‘The car really came alive’ – Russell hails ‘great day’ after taking pole position for Mercedes in Australia

George Russell was left to celebrate a “great day” for Mercedes after claiming pole position for the 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix, with the Briton admitting that the car “came alive” in Qualifying as he led a 1-2 for the team ahead of Kimi Antonelli.

Having displayed strong pace throughout both Q1 and Q2 on Saturday in Melbourne, Russell again looked quick during Q3 as he surged to the top spot on a lap of 1m 18.518s, giving him an advantage of 0.293s over Antonelli – the team having repaired the latter’s car in time following a heavy crash in final practice.

While the Silver Arrows had been touted by many as one of the favourites ahead of the campaign, Russell was pleased to see that promise realised on the track.

“It was a great day,” the 28-year-old reflected after Qualifying. “We knew there was a lot of potential in the car, but until you get to this first Saturday of the season you never know.

“It really came alive this afternoon, especially when the track temp cooled – we know we sort of tend to favour those conditions.

“I’m also really happy to have Kimi here next to me as well because it’s been such a hard job from all the team to deliver this car and they did an amazing job in the garage as well today, so all in all a really good day.”

Looking ahead to what Sunday might bring, Russell conceded that there is an element of unpredictability given the introduction of new technical regulations for 2026.

“I’m excited for the race tomorrow and I think it can bring some quite exciting racing,” he explained. “Also for you guys in the crowd that’s always amazing every time we come to Melbourne, so thank you so much for all of that support for all of us, and hopefully we can deliver a good race.

“I think a lot of the simple things in the past, like race starts and pit stops, are a hell of a lot more challenging with these new cars.

“I said it to the team in the garage at the beginning of Q3 there, let’s just have a clean session because who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. Obviously we’ll all try and work hard tonight. [Today was] a really great day – we’re in the best place possible.”

Russell and Antonelli will line up ahead of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar in third and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in fourth.