F1 2026: Australian Grand Prix Qualifying Recap

George Russell sets the tone as Mercedes take the advantage in Melbourne

It was a red-letter day for the Silver Arrows as George Russell gave Mercedes their first pole position in Australia since 2019 with the team being a cut above the rest at the qualifying session at the Australian Grand Prix 2026. Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli made it a 1-2 start for Mercedes, although the young Italian will be under investigation for a late infringement in Q3. Beside the Mercedeses, it was the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar, who was the most impressive driver in the top 10 shootout as he finished P3 in his Red Bull debut.

Being the first qualifying session of a new season which brings in new regulations, there were plenty of issues on track as we had crashes, Red Flags and technical issues plaguing the Australian Grand Prix 2026 qualifying session.

If you missed the qualifying action in Melbourne, here’s a quick recap. 

Q1 – Verstappen suffers massive crash, Mercedes gets Antonelli through

Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg was the first car on the track for the first qualifying session of the new season and the German veteran put up a time of 1:36.136 before Haas’ Ollie Bearman saw him go to the top of the charts with a 1:21.408s. The newest name on the track, Arvid Lindblad enjoyed a short period at the top of the sheet as well with the Racing Bulls rookie going P1 with a 1:21.008s before the other Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto went quickest early on with a 1:20.495s, 0.057s quicker than the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. 

The Mercedes of George Russell was the first to break the barrier under 1:20s, going 1:19.840s, quicker than both McLarens, Ferrari and Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull. The first big moment of the qualifying came with 7:30s to go as Max Verstappen brought out the Red Flag early on following a massive crash that saw the Dutch man lose his rear at Turn 1 and beached himself into the gravel. 

The session resumed with a little over seven minutes left and the times started to fall as the track ramped up with Lewis Hamilton, Piastri and Russell all dislodging each other at the top of the timesheets with Russell’s 1:19.507s seeing him eventually go quickest in the session. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, who suffered a massive crash in FP3, was brought back out onto the track late on and the young Italian put in an impressive lap to see both Mercedes make it through with ease. With three cars not putting, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto scraped through to Q2 at the very end while both Cadillacs, Verstappen, Williams’ Carlos Sainz and both Aston Martins failed to make it out of Q1.

Drivers eliminated in Q1:

17. Franco Colapinto
18. Sergio Pérez
19. Valtteri Bootas
20. Max Verstappen
21. Carlos Sainz
22. Lance Stroll 

Q2 – Russell remains fastest while Racing Bulls impress early on

The second session kicked off with Charles Leclerc’s 1:20.088s being the quickest time early on before the Mercedes duo went quicker than him with George Russell once again going fastest, breaking into the 1:18s barrier with a 1:18.934s. It was the Mercedes, McLaren and lone remaining Red Bull of Isack Hadjar at the top, with a second of each other. 

As the cars put in their final flying laps, Russell went even quicker with a 1:18.934s to solidify his spot at the top while Leclerc was 0.423s behind. Amongst those struggling in the session were both the Haas and Alpine duo along with Alex Albon and Nico Hülkenberg. Neither of the bottom six were able to get out of the drop zone which meant that Bearman, Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto all missed out on the top 10 shootout while the Racing Bulls continued to impress, making a double appearance in Q3. The Audi of Nico Hülkenberg just missed out on making Q3, being 0.082s slower than P10, which was his teammate, Gabriel Bortoleto. 

Drivers eliminated in Q2:

11. Nico Hülkenberg
12. Ollie Bearman
13. Estban Ocon
14. Pierre Gasly
15. Alex Albon
16. Franco Colapinto

Q3 – Mercedes untouchable at Albert Park; Hadjar impresses late in the session

The lone remaining Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto was ruled out of the final qualifying session even before the action started as he stopped in the pit entry itself on his way back from Q2, with his car conking off, which brought about another small delay to get the session underway. The Red Flag was back out instantly as the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli had his cooling fans from the sidepod of his car fall on the track and the McLaren of Lando Norris ended up going over it, hitting it. The session got underway with 9 minutes to go and it was George Russell putting the first time on the board with a 1:19.084s. After the first runs, Russell remained on top, more than half a second clear of Lando Norris in second place while the three remaining drivers in Antonelli, Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson were still in the pits with under four minutes to go. 

Antonelli went quickest, going 1:18.811s to take provisional pole after his only run in the session but it was his teammate George Russell taking pole position with a flying 1:18.518s and it was a Mercedes 1-2 to start the new season as Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar’s late flying lap only got him to P3, with Hadjar being the first Red Bull driver to out qualify Verstappen since 2024. 

Starting grid for the Australian Grand Prix 2026 (before penalties applied)

1.George Russell
2. Kimi Antonelli
3. Isack Hadjar
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Oscar Piastri
6. Lando Norris
7. Lewis Hamilton
8. Liam Lawson
9. Arvid Lindblad
10. Gabriel Bortoleto
11. Nico Hülkenberg
12. Ollie Bearman
13. Estban Ocon
14. Pierre Gasly
15. Alex Albon
16. Franco Colapinto
17. Fernando Alonso
18. Sergio Pérez
19. Valtteri Bootas
20. Max Verstappen
21. Carlos Sainz
22. Lance Stroll