F1 Australia: Starting grid for the first race of 2026

Mercedes driver George Russell will start on pole for the opening races of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Australian Grand Prix.

The Silver Arrows put in a strong showing throughout pre-season testing, with many on the grid predicting Mercedes to be the team to beat in Melbourne.

George Russell made good on that pre-season promise in qualifying, as he topped all three segments in a disrupted session on his way to a first pole since Singapore last season.

He topped qualifying three with a 1m18.518s, leading team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli by just under three tenths of a second.

Antonelli suffered a massive crash in FP3, but Mercedes was able to fix his car and get him out in the final eight minutes of Q1, which was red-flagged due to a crash for four-time world champion Max Verstappen.

But Antonelli could be penalised for being released on track in an unsafe manner in Q3, after a cooler was left in his sidepod.

McLaren’s Lando Norris hit the cooler, which left damage to his front wing, leaving him sixth following a second red flag to clean up the debris from that incident.

Isack Hadjar will provisionally start from third on the grid on his debut with the Red Bull squad, while team-mate Verstappen will go from 20th after a session-ending crash in Q1.

Ferrari will start a highest of fourth with Charles Leclerc, while Lewis Hamilton was seventh.

Starting grid for the 2026 F1 Australian Grand Prix