George Russell wins Australian Grand Prix in thrilling Formula One season-opener

8 mars 2026 à 06:53

Russell claims victory ahead of Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli
Home town hopeful Oscar Piastri crashes out in formation lap

George Russell has won the Australian Grand Prix with a commanding drive from the front of the grid and with his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in second, securing a strong one-two for the team.

He was ultimately in complete control in the first round of the new Formula One season in Melbourne on Sunday but only after Ferrari had brought a thrilling and feisty scrap to the opening stages, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finishing third and fourth for the Scuderia.

Norris, Verstappen and Hamilton slam ‘worst’ F1 cars after torrid Australian GP qualifying

The Guardian

Par : Giles Richards at Albert Park

7 mars 2026 à 12:07

Briton is one of three champions scathing of new regulations
Overhaul had made the cars go from ‘best to worst’ in a season

Three world champions – Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris – have delivered a damning verdict on Formula One’s regulations overhaul after qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix.

Norris, McLaren’s defending champion, was scathing of the changes, saying that driving the car “sucks” and they were probably the “worst” ever made, while Hamilton criticised the new engine and chassis rules as “completely against” F1’s principles.

Russell on F1 Australian GP pole in Mercedes lockout as Verstappen crashes out

The Guardian

Par : Giles Richards at Albert Park

7 mars 2026 à 08:04

Norris sixth after running over Mercedes cooling fan in Q3
Verstappen spins out in Q1 without setting lap time

When the talking finally stopped and the time came to lay down the cards in qualifying for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Formula One was forced to face two rather uncomfortable truths as the sport entered its new era in Melbourne.

The first will sit well with all at Mercedes at least, if less so elsewhere across the grid. Their front-row lockout achieved by an ominously dominant George Russell and his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, ended the pre-season phoney war with a bluntly emphatic stamp of complete authority. The team had attempted to play down their perceived advantage but at Albert Park, that they were top dogs was impossible to deny.

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