Listen to this article Russell sat fifth during the opening stint of the race at Albert Park before pitting under the safety car to leap up to third ahead of both Red Bull driver Perez and teammate Lewis Hamilton. Russell was instructed with 20 laps to go not to fight Perez for third place as he needed to manage his tyres to the end of the race. Perez ultimately got the overtake completed three laps later. But after Max Verstappen’s late DNF for Red Bull, Russell was able to grab third after keeping the chasing Hamilton at an arm’s length through the closing stages. It marked Russell’s first podium for Mercedes, and came after a difficult start to the season for the team that has seen it fail to match Red Bull and Ferrari for pace. “You’ve got to be in it to win it, and capitalise from others misfortune,” Russell said. “Obviously we …