Formula 1 had a qualifying session full of contrasts at the 2026 Australian GP, with absolute dominance from Mercedes, a positive surprise from Audi, and a major setback for Max Verstappen. The result in Melbourne shuffled expectations for the race and made it clear that the start of the category’s new era will be more unpredictable than many imagined.
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The main consequence of the session was the Mercedes front-row lockout, with George Russell on pole position and Kimi Antonelli in second. At the same time, teams like Ferrari and McLaren fell below the pace of their German rival, while names like Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar stole the show with performances above expectations.
Russell confirmed Mercedes’ favoritism with authority. The Briton was almost eight-tenths faster than the best non-Mercedes car in Q3 and stated that “everything clicked” on Saturday, although he warned that the advantage seen in qualifying “is not the real gap” to the opponents. Antonelli, for his part, had a chaotic day, crashed heavily in FP3, had the car rebuilt in time, and still secured second position, thanking the mechanics and calling Saturday “very, very stressful.”
While Mercedes came out stronger, Red Bull experienced the opposite extremes. Verstappen exited Q1 without setting a time after an accident that, according to him, was caused by a complete rear axle lock-up under braking for Turn 1, something he described as “very strange.” On the other hand, Hadjar shone with third position and celebrated the result as “the perfect start” to his journey with the team, after outperforming both Ferraris and both McLaren cars.
At Ferrari, the performance left a mixed feeling. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton even showed competitiveness at times, especially with Medium tires in Q1, but the team lost performance with the Softs and ended Saturday without a real chance to challenge Mercedes. Fred Vasseur summarized the scenario by saying the session was “difficult and quite chaotic,” admitting that the gap to the German team was significant.
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McLaren also left Melbourne with the feeling that they could have achieved more. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were on the third row, with the Australian saying that P3 “was within reach,” while Norris lamented losing performance after running over debris left on the track. Andrea Stella acknowledged that the team performed as expected at this stage of the season but admitted they still need to extract more performance from the power unit to get closer to Mercedes.
In the midfield, Racing Bulls was the big winner by putting both its cars into Q3, with Liam Lawson in eighth and Arvid Lindblad in ninth, both using used tires in the final part of qualifying by strategic choice. Audi also impressed, with Bortoleto reaching Q3 in the project’s debut and starting tenth, despite a technical problem at the end of Q2 that prevented him from competing in the final phase. “Many people might not have expected to see us fighting for the top 10 so soon,” said the Brazilian, who described the result as a “very encouraging” start.
Further back, Haas, Alpine, Williams, Aston Martin, and Cadillac had more modest performances but still see room for growth in the race. Pirelli indicated that both one-stop and two-stop strategies remain open, with combinations of Mediums, Hards, and even Softs potentially coming into play. In a weekend already marked by red flags and interruptions, Sunday in Melbourne promises more uncertainty than comfort for any team.
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