George Russell will start from pole position in the Australian Grand Prix » Mercedes dominated qualifying + Verstappen, accident in Q1
Article by Sergiu Alexandru – Published on Saturday, 07 March 2026, 08:29 / Updated on Saturday, 07 March 2026 08:36
George Russell was the fastest driver in the first qualifying session of the new Formula 1 season. The Mercedes driver will go first in the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
- The Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, the first of the year's 24 races, takes place on Sunday, March 8, from 06:00 and will be live on Antena 1
Exactly 3 months after the last race, Formula 1 is back! With a new set of rules, which have drastically changed single-seaters, the new season promises to be a spectacular and balanced one. As were the qualifiers at the Albert Park circuit.
George Russell will start from pole position in Australia's MP
As many of the pundits expected, Mercedes dominated the qualifying session, proving that the season-ready car has the fastest engine.
George Russell was fastest in the first two qualifying sessions and in Q3 he had no rival. The Brit took pole position with a time of 1:18.518. He was followed by teammate Kimi Antonelli by 0.293 seconds. This while Lando Norris, the world drivers' title holder, was almost a second slower than Russell.
Isack Hadjar, the new driver from Red Bull, will start from 3rd place, followed by Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).
Rounding out the top 10 are Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, last season's champion Lewis Hamilton, rookie Arvin Lindblad, Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto.
It was an excellent day. The car behaved very well, especially at the end when the temperatures dropped. Thanks to the guys at the garage for making this car. I can't wait for tomorrow's race.
– George Russell
It was a stressful day after the crash in the third qualifying session. The guys in the garage worked very hard and very well to fix the car. Now I think about the race and I think we can get a very good result.
– Kimi Antonelli
Australia's MP starting grid
Max Verstappen, accident in Q1
The first part of qualifying eliminated 6 drivers, one more than in previous years. Among them were Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Carlos Sainz (Williams), who had problems with their cars and did not go out on the circuit.
Max Verstappen, accident in Q1 // PHOTO: Imago Images
The shock in Q1 produced Max Verstappen. The 4-time world champion Red Bull driver suffered an accident with 7 minutes remaining in Q1. While setting up for a fast lap, the Dutchman's car locked up the rear wheels and Max went into the set and hit the parapet, making it impossible to get back on the circuit.
