The starting grid of the F1 Australian GP
Here is the complete classification at the end of qualifying and the starting grid for the 2026 F1 Australian GP:
Read more Sensational Verstappen! Straight into the wall in Q1: rear axle problem
| 1st Row | 1. George Russell – 1:18.518 |
| Mercedes | |
| 2. Andrea Kimi Antonelli – 1:18.811 | |
| Mercedes | |
| 2nd Row | 3. Isack Hadjar – 1:19.303 |
| Red Bull-RBPT Ford | |
| 4. Charles Leclerc – 1:19.327 | |
| Ferrari | |
| 3rd Row | 5. Oscar Piastri – 1:19.380 |
| McLaren-Mercedes | |
| 6. Lando Norris – 1:19.475 | |
| McLaren-Mercedes | |
| 4th Row | 7. Lewis Hamilton – 1:19.478 |
| Ferrari | |
| 8. Liam Lawson – 1:19.994 | |
| Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | |
| 5th Row | 9. Arvid Lindblad – 1:21.247 |
| Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | |
| 10. Gabriel Bortoleto – No time | |
| Audi | |
| 6th Row | 11. Nico Hulkenberg – 1:20.303 |
| Audi | |
| 12. Oliver Bearman – 1:20.311 | |
| Haas-Ferrari | |
| 7th Row | 13. Esteban Ocon – 1:20.491 |
| Haas-Ferrari | |
| 14. Pierre Gasly – 1:20.501 | |
| Alpine-Mercedes | |
| 8th Row | 15. Alexander Albon – 1:20.941 |
| Williams-Mercedes | |
| 16. Franco Colapinto – 1:21.270 | |
| Alpine-Mercedes | |
| 9th Row | 17. Fernando Alonso – 1:21.969 |
| Aston Martin-Honda | |
| 18. Sergio Perez – 1:22.605 | |
| Cadillac-Ferrari | |
| 10th Row | 19. Valtteri Bottas – 1:23.244 |
| Cadillac-Ferrari | |
| 20. Max Verstappen – No time | |
| Red Bull-RBPT Ford | |
| 11th Row | 21. Carlos Sainz – No time |
| Williams-Mercedes | |
| 22. Lance Stroll – No time | |
| Aston Martin-Honda |
The report of the qualifying in Melbourne
The scenario that had begun to emerge in FP2 is confirmed at the end of the first qualifying of the season: Mercedes has a great advantage over all opponents, at least for the moment. This is demonstrated by the results of Q3 which inaugurates the new technical era, with George Russell taking pole position with a stratospheric time, just under three tenths faster than teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
An unexpected solo, if only for the gaps of everyone else: the first of the pursuers is indeed, surprisingly, the young Frenchman from Red Bull, Isack Hadjar, who pays a gap of 785 thousandths from pole position that takes us back to the early years of the Silver Arrows’ dominance at the dawn of the hybrid era. Antonelli’s grid position is however at risk: the Italian driver left the pits in Q3 with a portable “fan” forgotten by the mechanics on the inlet of one of the sidepods, then lost on track and hit full on by Lando Norris’s McLaren. For this reason the young Mercedes talent is under investigation, having left the pits in “unsafe conditions”.
Lando 🆚 Cooling Fan 😬#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/ojSK8fBTPV
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 7, 2026
Behind the Mercedes, in a context where we can still expect surprises and upheavals from weekend to weekend, also linked to the unknowns of reliability, there is in any case a fairly compact group. On the second row with Hadjar is indeed the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, with the two McLaren of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris and the other Red of Lewis Hamilton all within less than two tenths of a gap. However, it is undeniable that the wake-up call is rather bitter even for the Maranello team, which probably did not expect to pay such a consistent gap from the top.
Closing the top-10 are the two Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, with Gabriel Bortoleto giving Audi the first Q3 in its history, although without being able to take part due to a technical problem suffered on the in-lap at the end of Q2. Justifiably absent instead was another of the great announced protagonists of the first qualifying of the season, Max Verstappen. The four-time world champion indeed ended up against the wall immediately at Turn 1 while launching for his first timed lap: an anomalous spin caused by a probable technical problem on the Dutchman’s Red Bull, who lost the rear under braking, ending up in the gravel and then against the barriers, with the FIA Race Direction then displaying the red flag.
Read more Antonelli “thanks” Max: Verstappen’s accident allows him to take part in Qualifying
Max Verstappen is OUT of Qualifying, with no time set! 😳
This is the moment where the Red Bull driver spins into the wall at Turn 1 👇#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/M2XKoapEMl
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 7, 2026
A terrible start to the season also for Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll who, after the problems shown in FP3, were unable to complete even one lap in qualifying. A very small and partial satisfaction instead for Fernando Alonso, eliminated in Q1 with the disastrous Aston Martin-Honda, but still ahead of the two Cadillac veterans, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.
F1 2026 Australian GP, live and qualifying classification
You can relive the emotions of the first qualifying session of the season, taking place this morning in Australia, with our live report.
The weekend schedule
The Formula 1 paddock will soon go to sleep preparing for the big day, that of the first Grand Prix of the 2026 season. The appointment is for tomorrow, Sunday, March 8, 2026, when our alarm clock will throw us out of bed in view of the most anticipated lights out of the year: at 5:00 AM Italian time, there will indeed be the start of the Australian GP, which will award the first points of the F1 championship. You can find all the weekend times here with details of the television coverage, and also the replays, in case you prefer to stay in bed a little longer (no one here judges you for that, anyway!).
Read more GP Australia 2026: Qualifying report
