Australian Grand Prix

George Russell won round 1 of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Australian Grand Prix for Mercedes, ahead of Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

22 of the 22 starters were classified with no retirements. The winning time was 1h 23m 6.801s.

Max Verstappen made up the most ground, starting 20th and finishing 6th — a gain of 14 places for Red Bull Racing.

Isack Hadjar lost the most, dropping from 3rd on the grid to 20th at the flag (17 places).

19 drivers finished in a different position to where they started.

The fastest lap of the race went to Max Verstappen (Red Bull) on lap 42, a 1m 22.091s on hard tyres.

32 pit stops were made across 19 cars, an average of 1.7 per driver.

The shortest time in the pit lane belonged to Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) at 17.6s on lap 25. That figure covers the full pit-lane transit, not the stationary time — a modern crew changes four tyres in around two seconds.

Air temperature ranged from 23°C to 25°C, with track temperature between 33°C and 39°C. The race ran dry throughout.