Mercedes dominates the first qualifying of the 2026 season with Russell and Antonelli on the front row; Hadjar starts third and Bortoleto starts 10th after a problem at the end of Q2.
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George Russell secured pole position for the Australian Grand Prix, the first round of the 2026 Formula 1 season, after a qualifying session marked by accidents, red flags, and various incidents throughout the three phases. The activity held this Saturday (March 7), in Melbourne, defined the first grid of the category’s new generation of cars.
It was a Mercedes 1-2, confirming their favoritism for the 2026 Formula 1 season. Kimi Antonelli will start second and Isack Hadjar, from Red Bull, third.
The first part of qualifying started with drama. Max Verstappen ended up eliminated in Q1 after crashing at the start of his flying lap approaching Turn 1. The Red Bull driver locked his brakes on the approach to the corner, the car spun suddenly and hit the barrier, causing a red flag.
With the session resumed, George Russell showed strength by leading Q1, followed by Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton. Among those eliminated were Stroll, Sainz, Verstappen, Bottas, Pérez, and Alonso.
In Q2, Russell once again dominated the timesheets and built a significant lead over his rivals, confirming Mercedes’ strong pace at the start of the season.
Gabriel Bortoleto played a key role by managing to advance to Q3 in tenth position. However, shortly after the end of Q2, the Brazilian’s car experienced problems and stopped about 100 meters before the pit lane entrance.
Audi tried to restart the car but could not resolve the issue in time, which prevented Bortoleto from participating in the final phase of qualifying.
As a result, the Brazilian automatically took tenth position on the grid for Sunday’s race.
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The start of Q3 was also marked by a curious incident. Kimi Antonelli left the pits with an air blower still attached to the Mercedes car. The part came loose on the track and was run over by Lando Norris, who ended up damaging his front wing. The episode caused a red flag for track cleaning and is expected to result in a penalty for the German team.
When the session resumed, Russell once again showed great performance. The British driver clocked a 1:19.084 on his first attempt and then confirmed pole position on the decisive lap, putting about three-tenths of a second advantage over Antonelli.
With this, George Russell became the first pole-sitter of the 2026 season and also the first pole-sitter of Formula 1’s new technical era.
Mercedes confirmed its dominance in qualifying by placing Kimi Antonelli in second position, forming an all-silver front row.
The big surprise of the session was Isack Hadjar, who put Red Bull in third position on the grid, finishing ahead of several favorites.
Bortoleto, who was unable to compete in Q3 due to the problem with his car, will start in tenth place in his season debut with Audi.
Check out the starting grid for the 2026 F1 Australian GP:
1) George Russell (Mercedes), 1’18.518
2) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 1’18.811
3) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’19.303
4) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 1’19.327
5) Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’19.380
6) Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’19.475
7) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 1’19.478
8) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’19.994
9) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’21.247
10) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), no time
11) Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), 1’20.303
12) Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari), 1’20.311
13) Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari), 1’20.491
14) Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’20.501
15) Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes), 1’20.941
16) Franco Colapinto (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’21.270
17) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’21.969
18) Sergio Pérez (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’22.605
19) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’23.244
20) Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), no time
21) Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes), no time
22) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Honda), no time
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