Russell stunned after crushing rivals by colossal margin at Australia GP.
Russell stormed to pole with a lap time nearly eight-tenths faster than the fastest non-Mercedes competitor, a margin that even he found unexpected at Albert Park.
7 Mar 2026
Samson Ero
GPblog.com
George Russell admitted he was surprised by the gap he created over the first non-Mercedes car during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. Speaking at the post-qualifying press conference, he highlighted how the weather conditions played a role in the impressive lap times. “Definitely, I think the conditions also came into our favour. We know we're better in these cooler conditions, and as the track temperature dropped, we always seemed to find more lap time,” Russell began.
The 28-year-old went on to praise both the engine and the overall car developed by the Mercedes team. “I think we've got a really great engine beneath us. However, I also think we've got a really amazing car beneath us, which probably hasn't been highlighted enough in the press these past few weeks. From me and Kimi’s [Antonelli] perspective, the car felt great to drive. We're enjoying the smaller, lighter cars, and they’re a perfect way to start Melbourne,” Russell concluded.
‘Crushing rivals by colossal margin’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/russe...t-australia-gp
Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying results
07/03/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com
2026 Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying results
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:19.507s 1:18.934s 1:18.518s
2 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:20.120s 1:19.435s 1:18.811s
3 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 1:20.023s 1:19.653s 1:19.303s
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:20.226s 1:19.357s 1:19.327s
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:19.664s 1:19.525s 1:19.380s
6 Lando Norris McLaren 1:20.010s 1:19.882s 1:19.475s
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:19.811s 1:19.921s 1:19.478s
8 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:20.491s 1:20.144s 1:19.994s
9 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 1:20.409s 1:19.971s 1:21.247s
10 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:20.495s 1:20.221s
‘Qualifying results’;
https://f1i.com/news/560344-australi...g-results.html
Mercedes-AMG tops F1 Australian Grand Prix qualifying, Piastri beats Norris
7 Mar 2026
Alex Misoyannis
Drive
George Russell will park on pole position in tomorrow's Formula One Australian Grand Prix, leading team-mate Kimi Antonelli in second for a dominant one-two start for the Mercedes-AMG team. Melbourne-born Oscar Piastri qualified fifth in his McLaren – ahead of team-mate and reigning World Drivers' Champion, Lando Norris, in sixth – in an eventful qualifying session that saw multiple red flags for crashes and mechanical incidents.
Isack Hadjar is due to start third in his first race for Red Bull, the highest qualifying result for a debutant with the team since Daniel Ricciardo qualified second at the 2014 Australian GP. In contrast, a crash for his four-time champion team-mate Max Verstappen at the start of his first flying lap will see him start near the back of the grid. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari qualified fourth, to complete the Top Five.
‘Predictions placing Mercedes-AMG as the favourites on the 2026 F1 grid have been realised’;
https://www.drive.com.au/news/merced...-beats-norris/
Russell storms to pole position for season-opening Australian GP as Verstappen crashes out
7 Mar 2026
Formula One - Official Site
Q3 – Russell outpaces Antonelli to secure Mercedes 1-2: Q3 got underway with a bang as Lindblad suffered a near-miss at the pit entry, locking up and nearly colliding with those near him. That was followed by a technical issue for Bortoleto, who was ultimately unable to set a time in Q3 and caused a short delay to the session start as he was wheeled back to his garage.
Key quote: "It was a great day," said Russell. "We knew there was a lot of potential in the car, but until you get to this first Saturday of the season you never know. It really came alive this afternoon, especially when the track temp cooled – we know we sort of tend to favour those conditions.”
"I’m also really happy to have Kimi here next to me as well because it’s been such a hard job from all the team to deliver this car and they did an amazing job in the garage as well today, so all in all a really good day."
‘George Russell was the man to beat’;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...cQVqXUSKPp5KzG
Russell leads all-Mercedes front row as Verstappen crashes out in Q1
7 Mar 2026
Keith Collantine
RaceFans
Russell regained his position at the top of the times when the session resumed, though his 1’19.084 was slightly slower than his best from Q2. But Antonelli abandoned his first lap after locking up at turn three and running wide. Despite his damage, Norris got closest to matching the Mercedes, though he was over half a second shy. He pipped Hadjar by just two hundredths of a second.
Piastri fell to fifth place behind Leclerc after the first runs. Neither Ferrari driver was able to get within a second of Russell initially, Hamilton taking sixth place. Antonelli tidied up his final effort and beat his team mate’s time with a 1’18.811. Russell was not far behind however and reclaimed the top spot with a 1’18.518.
Piastri temporarily took third place but was shuffled down the order by Leclerc and then Hadjar. Norris was unable to beat his team mate’s time, meaning the McLarens will occupy the third row of the grid. Hamilton stayed seventh while Lawson pipped Lindblad to eighth place with his final lap.
‘All-Mercedes front row’;
https://www.racefans.net/2026/03/07/...hes-out-in-q1/
Verstappen taken to medical centre after serious crash in Australia
7 Mar 2026
Kada Sárközi
Nicole Mulder
GPblog.com
Max Verstappen has been taken to the medical center after his crash in Q1 at the Australian Grand Prix. The four-time world champion lost control of the rear of his Red Bull on his first run and shot through the gravel into the wall. The impact was heavy, prompting race control to immediately wave the red flag to stop the session. Footage showed Verstappen shaking his hand briefly after the crash, possibly because he took a hit there on impact.
Possibly due to pain in his hand, the Dutchman was taken to the medical center for precautionary checks. However, nothing has been officially confirmed regarding the reason. Verstappen has since returned to the paddock. There does not appear to be any serious damage to his hand. According to Verstappen, something went wrong at the rear of his car. When race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase asked over the radio if everything was okay, he responded cynically. "Yeah, the car just ******* locked on the rear axles, fantastic.”
‘Verstappen taken to medical centre’;
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/verst...-in-australian
‘I’ve never experienced something like that before’ – Verstappen explains cause of his Q1 crash in Australia
7 Mar 2026
Formula One - Official Site
Quizzed on how the incident unfolded after the session, Max Verstappen said: “I just hit the brakes and suddenly the rear axle just completely locked out of the blue. I don’t know why that happened or how that happened. “I’ve never experienced something like that before in my career. The rear axle just completely locked on, then of course you can’t save that anymore at that speed.”
“The barrier hit was not that bad – the wheel just snapped out of my hands and that’s why I had to go to the medical centre, but all good. I think it already went wrong before the downshift because I hit the pedal,” he added in an interview with Sky Sports F1. “As soon as you hit the pedal, you quite quickly downshift, but it already immediately locked on the peak of the brake pressure. Something very weird, that’s for sure. There are so many unknowns of course at the moment that we still need to get on top of. We’ll see tomorrow what we can do.”
“I just hit the brakes and suddenly the rear axle just completely locked out of the blue”;
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...OMzOukBufgeOPo
Max Verstappen ‘caught out’ by Red Bull engine tech in Australian GP crash, claims Marc Priestley
7 Mar 2026
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer
Marc Priestley thinks Max Verstappen crashed as he was ‘caught out’ by Red Bull’s energy harvesting. The Dutchman may have had a gearbox issue that caused him to spin, but Marc Priestley thinks it was a mistake.
Priestley feels Verstappen crashed in qualifying for the Australian GP as he got “caught out” by the energy harvesting that is now needed with F1’s 2026 regulations, for which Red Bull have even built their first-ever in-house engine after Honda left them to join Aston Martin. “Max Verstappen locked the rear wheels under braking going into Turn 1,” Priestley said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I think what happens is he gets caught out by the massive energy harvesting, the braking that is being done on the rear axle alone by the electric motors. A lot of people have been caught out by this in the new cars.”
“Caught out by the massive energy harvesting”;
https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/max...arc-priestley/
