2026 Australian Grand Prix

2026 Australian Grand Prix
Race 1 of 24 in the 2026 Formula One World Championship Next race  →
Layout of the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit
Race details
Date	8 March 2026
Official name	Formula 1 Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix 2026
Location	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Course	Temporary street circuit
Course length	5.278 km (3.280 miles)
Distance	58 laps, 306.124 km (190.217 miles)
Weather	Sunny
Attendance	483,934 [1]
Pole position
Driver	George Russell	Mercedes
Time	1:18.518
Fastest lap
Driver	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford
Time	1:22.091 on lap 43
Podium
First	George Russell	Mercedes
Second	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes
Third	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 2026 Australian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix 2026) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 8 March 2026 at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the first round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship, which brought about major regulation changes revolving around the chassis and power unit.

After surviving an early-stage battle against Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, George Russell led teammate Kimi Antonelli to Mercedes' 61st 1–2 finish. Leclerc rounded out the podium for Ferrari ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton; both drivers led for at least one point during the Grand Prix. Russell's win made this the first time he led the Drivers' Championship; his team Mercedes led the Constructors' Championship.

Background

The event was held at Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne for the 29th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 6–8 March. ^[2] As the first round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship, the Grand Prix was the first to be held with the new regulation set – which entailed major changes to the chassis and power unit – for 2026, and marked the 40th running of the Australian Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship. ^[3]

Entrants

See also: 2026 Formula One World Championship § Entries

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. ^[4] Arvid Lindblad made his debut as a full-time driver with Racing Bulls, ^[5] while Cadillac and Audi made their Formula One debuts. Cadillac's entry as the eleventh team made this the first Formula One race since 2016 to have more than ten teams being entered, the last being the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. ^[6]

After last supplying Jordan Grand Prix (an ancestor of the modern-day Aston Martin team) in 2004, Ford returned to the grid after a 20-year absence, supplying Red Bull and Racing Bulls through Red Bull Powertrains. Honda made their full return to the sport after having pulled out following the 2021 season. The previous power unit supplier of Red Bull began to supply engines to Aston Martin. After acquiring the Sauber team, Audi made their Formula One debut, supplying their own power unit. ^{[7] [8]}

Tyre choices

Further information: Formula One tyres

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds (the three softest in their range) designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event. ^[9]

Practice

Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 6 March 2026, at 12:30 local time (UTC+11), and was topped by Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (Red Bull). ^[10] The second free practice session was held on the same day, at 16:00 local time, and was topped by Oscar Piastri (McLaren) ahead of Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), leading his teammate George Russell. ^[11] The third free practice session was held on 7 March 2026, and was originally scheduled to start at 12:30 local time before being delayed by 20 minutes due to a crash in the F3 round. It was topped by Russell ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc. ^[12] Red flags were brought out due the stoppages of Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams) and Antonelli on track, the former due to a power loss and the latter due to a heavy crash. ^[13]

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on 7 March 2026, at 16:00 local time (UTC+11), and determined the starting grid order for the race. ^[13]

Qualifying report

A red flag was flown after Max Verstappen (Red Bull) spun into the gravel in the first session. As he applied the brakes going into the first turn, he locked up the rear axle, which sent him into a high-speed spin that ended his session. He did not set a time, leaving him in his lowest qualifying position of twentieth ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), neither of whom went out due to power unit issues. The crash benefitted Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), who had his car repaired in time following his crash in the third practice session. While the second session ran without issues, another red flag was observed early into the third session after Antonelli was released with two cooling devices that dropped into the track. While the first device was rolled into the turn one gravel trap, Lando Norris (McLaren) ran the other device over, damaging his front wing endplate and creating debris which needed to be removed. ^[13]

Qualifying classification

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Qualifying times			Final grid
				Q1	Q2	Q3
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:19.507	1:18.934	1:18.518	1
2	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:20.120	1:19.435	1:18.811	2
3	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford	1:20.023	1:19.653	1:19.303	3
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:20.226	1:19.357	1:19.327	4
5	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	1:19.664	1:19.525	1:19.380	5
6	1	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	1:20.010	1:19.882	1:19.475	6
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:19.811	1:19.921	1:19.478	7
8	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford	1:20.491	1:20.144	1:19.994	8
9	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford	1:20.409	1:19.971	1:21.247	9
10	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:20.495	1:20.221	No time	10
11	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Audi	1:21.024	1:20.303	—N/a	11
12	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas-Ferrari	1:21.247	1:20.311	—N/a	12
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas-Ferrari	1:20.759	1:20.491	—N/a	13
14	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine-Mercedes	1:21.138	1:20.501	—N/a	14
15	23	Alexander Albon	Atlassian Williams-Mercedes	1:21.051	1:20.941	—N/a	15
16	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine-Mercedes	1:21.200	1:21.270	—N/a	16
17	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco-Honda	1:21.969	—N/a	—N/a	17
18	11	Sergio Pérez	Cadillac-Ferrari	1:22.605	—N/a	—N/a	18
19	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac-Ferrari	1:23.244	—N/a	—N/a	19
107% time: 1:25.072
—	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford	No time	—N/a	—N/a	20 1
—	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Atlassian Williams-Mercedes	No time	—N/a	—N/a	21 1
—	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco-Honda	No time	—N/a	—N/a	22 1
Source: [14] [15]

Notes

• ^1 – Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lance Stroll failed to set a time during qualifying. They were permitted to race at the stewards' discretion. ^[15]

Race

The race was held on 8 March 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+11), and was run for 58 laps. ^[13]

Race report

20 of the 22 entrants started the race after Nico Hülkenberg's Audi suffered technical issues before the start, ^[16] and Oscar Piastri crashed his McLaren before the race start; he obtained an unexpected engine surge, similar to the incident that befell the Williams of Carlos Sainz Jr. in the previous year's Grand Prix. ^{[17] [18]}

At the start, the Mercedes of pole sitter George Russell was overtaken by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the first lap, with the two engaging in a tight battle over the next few laps for the lead. Lewis Hamilton, in the other Ferrari, moved to third as the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, which started second, dropped to seventh. On lap 11, Isack Hadjar, on his debut for the Red Bull team and having qualified in third position, retired with an engine issue, which necessitated a virtual safety car (VSC). Several drivers pitted during the period including both the Mercedes drivers, while the Ferrari drivers stayed out in hopes for a second safety car. ^[19]

The VSC was introduced again on lap 16 after the Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas retired due to mechanical issues, which prompted few drivers, including Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, to pit for a new set of tyres. The pit lane entry was soon closed, preventing the Ferrari cars from pitting during the virtual safety car. Hence they made their stops later during normal racing conditions, and after the Ferrari pit stops, Russell and Antonelli moved into first and second place in the race, with the Ferraris third and fourth. ^[19]

Russell and Antonelli held on to their positions for the rest of the race, despite running on the same set of tyres for nearly 46 laps, and were beyond the reach of the rest of the field during the late stages of the race. Russell won by almost three seconds from Antonelli as Mercedes secured a 1–2 finish for the first time since the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, which Russell won. ^{[20] [21]} With his victory, Russell picked up his sixth victory in Formula One, and would lead the Driver's Championship for the first time in his career. ^[22]

The Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Hamilton, who could not close the gap to the Mercedes cars in the front, despite having fresher tyres, finished third and fourth respectively – with Hamilton finishing six tenths of a second behind his teammate. The reigning World Champion and previous year race winner Lando Norris, in the other McLaren, finished fifth, ahead of the lone Red Bull of Verstappen in sixth, who started twentieth on the grid. The Haas of Oliver Bearman took seventh and Arvid Lindblad, making his debut in Formula One, finished eighth in his Racing Bulls. Gabriel Bortoleto of Audi scored that team's first-ever Formula One points in ninth and Pierre Gasly of Alpine rounded out the top ten and final point scoring positions. ^[19]

Race classification

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	58	1:23:06.801	1	25
2	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	58	+2.974	2	18
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	58	+15.519	4	15
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	58	+16.144	7	12
5	1	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	58	+51.741	6	10
6	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford	58	+54.617	20	8
7	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas-Ferrari	57	+1 lap	12	6
8	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford	57	+1 lap	9	4
9	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	57	+1 lap	10	2
10	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine-Mercedes	57	+1 lap	14	1
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas-Ferrari	57	+1 lap	13
12	23	Alexander Albon	Atlassian Williams-Mercedes	57	+1 lap	15
13	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford	57	+1 lap	8
14	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine-Mercedes	56	+2 laps	16
15	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Atlassian Williams-Mercedes	56	+2 laps	21
16	11	Sergio Pérez	Cadillac-Ferrari	55	+3 laps	18
NC	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco-Honda	43	+15 laps 1	22
Ret	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco-Honda	21	Mechanical	17
Ret	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac-Ferrari	15	Fuel system	19
Ret	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford	10	Engine	3
DNS	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	0	Accident	— 2
DNS	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Audi	0	Mechanical	— 2
Source: [15] [23]

Notes

• ^1 – Lance Stroll was not classified as he did not complete 90% of the race distance. ^[23]
• ^2 – Oscar Piastri and Nico Hülkenberg did not start the race, the former due to crashing during a reconnaissance lap, and the latter due to a mechanical problem. Their places on the grid were left vacant. ^{[16] [17]}

Championship standings after the race

For full season standings, see 2026 Formula One World Championship § Results and standings.

Russell's victory allowed him to take the lead of the Drivers' Championship, making him the first Mercedes driver to do so since Lewis Hamilton led the standings following the 2021 Russian Grand Prix. Mercedes led the Constructors' Championship standings for the first time since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where they won the Constructors'. Ferrari trailed behind them with 27 points, with McLaren holding ten.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Driver Points 1 George Russell 25 2 Kimi Antonelli 18 3 Charles Leclerc 15 4 Lewis Hamilton 12 5 Lando Norris 10 Source: [24]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos. Constructor Points 1 Mercedes 43 2 Ferrari 27 3 McLaren-Mercedes 10 4 Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford 8 5 Haas-Ferrari 6 Source: [24]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

• 2026 Melbourne Formula 2 round
• 2026 Melbourne Formula 3 round

References

1. "Australian Grand Prix announces record crowd". Speedcafe.com. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
2. "Melbourne". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
3. "Grands Prix Australia". StatsF1.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2025. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
4. "2026 Australian Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 6 March 2026. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
5. Benson, Andrew (25 February 2026). "Arvid Lindblad: Britain's youngest ever F1 driver on his Indian and Swedish heritage and reaching F1 aged 18". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
6. Benson, Andrew (27 February 2026). "Cadillac and Audi enter F1: Two teams with the same ambition but very different projects". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
7. Dubey, Vivek (6 March 2026). "Audi makes Formula 1 debut at Australian Grand Prix with Hulkenberg, Bortoleto as drivers". CNBC TV18 . Retrieved 6 March 2026.
8. "F1's 2026 season begins a new era: Which engine will each team use this year?". Diario AS . 5 March 2026. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
9. "Melbourne writes the first chapter of the new F1 season". Pirelli (Press release). Retrieved 2 March 2026.
10. "Melbourne FP1 Results". Formula1.com. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
11. "Australian Grand Prix 2026 – FP2 Results". Formula 1. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
12. "Australian Grand Prix 2026 – FP3 Results". Formula 1. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
13. "Australian Grand Prix 2026 – F1 Race". Formula 1. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
14. "Formula 1 Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix 2026 – Qualifying". Formula1.com. 7 March 2026. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
15. "Formula 1 Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix 2026 – Starting grid". Formula1.com. 7 March 2026. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
16. "Nico Hulkenberg update: What happened to Audi star at Australian GP? Why did he not start?". The Hindustan Times . 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
17. "Oscar Piastri crashes out of Australian Grand Prix on reconnaissance lap". Planet F1. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
18. Cleeren, Filip (8 March 2026). "Piastri explains cause of Australian GP pre-race crash". Autosport. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
19. "Russell wins action-packed Australian GP from Antonelli as Mercedes secure 1-2 finish". Formula 1. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
20. "George Russell wins Australian Grand Prix ahead of Kimi Antonelli". The Guardian . 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
21. "George Russell wins Formula 1's Australian GP as Mercedes goes 1-2". Fox News . 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
22. "George Russell reveals Mercedes 'suspicion' after crushing Australia victory". Racing News. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
23. "Formula 1 Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix 2026 – Race result". Formula1.com. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
24. "Australia 2026 – Championship". Stats F1. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.

External links

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