George Russell won the first Formula 1 race of 2026 as Mercedes outfoxed and outpaced Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix. 

Ferrari’s supreme race starts in pre-season testing, translated into two supreme launches at the start in Melbourne, as Charles Leclerc vaulted from fourth to first, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton was third by the end of lap one from seventh on the grid.

Leclerc and Russell then diced for the lead with seven lead changes inside the opening 10 laps as drivers had their first proper experience of race energy management in 2026. 

On lap nine, having already exchanged the lead several times, Russell suffered a big lock-up at Turn 1 while trying to grab the lead back from Leclerc. 

Leclerc emerged ahead with Hamilton and Antonelli completing a close Ferrari-Mercedes top four. 

Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull expiring and pulling off to the side of the entry to the high-speed Turn 9/10 complex triggered the first virtual safety car and provided the key strategic question of the race.

The Mercedes drivers pitted from second and fourth while the Ferraris stayed out to run 1-2 - much to the annoyance of Hamilton, who felt that Ferrari should have pitted at least one car. 

By the time Ferrari made its pitstops, 13 laps later in the case of Leclerc, he came out well behind the Mercedes duo, as did Hamilton one lap later. 

The Mercedes drivers went untroubled thereafter, with Russell leading Antonelli over the line for the team’s first 1-2 finish since the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. 

Leclerc fended off a late challenge from Hamilton as Ferrari had to settle for third and fourth. 

Home hero Oscar Piastri crashed out of the race before it even started as he lost control of his McLaren on the Turn 4 exit kerb on one of his reconnaissance laps. 

That left Lando Norris as McLaren’s sole representative in the race. He finished fifth, 51.7s down on race winner Russell. 

Max Verstappen recovered from 20th on the grid to finish in sixth place ahead of Ollie Bearman’s Haas, who headed the midfield in seventh.

The sole rookie of 2026, Arvid Lindblad, took a strong points finish on his debut in eighth place for Racing Bulls ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto, who gave Audi two points on its F1 debut. 

Pierre Gasly took the final point for Alpine in its first race with Mercedes power. 

Remarkably, given its current dire situation, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll managed 43 of the 58 laps for Aston Martin via a stoppage in the pits. Team-mate Fernando Alonso did 21 laps. 

Sergio Perez gave Cadillac a finish on its F1 race debut in 16th place. Team-mate Valtteri Bottas stopped after 15 laps just before the pit entry and triggered a virtual safety car.

Results

1 George Russell (Mercedes)
2 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +2.974s
3 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +15.519s
4 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +16.144s
5 Lando Norris (McLaren) +51.741s
6 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +54.617s
7 Ollie Bearman (Haas) +1 lap
8 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +1 lap
9 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +1 lap
10 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1 lap
11 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +1 lap
12 Alex Albon (Williams) +1 lap
13 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +1 lap
14 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +2 laps
15 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +2 laps
16 Sergio Perez (Cadillac) +3 laps
17 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
DNF Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
DNF Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
DNF Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
DNS Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
DNS Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)