The 2026 Formula 1 season began with drama in Australia on Sunday, March 8, as two drivers were forced to retire before the race even started. Nico Hülkenberg’s Audi stalled on the way to the grid and Oscar Piastri spun his McLaren into the tire barrier, reducing the starting field from 22 to 20 cars.
The start of the Australian Grand Prix saw a significant reshuffling of the order as several engines struggled to get up to speed. Ferrari, however, got off to a flying start, with Charles Leclerc taking the lead from George Russell in the first corner. Lewis Hamilton, starting from fourth and seventh respectively, climbed to third by the end of the first lap, a performance attributed to the unique turbo design of the two Ferrari cars.
Russell quickly challenged Leclerc for the lead in the second lap, briefly taking the position, but Leclerc reclaimed it before the end of the lap, utilizing his car’s energy deployment mode. The two drivers continued to battle closely, trading positions in the eighth and ninth laps, though Leclerc ultimately maintained the lead. A brief attempt by Russell to overtake resulted in Hamilton being briefly caught up in the mix, but the second Ferrari held its ground.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen, who qualified poorly, was making rapid progress from 20th place, quickly moving into the top 10. After his teammate, Isack Hadjar retired with a mechanical issue – his Red Bull suffering a smoking engine failure – Verstappen rose to sixth place, triggering a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) period that most of the field used for a quick tire change. Notably, only the two Mercedes cars opted to pit from the frontrunners, resulting in a new top six of Leclerc, Hamilton, Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Arvid Lindblad, and Verstappen.
Another VSC was deployed on the 18th lap when Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac came to a stop on the side of the track. While the first wave of cars were able to pit before the pit lane was closed due to the recovery operation, Leclerc and Hamilton were left unable to develop their first stops.
After the restart, Russell and Antonelli began to close the gap to the leading Ferraris. Leclerc pitted for tires on lap 26, dropping to fourth, while Hamilton lost the lead to Russell on lap 28 without a tire change. Hamilton then made his pit stop, establishing the top 10 as Russell, Antonelli, Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris, Verstappen, Lindblad, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Pierre Gasly at the halfway point of the race, with Verstappen rapidly closing on Norris.
George Russell a futam elején nagy csatában volt a két Ferrarival, végül simán nyerte a 2026-os Ausztrál NagydÃjat – Fotó: Martin Keep / AFP
Further down the field, Aston Martin experienced a strange strategy. Fernando Alonso initially pitted in the 15th lap, leading many to believe he had retired, but he returned to the track ten laps later to gather data in race conditions for the struggling team. Alonso ultimately retired for good shortly after. Stroll followed a similar pattern, spending a prolonged period in the garage before rejoining the race 15 laps down.
In the closing stages, a battle between Norris and Verstappen provided excitement, with Verstappen closing in on the defending champion after his second pit stop. However, he couldn’t mount a significant challenge, remaining in fifth and sixth place. At the front, Russell secured a comfortable victory, lapping all but the top five, finishing 2.9 seconds ahead of Antonelli and 15 seconds ahead of Leclerc.
The Australian Grand Prix suggests Mercedes may have a significant advantage over the competition this season. Russell radioed after the race to express his enjoyment of the new car and engine. Ferrari appears to be a close contender, while McLaren and Red Bull seem evenly matched. The rest of the field, however, faces a considerable deficit, as evidenced by Bearman finishing a lap down on the winner.
The Formula 1 season continues on March 13-15 with the Chinese Grand Prix, the first sprint race weekend of the 2026 season.
