Russell inaugurates Formula 1’s new era with pole in Melbourne, Antonelli P2 as Mercedes’ lock out front row for Round 1; Hadjar surges to P3 on Red Bull debut but Verstappen crashes out in Q1

Formula 1’s new era debuted in earnest when the expanded 22-car grid lined up for qualifying hot laps on Saturday at Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia to kick off the 2026 season and set the grid for the Round 1 Australian Grand Prix. With entirely new regulations leading to shorter, lighter cars, as well as a 50-50 split between the internal combustion unit and battery power forcing drivers to alter their driving styles by lifting into corners to recharge, the Mercedes factory team claimed the early lead in getting to grips with the new formula. After looking like a three-way battle between the Silver Arrows, reigning champs McLaren and the very hungry Scuderia Ferrari squad, Mercedes dusted the competition on one-lap pace, with senior driver George Russell claiming pole in the opening salvo of the quest for his first World Championship and teammate and second year man Kimi Antonelli recovering from a big shunt in Free Practice 3 to slot into P2 on the grid. The young Italian pilot owes a huge debt of gratitude to his mechanics who rebuilt his shattered Merc in time to qualify, as well as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who shockingly crashed out in Q1 when his rear axel locked up. The four-time champ spun through a gravel trap exiting Turn 1 at a high rate of knots and came to a hard stop against the barriers sidewise, catching his hands in the snapping steering wheel for good measure. The Dutch Master will have to fight his way from P20 on the grid come race day with the ignominy of seeing the two brand new Cadillacs actually lined up in front of him.

But all was not completely grim for team Red Bull. Their second driver, the impressive Frenchman Isack Hadjar, who is  making the jump to the big team after an excellent rookie season with the junior Racing Bulls last year, laid down an impressive final lap that was good enough for P3. That bumped Ferarri’s Charles Leclerc to P4 but the Prancing Horses do look ready to run for wins this year after a barren 2025, although Lewis Hamilton’s quali struggles continued, as the seven-time champ could only muster a P7 time . The McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and reigning title holder Lando Norris split the Ferraris but have been a bit off the elite pace so far throughout the race weekend, with Piastri only claiming P5 at his home event and Norris just P6. The Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and impressive rookie Arvid Lindblad were good enough for P8 and P9 respectively, and while the Audi (formerly Sauber) of Gabriel Bortoleto didn’t run in Q3 due to an engine issue, he still earned P10 based on his Q2 performance, with teammate Nico Hulkenberg slotting in just behind in P11, an impressive first result for the Audi Factory effort.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Australian GP:

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

The Australian Grand Prix airs live at 11pm Eastern exclusively on AppleTV here in the States. So set that DVR or brew a fresh pot of coffee because the 2026 F1 season has finally arrived and things are bound to get interesting with these new and very tricky cars. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!