Australia - Race

During the first qualifying hour of the 2026 season, George Russell was the man who took the coveted pole position. A day later, he lined up on the very front of the grid, with Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, and Charles Leclerc breathing down his neck. Out of the 22 hopefuls, there was one man who did not take his place on the starting straight. To the disappointment of all fans, it was the home hero, Oscar Piastri, who crashed during the reconnaissance lap. For him, the race ended before it could even properly begin. 

The other contenders waited for the lights to turn green before officially opening the Australian Grand Prix. Leclerc immediately sneaked past the two Mercedes and the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar, becoming the new race leader. His teammate managed to move up to P3, while the rookie Arvid Lindblad made up five places, settling right behind the Brit. In the back, Max Verstappen began his descent up the grid. But the first lap did not go great for all drivers. Kimi Antonelli fell all the way to P7, leaving his teammate alone in the front. Nico Hulkenberg retired his Audi almost immediately, and Franco Colapinto was noted for a starting procedure infringement, which later yielded him a stop-and-go penalty. 

Russell quickly reclaimed the lead, only to lose it soon after. The move began a series of back-and-forth exchanges between the Mercedes and the Ferrari that lasted a good ten laps. As the two fought for the coveted position, Antonelli managed to make up a few places, returning to the top four. The situation changed on lap 12 when Hadjar's engine failed, forcing him to abandon his car on the side of the track. A virtual safety car was called in, enticing many drivers to dive into the pit lane for their first change of tires. The two teams fighting for the lead were too far ahead to do so right after the conditions were changed, but Mercedes decided to switch to hards a lap later, still under VSC conditions. The two Ferraris remained out, much to the dismay of Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso was one of the drivers who were called into the pit lane, but in his case, it wasn't only for a change of tires. He was given the message "Stop the car, we have an issue," and seemingly retired from the race. 

Racing was resumed on lap 15. Soon after, Antonelli overtook Lindblad for P4, returning the pre-safety car order, only this time with Hamilton and Russell taking each other's previous positions. Before the drivers could get used to the normal conditions, another VSC was called in, this one brought out by Valtteri Bottas, who found himself stationary on lap 18. This provided the perfect opportunity for Ferrari to pit, or rather, it would have, if it weren't for the universe's poor timing. They were once again too far ahead to dive into the pit lane right after the conditions changed, and on their second turn around the track, the pit lane entry was temporarily closed due to Bottas' car being moved right alongside it. 

This left the Ferraris as the only cars that had not pitted. Although they waited a few laps longer in hopes of another safety car, by lap 25, they had conceded and called Leclerc in, making his teammate the new leader. The Monegasque fell far behind the two Mercedes. On lap 28, Russell made up enough time to overtake Hamilton, prompting the seven-time World Champion to drive in for a pit of his own. The two Mercedes sat comfortably in P1 and P2, with the Ferraris right behind them on the leaderboards, but with a ten-second loss in reality. 

It was also around that time that the seemingly retired Alonso returned to the track, finding himself ten laps behind the other contenders. Having completed a few turns around the circuit, he drove into the pits once more, this time for good. Later on, Stroll managed a similar feat, disappearing in the pits, only to be brought back and complete the race a few laps behind everyone else. 

The Grand Prix's last VSC appeared on track on lap 34 after a piece of debris came off Perez's car. It pushed Lando Norris to box and lose the P5 he had had in favour of Verstappen, who, over the course of the race, managed to move well into the top ten. Ultimately, the Dutchman had to pit once more too, coming out behind the McLaren. He spent the rest of the race trying to catch up, but fell just short of an overtake. 

Despite their fresher tires, there wasn't much that the Ferraris could do in the closing stages of the Grand Prix. Russell cruised to victory, with his teammate right behind him and Leclerc completing the season's first podium. A Mercedes win was what many had expected, but there was a silver lining for those who do not consider themselves fans of the Silver Arrows. The victory was nowhere near as dominant as Saturday's qualifying session, helping keep the hope of a competitive year ahead. 

Order of the grid:

1. George Russell

2. Kimi Antonelli

3. Charles Leclerc

4. Lewis Hamilton

5. Lando Norris

6.  Max Verstappen

7. Oliver Bearman

8. Arvid Lindblad

9. Pierre Gasly

10. Esteban Ocon

11. Alex Albon

12. Liam Lawson

13. Franco Colapinto

14. Carlos Sainz

15. Sergio Perez

17. Lance Stroll

DNF: Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Isack Hadjar, Nico Hulkenberg

DNS: Oscar Piastri