Max Verstappen and George Russell — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 Qualifying Results: Australian Grand Prix times and positions - Mercedes dominate after Verstappen disaster

The full F1 2026 qualifying order in Melbourne

Chris Deeley

Saturday 7 March 2026 07:38

George Russell dominated Australian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday in Melbourne, taking the first pole position of the year from team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

The nearest non-Mercedes car was, as is often the case, a Red Bull – but it was nearly eight tenths of a second off the pace, and piloted by Isack Hadjar.

Reigning world champion Lando Norris will start the race sixth on the grid, sharing the third row with McLaren team-mate and home town hero Oscar Piastri.

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Max Verstappen was the headline casualty of the first two portions of qualifying, after a crash just seconds into his first flying lap.

The Red Bull star's rear axle locked as he tried to slow down coming down into Turn 1, making him no more than a passenger as his car slid across the gravel and into the barriers to end his session and bring out the red flag.

F1 Qualifying Results: Australian Grand Prix 2026

Australian Grand Prix Qualifying results
Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	George Russell	Mercedes	1:18.518
2	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.293s
3	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	+0.785s
4	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.809s
5	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.862s
6	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.957s
7	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.960s
8	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+1.476s
9	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+2.729s
10	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	NO TIME
11	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	ELIMINATED IN Q2
12	Oliver Bearman	Haas	ELIMINATED IN Q2
13	Esteban Ocon	Haas	ELIMINATED IN Q2
14	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	ELIMINATED IN Q2
15	Alex Albon	Williams	ELIMINATED IN Q2
16	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	ELIMINATED IN Q2
17	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	ELIMINATED IN Q1
18	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	ELIMINATED IN Q1
19	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	ELIMINATED IN Q1
20	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	ELIMINATED IN Q1
21	Carlos Sainz	Williams	ELIMINATED IN Q1
22	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	ELIMINATED IN Q1

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.

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