Photo: Podium celebration at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.
Credit: Yu Chu Chin

MELBOURNE, Australia — The 2026 Formula One season is officially underway after a dramatic opener in Melbourne. From lightning starts to mechanical failures, the race delivered plenty of action as George Russell claimed the first victory of the year.

Mercedes and Ferrari get off to a powerful start

Mercedes entered the season with what many in the paddock described as a controversial new engine concept. Ferrari also started making waves as of late, with a spinning rear wing and some impressive starts off the line in practice.

This all came to fruition at the start in Melbourne. The Mercedes drivers had secured the front row of the grid, but the Ferraris were quick off the line, with Charles Leclerc jumping from P4 to P1 off the start, with Lewis Hamilton, who started at P7, not far behind as Kimi Antonelli slipped back from P2 to P7.

An entertaining battle ensued between Russell and Leclerc over the following laps, with Hamilton not far behind in P3. For a moment it seemed that Ferrari had come out on the top of this battle, securing the lead until timing and tyre strategy came into play.

Ferrari was going for a one-stop strategy from the start, but did not pit during either of the two virtual safety cars. Meanwhile, during the first VSC, Mercedes was able to get both drivers on fresh rubber, and come out of the pit hot on the heels of the two Ferraris.

Ferrari seemed to be holding out for another safety car, and given the onslaught of breakdowns early on, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect another. But that safety car never came, and Ferrari had to pit, and came out behind the Mercedes cars.

Both Antonelli and Russell managed to save their tyres, and their positions, for the rest of the race, giving Mercedes their first 1-2 finish since Vegas in 2024. Meanwhile, Leclerc rounded out the podium, with Hamilton just a fraction of a second behind his teammate. A dominant start to the season for Mercedes, and one of the more promising starts for Ferrari in recent years.

Rough race for McLaren

While McLaren may have a Mercedes power unit, they did not share in their success in Melbourne. For Oscar Piastri, the race was over before it even began. The Australian driver, who had secured P5 during qualifying, spun out on his lap to the grid.

Piastri had spun out on the exit of turn four, saying later: “When I shifted, it went into wheelspin, and given that I was on the kerb already, it was a combination of bad factors.”

While Piastri made it out OK, his car was ruined, a disappointing end to his hometown race.

Meanwhile, the defending champion Lando Norris managed to finish in P5 after holding off Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen’s impressive performance secures him as the driver of the day

Max Verstappen had a rough weekend in qualifying. The Dutch driver ended up in the barrier during Q1 after a rear axle lockup. He ended up qualifying all the way back in P20.

However, Verstappen is no stranger to impressive comebacks. Verstappen was able to work his way through the Field, but issues with graining forced him into a second pit stop.

In the end he was able to recover 14 positions before coming up on Lando Norris. Hot on the heels of the reigning champion, the Red Bull driver was unable to get a pass off, and finished the race in sixth.

Despite the sixth place finish, this was still an impressive result. Unfortunately, Max’s teammate did not have the same success.

Reliability issues plague the grid

With new rules, and completely new cars, there was no doubt that there would be some reliability concerns. These concerns became all too real for some teams. 

The issues started even before the race, as Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi was wheeled off the grid after a technical issue. Luckily his teammate, Gabriel Bortoleto managed to finish in P9, allowing Audi to finish in the points for their maiden race. 

Trouble came for Isack Hadjar as well. In spite of an impressive showing in qualifying, which saw the 21-year-old secure P3 on the grid for his debut race with Red Bull. However, Hadjar would lose a few places after the start, and his race would come to an end on lap 11, with his RB22 spitting out smoke on the side of the track.

Cadillac was also feeling the struggle, as Valtteri Bottas also retired from the race due to a problem with his car. His teammate Sergio Perez finished the race, but did so in P16, the last of the race finishers.

Aston Martin struggled throughout much of the race, seemingly using the GP as an opportunity for testing more than a real race, with both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll struggling with car troubles throughout the race. 

On the bright side, rookie Arvid Lindblad gave a promising performance in his F1 debut. The 18-year-old, racing for the Racing Bulls, finished in P8.

The championship now heads to China next week, where teams will look to build on — or recover from — a chaotic start to the season.

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