Welcome back super-Mercedes: Back on top of both F1 championships after 100 Grands Prix. Mercedes returned to the top of both Formula 1 championships after dominating the season opener in Melbourne.

Russell became the 65th different driver in the history of Formula 1 to spend at least one Grand Prix leading the world championship standings.

Back at the top again, five years later

The Silver Arrows are back. The opening weekend of the season in Melbourne was dominated by Mercedes, who secured a one-two finish in the race after also locking out the front row of the starting grid. The Brackley-based team has therefore returned to leading both championships for the first time since the Russian Grand Prix in 2021, when Lewis Hamilton won the race in Sochi and moved two points ahead of Max Verstappen in the drivers’ standings.

In the 99 Grands Prix that followed, Max Verstappen led the championship on 70 occasions, Oscar Piastri on 15, Lando Norris on nine, and Charles Leclerc on five. However, during that period there had never been a Mercedes driver leading the standings.

On the 100th attempt, George Russell finally emerged as the driver who brought a Mercedes back to the top of Formula 1, thanks to his victory in Melbourne. In the teams’ standings, meanwhile, Toto Wolff’s squad had not been ahead of its rivals since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021, when it secured its eighth consecutive Constructors’ Championship.

Russell’s first time

Russell himself, who is now leading the world championship for the first time in his career, has become the 65th different driver in the history of Formula 1 to lead the standings. Only 35 of them, however, have gone on to become world champions.

In nine months’ time, in Abu Dhabi, the British driver hopes he will have managed to update that other statistic as well — the one that ultimately matters the most.

The return of Mercedes to the top of the standings signals a potential shift in the balance of power as the 2026 regulations begin to take hold. While the dominance of the Silver Arrows in Australia was absolute, the 100-race journey back to the summit shows how quickly fortunes can change in this sport. As the paddock arrives in Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix, the pressure is now on George Russell to defend his lead and prove that this isn’t just a fleeting moment of glory. With the W17 proving to be the class of the field, the narrative of the season is already revolving around whether anyone can stop the momentum of the German manufacturer. The 100-race wait is over, and a new era of Mercedes leadership has begun.