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2026 Formula 1 Australian GP
Mar 5, 2026 to Mar 8, 2026
| Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, AU
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Formula 1 Australian GP
F1 Australian GP live commentary and updates - race day
Follow along for all the action from F1's Australian Grand Prix
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01:47:27 am
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As Russell, Antonelli, and Leclerc collect their trophies, we'll close it up here.
Thank you very much for joining us, and we hope you enjoyed that one! We'll see you next week for the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai - again, bright and early!
01:46:07 am
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Five quick takeaways
What did we learn from the season opener? How did New F1 shake out in Australia, and what else was interesting to our cast of writers around the world?
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
01:42:25 am
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Russell and Leclerc dissect the start - "0% battery", Russell reckoned at the start. "I was looking for Hadjar and you just..."
01:39:28 am
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Formula 1
F1 Australian GP: Russell leads Mercedes 1-2, Ferrari’s strategy fails
01:37:57 am
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Leclerc: "It was a very tricky race, we didn't know what to expect. It's been quite challenging, I was happy to get out of the battle in first but it didn't help us later on. P3 was the best we could get."
01:36:50 am
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Antonelli: "It was the best start [to the year] we could have wished for. I lost a lot of places and I had to recover. The pace was strong particularly at the end, and now I'm looking forward to next week. The race was fun, particularly at the beginning."
01:35:41 am
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Russell: "I'm feeling incredible, it was a hell of a fight at the beginning. I saw my battery on the grid and had nothing in the tank, and just got a bad start. As soon as one of us got in front it was just impossible to hold it."
01:31:22 am
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Norris finished fifth ahead of Verstappen, as Bearman, Lindblad, Bortoleto, and Gasly complete the top 10.
Great effort from Lindblad, points in his first race and looked pretty ahead of Lawson throughout the weekend.
01:30:23 am
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"I like this car, I like this engine, great job", Russell sings over the radio.
Antonelli lost a hatful of places at the start, but did well to recover them to get second.
Checkered flag
01:28:57 am
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George Russell wins the 2026 Australian Grand Prix
Russell opens his account with victory, keeping the lead after a thrilling battle with Leclerc at the start of the race. Antonelli finishes second, 2.9s down on his team-mate, as Leclerc completes the podium positions. Hamilton couldn't make enough ground to make a pass work.
01:27:19 am
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Lap 58/58
Final lap! Can Hamilton make a late play for third place?
01:26:58 am
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Lap 57/58
Bortoleto is running out of time to make a move on Lindblad, likewise Ocon on Gasly.
Lawson has also been stuck behind Albon for a number of laps.
01:26:18 am
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Lap 56/58
Hamilton's cut the gap to Leclerc by a second - he's just 1.4s behind now. Is there going to be a late change of position?
Verstappen's battle with Norris does appear to be over.
01:24:41 am
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Lap 55/58
Antonelli is 10.8s clear of Leclerc, while Hamilton is within 2.1s of his first Ferrari podium.
Mercedes' decision to pit under the VSC pretty much accounts for that 10-second gap - the pace between the two teams is very close.
Bortoleto is now on Lindblad's tail and aiming for eighth.
01:22:49 am
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Lap 54/58
Norris is now 1.4s ahead of Verstappen, so he's bought some time here - a stout defence.
Ocon's now back on Gasly's tail, with four laps to decide the outcome of the final point.
01:21:30 am
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Lap 53/58
Norris is just about hanging on still from Verstappen, using his deployment modes to maintain his defence. He's trying to get Verstappen to spend his energy, and he indeed manages to get a bit of space to himself as the Red Bull spends too much in the first half of the lap.
01:19:55 am
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Lap 51/58
Antonelli's got a little closer to Russell, and sits within five seconds. Leclerc is sufficiently far behind to ensure Mercedes is probably okay for the rest of the race.
01:18:06 am
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Lap 50/58
Stroll's back on track, so more mileage for Aston Martin.
Hamilton's trying to close in on Leclerc, and he's just three seconds behind. Could a late podium charge be on here?
01:17:07 am
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Lap 49/58
Verstappen is continuing to hustle - it's about picking the moment to drop his charge, but he seems to be struggling with balance through Turn 14.
Bortoleto's charge versus Lindblad has stalled out a bit, but the Racing Bulls driver can't engage his boost mode.
01:14:30 am
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Lap 48/58
Ocon's battle with Gasly gets put on hold a little bit once more as Antonelli laps the Haas driver.
Verstappen, meanwhile, continues to chase Norris for fifth place - but Norris is just about hanging on.
01:12:54 am
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Lap 47/58
Russell's lead over Antonelli is now down to 5.5s, presumably down to the lapped-car time loss.
Leclerc's cut the Antonelli gap to 9.1s but inroads seem hard to come by. Hamilton's now just 3.9s behind the Monegasque.
Sainz pits for a new front wing - Williams has endured a difficult weekend.
01:11:28 am
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Lap 46/58
Verstappen is now one second behind Norris and will attempt to press the overtake mode into use.
Bortoleto's catching Lindblad a little bit now, while Ocon is back on Gasly's tail after being lapped by Russell.
01:10:25 am
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Lap 45/58
Russell is catching the Gasly/Ocon battle, while Verstappen is reeling Norris back in. He should be able to pass easily, given the tyre offset at this stage.
Perez pits from 16th place, and takes the soft tyre.
01:08:14 am
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Lap 43/58
We missed the two Aston Martins calling it a day - it was expected that they'd retire, but they probably got further than they'd thought.
Ocon tries to get a run at Gasly, but can't make the move into Turn 11.
01:06:49 am
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Lap 42/58
The Mercedes-Ferrari gap has largely remained static - Antonelli remains 9.5s clear of Leclerc.
Russell is told he'll go to the end so long as his current pace holds up.
01:05:33 am
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Lap 41/58
Verstappen is going to stop a second time, which puts him behind Norris once more. Hard tyres for the Red Bull driver.
Ocon and Gasly continue to battle over the final point.
01:04:10 am
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Lap 40/58
A lairy overtake from Bearman into Turn 1, who passes Lindblad. Although Lindblad looks to have got past into Turn 3, Bearman gets off the brakes a little bit and holds on.
And the battle continues into Turn 9; Lindblad tries to get past on the outside, but Bearman just hangs on. Lovely battle.
Gasly had passed Ocon at the same place, which opened the door to Bortoleto on the previous tour. Bortoleto has since passed Gasly for ninth.
01:02:11 am
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Lap 39/58
Norris clears both Bearman and Lindblad and can start to try and close down that gap to Verstappen - but it's a whopping 17s at the moment.
Gasly gets back past Ocon, who has been in turn passed by Bortoleto - who will now attempt to have a go at the other Frenchman left in this race.
01:01:06 am
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Lap 38/58
Leclerc's picked up the pace, setting a 1m22.5s as his fastest lap. This victory battle isn't over, as Mercedes weighs up whether to stop again.
01:00:22 am
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Lap 37/58
Ocon clears Gasly for ninth at Turn 11, who in turn is going to come under pressure from Bortoleto soon.
12:59:00 am
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Lap 36/58
Russell's front-left tyre doesn't look, as Verstappen would say, "very lovely". He'll hope the graining can clear.
Verstappen has dropped 10s behind Hamilton, while Norris has caught Bearman and will aim to rifle past his two countrymen ahead.
Bortoleto also stopped a second time, which elevated Ocon into the top 10.
12:56:17 am
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Lap 35/58
Norris is now behind Bearman and Lindblad, so he's got some moves to make.
Albon, Sainz, and Lawson are running on softs now after their stops.
Virtual Safety Car
12:54:42 am
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Lap 34/58
There's a VSC for debris, as Perez's wakeboard fell off. It ends pretty quickly, which only gave the Williams duo and Lawson a chance to stop.
Verstappen is right on Norris' tail now, but can't do the move into Turn 11. Norris subsequently stops, coming in for a set of mediums.
12:53:37 am
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Lap 33/58
"Could you do 26 laps on a medium," Norris is asked. "No, not at this race, I destroy the tyres after 10," he reports.
He's not happy at the moment out there.
12:52:26 am
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Lap 32/58
Antonelli suggests it'll be "brave" to go to the end on his current tyres.
Verstappen is now just a second behind Norris - it's only a matter of time before the Dutchman makes his way past.
12:51:41 am
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Lap 31/58
Norris is now just 2s clear of Verstappen, and those tyres are graining on the McLaren. He's six seconds behind Hamilton, however - but will likely stop again.
Ocon's back there with Gasly as they look to do battle over the final point...again. No love lost between them.
12:49:43 am
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Lap 30/58
Ocon's going to be investigated after the race for driving unnecessarily slowly.
Meanwhile, Antonelli's started to close in on Russell a bit, with the gap now at 6.4s. After the VSCs and pit strategies, the field has spaced out a little bit.
12:47:58 am
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Lap 29/58
"I think the one-stop is viable," Russell says - so he might not be two-stopping after all.
Bearman's closing in on Lindblad again, with Bortoleto a further 5s behind.
Norris has lost a second to Verstappen over the past three laps - but the Red Bull driver isn't finding his medium tyres easy to work with.
12:46:11 am
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Lap 28/58
Russell gets within a second of Hamilton now and starts to get a bit of overtake mode going. Antonelli is 8s behind this pair.
Hamilton tries to close off Russell down the inside at Turn 9, but the Mercedes driver gets back ahead into the lead. Thus, Hamilton duly pits and comes out behind Leclerc.
Perez gets noted for ignoring blue flags.
12:43:43 am
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Lap 26/58
No further action on the Perez/Lawson skirmish - I thought it was just hard, fair racing, and the stewards agree.
Russell is now just 1.4s behind Hamilton, so he'll be ahead come what may.
Norris is matching Verstappen's pace, so the gap between fifth and sixth remains a static 4.5s.
Pagination
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By: Jake Boxall-Legge
Published: Mar 8, 2026, 5:47 AM
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