Australian Grand Prix qualifying results with George Russell claiming pole as Max Verstappen crashes

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George Russell has taken pole position for the opening race of the 2026 season, with the Mercedes driver leading a 1-2 for the team at tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix.

After Kimi Antonelli suffered a huge crash during the closing stages of FP3, Mercedes were left racing against the clock to repair his car ahead of qualifying.

Antonelli was joined in the pit lane at the start of the session by Carlos Sainz, whose Williams ground to a halt during FP3, and Lance Stroll, who missed the final practice session due to an internal combustion engine issue with his Aston Martin.

Max Verstappen crashes out of Australian Grand Prix Q1

On the early flying laps, Gabriel Bortoleto set the pace ahead of Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton before George Russell moved to the top of the timesheets.

With eight minutes of Q1 remaining, Max Verstappen began his first flying lap but quickly ran into trouble. The Dutchman spun off at Turn 1, sliding across the gravel and into the barrier.

“The car just locked on the rear axles. Fantastic.” Verstappen said over team radio.

The resulting red flag proved vital for Mercedes, allowing them enough time to repair Antonelli’s car and send him out for the closing stages of Q1.

Verstappen, Sainz and Stroll were joined in the elimination zone by both Cadillac drivers. Franco Colapinto was the final driver to take the chequered flag and climbed to P15, knocking Fernando Alonso out of qualifying.

George Russell set the early pace in Q2, with teammate Kimi Antonelli slotting in just behind before the pair were split by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, although the Australian was still six-tenths of a second adrift of the Briton.

Lewis Hamilton found himself under pressure with eight minutes remaining after struggling through the middle sector on both of his flying laps, leaving him without a representative time.

With half the session remaining, Charles Leclerc began complaining about battery deployment issues on his Ferrari. The Monegasque sat in P7 with only minutes left to improve his lap time.

Ferrari appeared to be struggling for pace during the second part of qualifying, with Hamilton fighting the car in his attempts to produce a clean lap.

The Alpines, Alex Albon, both Haas drivers and Nico Hulkenberg were eliminated from the session. Meanwhile, Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi came to a halt in the pit lane.

The Brazilian’s stricken car was slowly pushed down the pit lane entrance, with Liam Lawson cautiously following behind. Rookie Arvid Lindblad then arrived at speed, slamming on the brakes to avoid crashing into the back of the Audi.

An early red flag was triggered in Q3 after Kimi Antonelli was released onto the track with two cooling fans still attached to his Mercedes. Unfortunately, reigning world champion Lando Norris struck one of the devices, scattering debris across the circuit.

It was a disappointing moment for Mercedes, who have looked like early title favourites. The teenager was noted for an unsafe release, which will be investigated after the session, alongside Pierre Gasly following a similar incident where debris came off his Alpine in the pit lane.

Antonelli was the first driver back out on the Albert Park Circuit once the session resumed, but he made a mistake at the start of his flying lap and ran into the gravel at Turn 3.

George Russell claimed provisional pole after the first round of flying laps, while Norris edged Isack Hadjar for the other front-row position. It was a disappointing opening effort for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc in fourth and Lewis Hamilton down in sixth.

Oscar Piastri also endured a scrappy first lap in Q3, running wide and leaving himself fifth on the timesheets with five minutes of the session remaining.

After briefly losing pole position to Antonelli, Russell reclaimed the top spot with his final flying lap, securing an 83rd front-row lockout for Mercedes. Isack Hadjar completed the top three with an impressive performance on his Red Bull debut after being promoted to partner Verstappen for 2026.