Mode which resulted in some understeering in Melbourne. The Mercedes driver enjoyed a tussle with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc from the starting grid but battled back to convert from pole position.

Team-mate Kimi Antonelli finished in second spot to launch Mercedes’ Constructors’ Championship challenge with 43 points going into China next weekend. Unlike his competitors Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, Russell was satisfied with his car on the opening weekend.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Russell said: “I’m feeling incredible, it was a hell of a fight at the beginning. We knew it was going to be challenging and I got on the grid and I saw my battery level had nothing in the tank.

“I made a bad start and obviously some really tight battles with Charles [Leclerc], so I was really glad to cross the finish line. Thank you so much for the whole team, it’s been a long time coming to have this car beneath us.

“I’m glad you guys enjoyed it, we had the suspicion that it was going to be a bit of a yoyo effect, as soon as one of us got in front it felt impossible to hold it.

“Obviously with this straight mode, we lose a lot of the front end on the cars, so we’re sort of just understeering a lot round these corners.

“Maybe the FIA are going to have to improve that a little bit because it was a bit sketchy, but I made it in one piece and I’m glad to be one-two.”

Lewis Hamilton was pleased with Ferrari’s performance in Melbourne.

Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and when questioned if he thought Ferrari should have pitted under the virtual safety car, he responded: “I really don’t know I need to go back and have a look, but I’m really proud of the team I think they’ve done an amazing job to get the car to where it is.

“We’re not as fast as the Mercedes and we’ve got work to do, but we’re right in the fight and that was a really fun race. It felt good for me and also in a couple of more laps I would have had Charles [Leclerc].

“I had great pace and lots of positives to take from today. I think all weekend I’ve been really strong and qualifying didn’t show the true pace.

“We had a few problems in qualifying which meant I was further back than I should have been. I went into today and none of us really know what the true pace was going to be, but I felt great from the get-go and was obviously closing a gap right at the end to Charles [Leclerc].

“Right at the end I think I could have had Charles, maybe one or two more laps, so there’s lots of positives to take. We’ve got a lot of work to do to catch Mercedes, but it’s not impossible.

“I do believe we can close the gap, it’s not going to be easy. It’s quite significant particularly over a single lap, we need to find out if it was power or battery power. The car is just as quick through the corners so we’ve just got to keep pushing.”