Formula 1
AustraliaSeason 2026
George Russell made history by securing the first pole position of the 2026 era, leading a dominant Mercedes 1-2 alongside sophomore teammate Kimi Antonelli. Russell controlled every segment of the session, ultimately clocking a 1:18.518 to finish nearly three-tenths clear of the field.
Mercedes’ performance was nearly perfect, though the team is under investigation after a cooling fan was left attached to Antonelli’s car at the start of Q3, which subsequently fell off and was struck by Lando Norris. The session’s defining shock occurred just minutes into Q1 when Max Verstappen crashed out on his very first flying lap.
The Red Bull driver suffered a rear-axle lock into Turn 1, spinning into the barriers and ending his qualifying without a representative time. While Verstappen will start from the back of the grid, his new teammate Isack Hadjar impressed on his debut by qualifying a stellar 3rd, albeit eight-tenths adrift of Russell.
Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri rounded out the top five, while reigning world champion Lando Norris struggled with the balance of his McLaren to finish 6th.