George Russell is the first pole-sitter of the 2026 Formula 1 season. In qualifying for the Australian GP this Saturday (7), the driver set the pace and confirmed the favoritism shown by Mercedes during the pre-season.
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In the qualifying session in Melbourne, the Briton consistently showed good pace. In the end, he secured the position of honor on the grid with a time of 1min18s518 and will start alongside teammate Kimi Antonelli.
“Today everything went well and the team did an incredible job. They managed to put the car in a great position and we know that historically we have been fast in cooler conditions. Everything conspired in our favor and we were able to convert that into pole position. Likewise, we know that the advantage we had today does not represent the real difference to our competitors,” he said.
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“We will do our best to convert P1 and P2 into a good result tomorrow. It will be a long afternoon and we will see what challenges arise. Tivemos um bom ritmo em simulações de corrida na sexta-feira, mas precisamos executar bem se quisermos lutar pela vitória. Vamos ver o que podemos fazer,” he concluded.
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