Was new-era F1 really racing or more like a computer game?

The opening race of Formula 1's new era in Melbourne left drivers and teams divided about what the sport has become.

“The opening race of Formula 1's new era in Australia left all the drivers, even race winner George Russell, with mixed feelings about what the sport had become”

BBC

George Russell won the race, with his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli second, Charles Leclerc third, Lewis Hamilton fourth and Lando Norris fifth.

BBC

Russell and Leclerc provided intense entertainment as they swapped and re-swapped the lead over the opening 10 laps using their "boost" and "overtake" modes, and F1 recorded 125 overtaking manoeuvres in a race in which there were 45 last year, according to F1's own official statistics.

A virtual safety car and split strategies ultimately delivered a comfortable victory for Russell and a one-two for Mercedes, who look formidably strong heading to the second race in China this coming weekend.

The changes stem from new engines with a 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power and a requirement to constantly manage electrical energy.

Leclerc said the new requirement to constantly charge and deploy 350kw (470bhp) of electrical power "will definitely change the way we go about racing and overtaking."

BBC

The cars' batteries are charged and recharged several times a lap.

When a car goes into recharge mode it can lose as much as 470bhp, while at full power cars can have 1,000bhp.

Drivers used "overtake" and "boost" modes to pass, but those bursts drain the battery faster and left drivers vulnerable to being re-passed.

That dynamic made it difficult to break away from rivals, compromised Russell and Leclerc's early battle, and allowed others to catch up.

Concerns about safety and authenticity of racing remain strong.

“The opening race of Formula 1's new era in Australia left all the drivers, even race winner George Russell, with mixed feelings about what the sport had become”

BBC

Lando Norris warned "It's chaos" and predicted F1 was "just waiting for something to go horribly wrong," citing potential 30, 40, 50 km/h speed (differential) differences at the start.

There was a very near miss between Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto.

Andrea Stella called the button-activated power "a little bit artificial."

Max Verstappen said "I love racing, but not like this" and added "I do want it to be better than this,".

Frederic Vasseur observed he had not seen something like the opening battle in the last 10 years.

Team bosses and the FIA have left open the possibility of tweaks after three races, with Toto Wolff stressing the need to look at the product and Stefano Domenicali focused on whether fans like it.

Fan reactions on the BBC live text page ranged from praise for more overtaking to calls that the new era is "rubbish" or "anti-F1 racing."