George Russell wins Australian GP in smashing start to F1 season

March 10 ------ GEORGE Russell converted pole position into victory after a hard-fought Australian Grand Prix in 2026 season opener at Albert Park.

The Mercedes driver secured the sixth win of his Formula 1 career, finishing nearly three seconds ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli (+2.974s), who matched his career-best result from São Paulo last year. The result marked Mercedes’ first one-two finish since the 2019 Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, and the team’s first without seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton since 1955 when legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss delivered the feat. “Incredible. It was a hell of a fight at the beginning. We knew it was going to be challenging,” Russell said. “I go on the grid, I saw my battery level, I had nothing in the tank and made a bad start. Some really tight battles with Charles [Leclerc] but I was really glad to cross the finish line.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished a distant third (+15.519s) after overtaking Russell on the opening lap and trading the lead with the Mercedes driver through seven of the first 10 laps. In total, the race saw 120 total overtakes across 58 laps, 75 more than last year in the final season of the ground effect regulations.

Hamilton made it two Ferraris in the top four by finishing fourth. Reigning world champion Lando Norris, last year’s winner in Melbourne, could not repeat his success down under and settled for fifth after a difficult opening weekend where McLaren’s title-winning pace was nowhere to be found. Heartbreak struck early for hometown favorite Oscar Piastri, who crashed while heading out for the formation lap at Albert Park. The incident caused heavy damage to his front wing and extended the long-standing streak of Australian drivers still searching for a victory in their home Grand Prix.

Ollie Bearman delivered a strong drive to place seventh for Haas, while this season’s lone rookie Arvid Lindblad finished eighth to become the 70th driver in Formula 1 history to score points on debut. Bearman and Lindblad also helped complete a milestone for British drivers, marking the 400th time in Formula 1 history that every British driver in a race finished in the points. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto finished ninth, with Pierre Gasly completing the top 10. Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto, Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll rounded out the rest of the classified finishers.

Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas and Stroll retired from the race, while Piastri and Nico Hülkenberg were unable to start. Formula 1 now heads to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix next week, the second round of the 2026 season.

Source: spin.ph