Piastri during FP1 in Melbourne — Photo: © IMAGO

Australian Grand Prix

F1 Qualifying Results: Australian Grand Prix times and grid positions

Full results and times from qualifying for the big race at Albert Park

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 6 March 2026 22:55

F1 qualifying returns on Saturday (March 7) with the crucial race for pole at the 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, and we will have full results with times and finishing order.

The session takes place local time on the afternoon of Saturday, March 7 at 4pm AEDT, which is 5am GMT for those in the UK who are dedicated enough to set their alarms.

Lando Norris returns to Albert Park Circuit as the reigning F1 champion after claiming his first ever drivers' title last season, but his team-mate and home hero Oscar Piastri will be hungry for redemption after his trip into the grass that saw him finish the main race way down in P9 in 2025.

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Last year's Australian GP qualifying also saw Norris take pole, but the field has been blown wide open by the updated chassis and power unit regulations in 2026 and therefore, anything could happen.

The true pace of the new cars is yet to be revealed, but all eyes will be on Aston Martin as team principal and managing technical partner Adrian Newey has uncovered the team's battery shortage and serious Honda power unit concerns that could see Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll double DNF on Sunday.

F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton avoids major crash as McLaren star tops day one of 2026 season

F1 Qualifying Results: Australian Grand Prix 2026

The below results table will be completed after qualifying has finished at roughly 5pm local time (AEDT) and 6am GMT so be sure to check back for the full times and qualifying order.

F1 2026 Australian Grand Prix Qualifying Results
Position	Driver	Team	Time/Status
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Changes to F1 Qualifying in 2026

There are a couple of changes to the way qualifying works this year, not quite as sweeping as the new technical regulations.

Firstly we now have 22 cars on the grid, so instead of 5 cars exiting after Q1 and Q2, we will have 6 being eliminated. That still leaves 10 for the pole shootout in Q3.

The other notable change is in the timings - Q3 now gets an extra minute and lasts for 13 rather than 12.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here she realised her background in journalism and love of motorsport could be combined, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work more closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan which she hopes to build on.

View full biography

Australian Grand Prix Melbourne Albert Park Circuit