Russell wins action-packed Australian GP from Antonelli as Mercedes secure 1-2 finish

George Russell claimed victory in the 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix, the Briton leading team mate Kimi Antonelli to secure a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of the Ferrari duo in an action-packed event that saw the Silver Arrows make a one-stop strategy work to their favour.

A thrilling start to the race saw Charles Leclerc surge forwards from P4 on the grid, seizing the lead from Russell before the two continued to swap positions over the next few laps. Both Mercedes cars subsequently pitted when a Virtual Safety Car was deployed due to Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar pulling off the track – while the Ferraris opted to stay out.

Another VSC phase followed due to the retirement of Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas, during which Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton again remained out on track. When the Scuderia’s drivers later made their stops, Russell and Antonelli returned to the front – leading to questions over how each team’s strategy calls would unfold, given that Ferrari looked likely to run until the end of the race while Mercedes may potentially have to stop again.

Despite their ageing tyres, the Silver Arrows appeared to be staying out until the chequered flag, with the Scuderia pair having not closed in enough to pressure the leading duo into making another stop – and the plan worked, with Russell crossing the line 2.9s ahead of Antonelli to secure a sixth career victory.

Leclerc and Hamilton were forced to settle for third and fourth, with reigning World Champion Lando Norris following in fifth for McLaren – the Briton acting as the squad’s sole runner after Oscar Piastri spun off track en route to the grid before the race had started, meaning that the local favourite could not participate in his home event.

Max Verstappen – also the only car in his team to take the chequered flag following Hadjar’s retirement – climbed up to sixth, marking an impressive recovery for the Red Bull driver from 20th place, while Haas’ Ollie Bearman took seventh and rookie Arvid Lindblad secured points on his debut, the Racing Bulls driver claiming eighth place.

Gabriel Bortoleto was ninth in Audi’s first race as a works outfit, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly claiming the final point on offer in 10th. The Frenchman’s countryman Esteban Ocon just missed out in 11th for Haas, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson.

Franco Colapinto placed in P14 for Alpine, with Carlos Sainz in the Williams and the Cadillac of Sergio Perez rounding out the classification, the latter marking a milestone moment by completing the American outfit’s maiden Formula 1 race.

Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso both retired for Aston Martin before each rejoining the race at different stages, while Bottas and Hadjar each failed to make the finish after their aforementioned retirements.

There were also two drivers who did not participate at all, with Piastri’s incident prior to the start putting him out of the event, while Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg was wheeled off the grid before the race due to a technical issue.

AS IT HAPPENED

After weeks and months of anticipation, a new era of Formula 1 was about to officially get underway with the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, the first race of a season in which a wave of new technical regulations have come into effect.

While a different name topped each practice session, it was Russell who led the way during Saturday’s Qualifying, the Briton securing pole position ahead of Mercedes team mate Antonelli – who bounced back after a hefty crash in third and final practice earlier in the day.

There had also been some dramas in the session, including the exit of Verstappen in Q1 following a spin into the barriers – and the shocks continued into the start of Sunday when Piastri also spun off the track on his out-lap to the grid after clipping the kerb into Turn 4, damaging his McLaren and putting him out of his home race.

While the watching crowd were left to digest what had happened to the local favourite, the rest of the pack continued to assemble amid mild and dry conditions at the Albert Park Circuit, a race in which a one-stop strategy was expected to be the fastest way to the chequered flag.

As the start time neared and the tyre blankets were removed, it was revealed that the majority of the pack were running the medium compound, with Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Bottas and Verstappen the exceptions on the hard rubber while Alonso and Sainz would start on the soft tyres. But there were further dramas for Hulkenberg, who was wheeled off the grid and into the Audi garage prior to the action getting underway, leaving question marks over his participation.

After the rest of the field had completed the formation lap and lined up on the grid, the new starting procedure was completed – in which drivers receive a five-second warning via blue flashing panels – before Leclerc swept into the lead at Turn 1 from fourth place, storming ahead of Russell while Antonelli was pushed down the order to seventh in a thrilling start to the race.

Hamilton had impressively climbed up to third from seventh, while rookie Lindblad was running in fifth behind the Red Bull of Hadjar. Elsewhere, Alonso caught the eye by working his way up to 10th, while off the track Audi confirmed that Hulkenberg would not be able to start and Colapinto found himself under investigation for a starting procedure infringement.

Having remained hot on the tail of Leclerc, Russell overtook the Ferrari to move into the lead on Lap 2, before Leclerc used the Overtake mode to retake the lead just one tour later. Hamilton, meanwhile, was very much in the picture, the seven-time World Champion chasing just over one second back from former team mate Russell.

The battle for the lead was far from over, with Russell again trying to find a way past Leclerc which forced the Monegasque to go defensive against his rival – and prompting a complaint from Russell over the radio. One lap later, the fight took another turn when Russell found a way past at Turn 3 – only for Leclerc to surge ahead again at Turns 9 and 10.

That drama escalated further on Lap 9 when Russell suffered a heavy lock-up into Turn 1 while trying to make another move, the Mercedes man somehow avoiding going off the track – but it allowed Hamilton to catch up further in third. And while all of this was unfolding, Antonelli had worked his way back up to fourth.

With 10 exciting laps complete, the order behind that close top-four battle consisted of Hadjar, Lindblad, Norris, Ocon, Verstappen – still climbing forwards after lining up in 20th – and Gasly. Alonso had dropped backwards to 17th, while Colapinto was now in last place after being handed a stop-go penalty for that starting procedure infringement investigation.

There was heartbreak for Hadjar on Lap 11 when smoke started to billow from the back of his Red Bull, forcing the Frenchman to pull off the track onto the grass. A Virtual Safety Car was deployed, leading to several drivers diving into the pit lane – and while the Mercedes pair both opted to make a stop, the Ferraris stayed out on track.

“At least one of us should have come in,” Hamilton radioed in – and when the VSC period came to an end, Leclerc was leading his team mate by 1.7s, with Russell around 10 seconds back in third with Antonelli 16 seconds off Leclerc in fourth. Behind them, Lindblad was being chased down by Verstappen, both cars having yet to pit.

After a promising start, Alonso had been called into the pits to retire his Aston Martin, while back on the track the Cadillac of Perez – in the team’s maiden race – was getting racy in a scrap with Lawson, the two banging wheels as they fought for position.

Unfortunately for Cadillac there was bad news to come moments later, with Bottas stopping his car on the grass near the pit lane entry which triggered another Virtual Safety Car – and prompted another flurry of action in the pit lane, though Ferrari stayed out on track.

When the action resumed on Lap 20, Verstappen was looking feisty behind Lindblad, the Red Bull driver chasing hard before overtaking the youngster for P6. Meanwhile, Hamilton had Ferrari’s strategy on his mind when he radioed: “My tyres are still okay – do not box me at the same.” The Briton was still 1.7s behind Leclerc at the front, with Russell now 5.2s away from the leader.

The stewards were being kept busy during the race, with that incident between Perez and Lawson under investigation – before it was decided that no action was required – while a clash involving former team mates Ocon and Gasly was also being looked at.

Leclerc made his pit stop on Lap 26, bringing the Ferrari driver out into fourth place on track after bolting on the hard tyres and promoting Hamilton to the race lead. Elsewhere, Alonso had rejoined the race – while Hamilton had been overtaken by Russell for P1 before heading into the pits for the hard tyres, making him the last driver in the race to make a stop.

While Mercedes were expected to make another stop – and Ferrari were not – Russell reported that a “one-stop is viable”, leading to questions over how the plan could play out. With the race just past its halfway point, Russell was 6.5s ahead of Antonelli, with Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris, Verstappen, Lindblad, Bearman, Bortoleto and Gasly completing the top 10.

Antonelli was informed of a potential plan to run until the end of the race on their current tyres – a suggestion that the Italian called “brave”. Norris had also dismissed the idea of not making another stop, the World Champion facing pressure on track from former title rival Verstappen.

Another Virtual Safety Car was briefly called on Lap 34, allowing the marshals to collect some debris that had come off the Cadillac of Perez, while Norris decided to make his second pit stop before emerging back on track in P8 with the medium tyres on his McLaren.

While Alonso again retired from the race, team mate Stroll also looked to be out of the running, the squad having seemingly collected further valuable data. Meanwhile questions remained at the front over whether Mercedes could make a one-stop strategy work, with Russell and Antonelli still clear of the Ferraris at the front.

In his first F1 race, Lindblad looked in fighting form as he battled Bearman for P7. The Haas kept the place – but Lindblad voiced his hope of trying again over the radio. Elsewhere, by Lap 42 Verstappen had made a second stop for the hard tyres, the Dutchman running in sixth.

With just over 10 laps remaining, it appeared as if Mercedes would be running until the end of the race, the pair’s tyres now some 35 laps old. Leclerc was eight seconds behind Antonelli in third, the Ferraris having struggled to close in enough to pressure the Silver Arrows into another stop – though Hamilton seemed to be catching up with his team mate in a potential fight for the final spot on the podium.

Norris, meanwhile, again had Verstappen on his tail in the duel for fifth, but the Briton was keeping the four-time World Champion at bay. And as the final laps ticked down, Hamilton was still trying to close in further on Leclerc, the former receiving encouragement to “keep pushing” from his race engineer.

As the final lap approached, Antonelli was now only three seconds behind Russell, while Hamilton continued to chase Leclerc, moving to within one second of the Monegasque. But all of this could not stop Russell, who took the chequered flag by 2.974s from Antonelli to bring home the win.

Leclerc sealed third to claim the final position on the rostrum, with Hamilton following only 0.625s behind in fourth. Norris also held out in the fight against Verstappen to cross the line in fifth, while the Red Bull driver took sixth.

Bearman, Lindblad – scoring points on his debut – Bortoleto and Gasly completed the top 10 in Melbourne, while Ocon, Albon, Lawson, Colapinto, Sainz and Perez rounded out the order.

Six cars did not make the classification; like his team mate, Stroll rejoined the race following his earlier retirement but neither Aston Martin was classified at the finish. Bottas and Hadjar were also retirees, and Piastri and Hulkenberg both missed out on the race altogether.

Fortunately all will soon have the chance to go again, with the Chinese Grand Prix taking place in just one week’s time.

Key quote

"I’m feeling incredible," said Russell. "It was a hell of a fight at the beginning. We knew it was going to be challenging. I got on the grid, saw my battery level had nothing in the tank, made a bad start and then obviously some really tight battles with Charles, so I was really glad to cross the finish line. Honestly thank you so much to the whole team because it’s been a long time coming to have this car beneath us and we couldn’t start off in a better way."

What’s next

F1 will move straight on to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix from March 13-15. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can follow the action from the Shanghai International Circuit.