F1 Qualifying Results as Russell Dominates and Verstappen Crashes at Australian Grand Prix

Mercedes delivered a daunting, if not perfect, qualifying performance to lock out the front row for the Australian Grand Prix as George Russell took the first pole position of Formula 1's new era.

The British driver secured the 250th pole for Mercedes power in the championship by setting a 1:18.518s to beat teammate Kimi Antonelli by just under three-tenths of a second.

Isack Hadjar was third for Red Bull but half a second down on Antonelli as teammate Max Verstappen dramatically crashed out at the start of Q1.

F1 Australian Grand Prix 2026: Q3 Results

Lando 🆚 Cooling Fan 😬#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/ojSK8fBTPV
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 7, 2026

Just nine cars were taking part after Gabriel Bortoleto was forced to sit out Q3 after impressing on Audi's qualifying debut with a technical issue.

The session was red-flagged just over three minutes into the session after Mercedes failed to remove cooling fans from the sidepods of Antonelli's Mercedes.

One fell into the gravel at Turns 1 and 2, but another was stranded on the racing line on the exit of 2, with Lando Norris running over it and shattering debris across the track with his McLaren.

It put Antonelli's side of the garage under a second investigation of qualifying after an alleged unsafe release in Q1, only after his mechanics had pulled off a mammoth effort to rebuild his car after a huge crash in FP3, albeit aided by the red flag caused by Verstappen.

When it came to setting the final laps it was Russell who underlined why he is the favorite for the drivers' title this season with a blistering lap, finishing ahead of Antonelli, who went second despite another adventure across the gravel on his penultimate flying effort.

Hadjar was third and ahead of Charles Leclerc as Ferrari's early weekend promise evaporated.

Home favorite Oscar Piastri was fifth ahead of reigning champion and McLaren teammate Norris, while Lewis Hamilton could manage only seventh, albeit with only two-tenths separating the Briton from Hadjar in third.

Liam Lawson finished a session faster than rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad for the first time all weekend as Racing Bulls enjoyed a strong Saturday, with Bortoleto rounding out the top 10 after a stellar Q2 effort.

Position / Driver / Team	Gap [s]
1. George Russell / Mercedes	1:18.518
2. Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes	+0.293
3. Isack Hadjar / Red Bull	+0.785
4. Charles Leclerc / Ferrari	+0.809
5. Oscar Piastri / McLaren	+0.862
6. Lando Norris / McLaren	+0.957
7. Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari	+0.960
8. Liam Lawson / Racing Bulls	+1.476
9. Arvid Lindblad / Racing Bulls	+2.729
10. Gabriel Bortoleto / Audi	No Time

F1 Australian Grand Prix 2026 - Q2 Results

Audi, Australian GP 2026, Qualifying — Getty Images / Audi F1 Team

Nico Hulkenberg was unable to better teammate Bortoleto but backed up the Brazilian's performance to underline Audi's promising start to life in F1 by clinching 11th on the grid, with Haas duo Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon 12th and 13th.

Pierre Gasly would have been hoping for better than 14th after promising preseason signs for Alpine, but that was the best the Frenchman could extract.

He finished ahead of Alex Albon, who has struggled all weekend with Williams between various mechanical gremlins and went off at Turn 3 on his final flying lap, running across the grass and ceding any chance of progression.

Franco Colapinto was slowest of those in Q2 and will line-up 16th on the grid.

There was drama after the session as Bortoleto ground to a halt in the pit entry, almost triggering a crash between Racing Bulls duo Lindblad and Lawson.

Position / Driver / Team	Gap to Q3 [s]
11. Nico Hulkenberg / Audi	+0.082
12. Oliver Bearman / Haas	+0.090
13. Esteban Ocon / Haas	+0.270
14. Pierre Gasly / Alpine	+0.280
15. Alex Albon / Williams	+0.720
16. Franco Colapinto / Alpine	+1.049

F1 Australian Grand Prix 2026 - Q1 Results

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

The first major shock of the season came when Verstappen crashed out at Turn 1 on his first flying lap.

His Red Bull rotated under braking at the end of the start-finish straight, skipping across the gravel and into the barriers.

"The car just f**king locked on the rear axle," he explained over team radio as his incident brought out the red flag.

It means that the four-time world champion will start at the back of the grid for the season-opener.

When the session resumed, the track ramped up heavily and despite a valiant effort given the nightmare Aston Martin has endured, Fernando Alonso missed out on a Q2 spot after being ousted from the top 16 by Colapinto with the very last lap of the session.

It was a bright spark for the squad, though that will provide a small boost to morale heading into raceday.

Cadillac put in a super effort to ensure it had two cars working in its maiden qualifying session but couldn't avoid the drop, with Sergio Perez faster than Valtteri Bottas.

Carlos Sainz's FP3 issue kept him in the garage for the entirety of Q1, while Lance Stroll also failed to take to the track to set a laptime.

Position / Driver / Team	Gap to Q2 [s]
17. Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin	+0.722
18. Sergio Perez / Cadillac	+1.358
19. Valtteri Bottas / Cadillac	+1.993
20. Max Verstappen / Red Bull	No Time
21. Carlos Sainz / Williams	No Time
22. Lance Stroll / Aston Martin	No Time