F1 Results Today: Australian Grand Prix - Russell takes famous win after Piastri crashes BEFORE start

Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, Mercedes, Australia, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 Results Today: Australian Grand Prix - Russell takes famous win after Piastri crashes BEFORE start

The full F1 results and times from the 2026 Australian Grand Prix

By Sheona Mountford.

Sunday 8 March 2026 06:47

Title favorite George Russell won the Australian Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday, but he could've been pushed much harder if not for some baffling Ferrari strategy calls.

His Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli took second ahead of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, but hometown driver Oscar Piastri had the nightmare of all nightmare afternoons, crashing on his way to the grid and failing to even 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.

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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 favorite.

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.

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

Australian Grand Prix results
Position	Driver	Team	Gap
1	George Russell	Mercedes	WINNER
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	Oliver 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	+15 laps
18	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	DNF
19	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	DNF
20	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	DNF
21	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	DNS
22	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	DNS

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

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