F1 Results Today: George Russell claims historic Australian GP win after Oscar Piastri crash

George Russell converted his pole position to a race win and the championship lead at the Australian Grand Prix, but the Brit didn't have things all his own way in Melbourne.

Kimi Antonelli completed a Mercedes 1-2, with Charles Leclerc completing the podium ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, but hometown hero Oscar Piastri had a disastrous afternoon – crashing heavily on his way to the grid, and not even being able to start the race.

His team-mate and reigning champion Lando Norris finished down in fifth, the best part of a minute down on Russell, after holding off Max Verstappen in the closing laps.

Leclerc used the lightning getaway speed of his Ferrari to launch from fourth to first off the line and down to the first corner, taking the lead of the race from the presumptive title favourite.

READ MORE: Piastri crashes out of F1 Australian Grand Prix BEFORE the formation lap

The pair passed and re-passed each other in a thrilling first dozen laps, trailed by the second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, before Isack Hadjar's Red Bull stopped on track with a mechanical issue to trigger a virtual safety car.

Russell and team-mate Kimi Antonelli dived into the pits, as did a number of teams who started on medium tyres, but both Ferraris stayed out on track in an effort to set up a comfortable one-stop strategy.

Leclerc and Hamilton ended up going about 15 laps deeper on their medium tyres than the Mercedes pair, setting up a substantial offset for them to spent the second half of the race trying to patiently reel in the Silver Arrows.

As it turned out, the Mercedes' hard tyres held on far better than expected, keeping Russell cruising to the chequered flag in a manner much more relaxed than he may have been if Ferrari had played their strategies differently.

As for the weekend's most morbidly fascinating story? The Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were eventually classified 17th and 18th respectively, each disappearing into the garage for extended periods before coming back out again to get back some of the crucial on-track running they've missed through testing and the weekend's practice sessions.

F1 Results: Australian Grand Prix 2026

Who is the current F1 world champion?

Lando Norris is the reigning F1 champion, and won his first drivers' championship last year.

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Chris Deeley - Editor

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