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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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12:42:27 am
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Lap 25/58
Leclerc gets the call to pit. Ferrari will pop the hard tyre on, and aim to go to the end. Russell and Antonelli go past.
Alonso has gone back on-track to effectively use this race as an extended test.
12:39:29 am
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Lap 23/58
Russell continues to close in on the Ferraris now. If everyone has to stop one more time, he'll hope to make the move within the next few laps so he can shake out from the pit phase ahead.
Bearman's putting Lindblad under some scrutiny as he looks to claim seventh.
The Turn 3 incident with Ocon and Gasly will be looked at, as will Perez's battle with Lawson.
12:37:57 am
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Lap 22/58
Leclerc is 1.6s clear of Hamilton, who is 5.1s clear of Hamilton. Antonelli is a further 6.4s behind.
Norris is a further 15s adrift.
12:36:20 am
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Lap 21/58
"My tyres are okay, do not box me at the same time," Hamilton says.
Ocon and Gasly make contact at Turn 3! Gasly dives down the inside, puts a wheel on Ocon's sidepod, and makes the bump-and-run work to get into 10th. Alpine looks much better in race trim than it did in qualifying.
Green flag
12:35:03 am
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Lap 20/58
And the VSC is over, so Ferrari won't get the opportunity! Lindblad holds off Verstappen at the restart, but the Dutchman is trying to come back at him - and gets the move done at Turn 9.
Bortoleto passes Ocon to get up to ninth.
12:33:46 am
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Lap 19/58
The Ferraris haven't stopped yet, it might have come a bit too late. And the pitlane entry is closed, so they won't be doing so this time...
Virtual Safety Car
12:33:12 am
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Lap 18/58
Bottas stops on-track ahead of the pitlane entry - that's a VSC now.
Lindblad, Verstappen and Bearman pile into the pits together, followed by Bortoleto. Red Bull needed to hold Verstappen, so he stays behind Lindblad. Norris thus moves up to fifth.
12:30:29 am
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Lap 17/58
Verstappen's reeling in Lindblad and is aiming to take fifth - neither driver has stopped. Bearman is keeping a vigil on both of them.
Bortoleto, Norris, and Ocon remain in the top 10.
12:28:43 am
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Lap 16/58
Ferrari is going "Plan A" - which is a one-stopper. Russell is now 8.7s behind Hamilton, as Leclerc is 1.5 up the road from Hamilton.
Phwoar, Perez and Lawson had a great battle there - and Perez gives the Racing Bulls driver very short shrift there.
12:27:18 am
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Lap 15/58
Russell's looking quick now and he's cutting down what was a 10-second gap to Hamilton.
"How are they only 10 seconds?" Hamilton queries, as he's told he's on a one-stopper.
Antonelli clears Lindblad and gets back up to fourth.
Green flag
12:25:44 am
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Lap 14/58
And we begin again! Leclerc leads from Hamilton, as Russell is now about 10s behind. Antonelli's got Lindblad ahead, but Verstappen's behind him - and has been mighty quick today.
Alonso has been asked to bring his car into the pits. That's his day over - not entirely unexpected.
12:24:25 am
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Lap 13/58
Neither Ferrari stopped there either, even though the team were in wait with a set of tyres.
Interesting call, will it pay off?
12:23:37 am
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Lap 12/58
Russell and Antonelli both came in at the end of that lap, taking the hard tyre. The two Ferraris now lead, and the Mercs have a Racing Bulls between them.
Verstappen didn't pit and he's up to sixth - Bearman and Bortoleto are also among the non-stoppers.
"At least one of us should have come in," Hamilton rued.
Virtual Safety Car
12:20:56 am
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Lap 11/58
Hadjar's slow! He's crawling around, and there's smoke pouring out of his Red Bull. Day done, and this elevates Lindblad to fifth.
Norris pits from sixth, and takes the hard tyre. Ocon, Gasly, Sainz, and Lawson also come in, as do the Aston Martins.
12:19:24 am
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Lap 10/58
Leclerc was noted for that braking manoeuvre by the stewards, but no investigation is deemed necessary.
We've got Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, and Antonelli all within four seconds of each other - what a battle this is.
Norris is still stuck behind Lindblad, and then has a 2.8s gap to Ocon behind him.
Penalty
12:17:43 am
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Colapinto penalty
It's a stop-go for Colapinto, after a starting procedure infringement.
12:17:03 am
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Lap 9/58
Russell makes the play for the lead once again into Turn 1, but locks up! He keeps it on the track, but there'll be a flat-spot and it almost brings Hamilton into play!
Antonelli's now catching this group at a vast rate of knots.
12:16:03 am
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Lap 8/58
Russell gets back ahead into Turn 3! He sits down the inside, and while Leclerc tries to hold, Russell reclaims the lead...
...for a few corners, at least! Leclerc then gets the drive out of Turn 8, and cruises back past! This is wheel to wheel stuff!
12:14:45 am
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Lap 7/58
Verstappen is now ahead of Bortoleto and sits 11th - Bearman is another second up the road.
Norris has now caught Lindblad and will attempt to move back up to sixth.
12:13:51 am
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Lap 6/58
Replay of Leclerc's start, everything just opened up for him nicely, and he could exploit that Ferrari turbo.
But Russell's right behind, and takes a look into Turn 11 - but Leclerc holds the position! "That was very dangerous by Leclerc," Russell says, feeling that the Ferrari slowed down a bit too much.
Antonelli has cleared Hadjar now, so he's got a bit of catching up to do.
12:12:07 am
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Lap 5/58
Antonelli clears Lindblad and moves back up to fifth - Hadjar's looking a bit sluggish at this stage, so he'll be next up.
Russell remains in Leclerc's wheeltracks, and continues to try to find an opening.
Verstappen's up to 12th now, as he and Albon now clear Alonso.
12:10:27 am
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Lap 4/58
Alonso's lost places again to Bortoleto and Bearman, so that rapid start has tailed off a bit. Verstappen is up to 14th, and forces his way past Albon to go 13th into Turn 9.
Hulkenberg hasn't made it onto the track.
12:09:16 am
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Lap 3/58
Leclerc is still right behind Russell at the start of this one, with Hamilton trying to close in.
And Leclerc comes back at Russell into Turn 9 and reclaims the lead now! What a battle this is - Russell gets one move done, Leclerc gets another one done, and Hamilton is now in the mix here.
He needs Antonelli with him, quicksmart.
12:07:23 am
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Lap 2/58
Hamilton passed Lindblad at the end of that opening lap, and moves up to third - and Hadjar follows through. Norris is next to look at putting Lindblad down a place.
Alonso's fired his way up to 10th, amazingly!
Russell is now stalking Leclerc, gets the deployment out of Turn 9, and now clears Leclerc to reclaim the lead!
12:05:45 am
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Race starts in Australia!
Here we go! Russell has a slightly slow getaway - and Leclerc fires his way into the lead! Hadjar is jockeying for second, followed by a very fast-starting Lindblad! Then it's Norris, then Antonelli, then Ocon - Antonelli didn't have much in the way of battery at the start.
Lindblad's up to third now!
12:03:12 am
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Electrical communication issues for Hulkenberg, that's why he's got the pitlane start.
Russell brings the field around to the grid - don't forget we'll get a five-second wait once everyone's lined up before the lights go out.
12:02:13 am
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Formation lap and tyre watch
The formation lap is away - and here's the tyre allocations:
Mediums: Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton, Lawson, Lindblad, Bortoleto, Bearman, Ocon, Gasly, Albon, Perez, Stroll.
Hards: Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Bottas, Verstappen
Softs: Alonso, Sainz
11:59:48 pm
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Are we ready? Then let's begin...
11:56:05 pm
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Hulkenberg gets pitlane start
Hulkenberg is being told to start from the pitlane, so that's another empty grid slot - we're told it's because he was pushed through the access gate onto the grid, instead of making it there under his own steam.
That leaves the P11 box open, then, in addition to Piastri's vacant P5 slot (which Hamilton's going to find as free real estate to accelerate that Ferrari into).
11:53:43 pm
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Our own Stuart Codling has suggested that, following a bit of info from folk in other teams, Piastri's off might link to a spike in battery power.
This is something that a few folks have had to contend with on-throttle. The torque in these cars is so huge that the extra turning force can unsettle the driver - something that they also had to get used to back in 2014.
11:45:44 pm
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What can we expect?
I don't think this is going to be dull. We've already lost one car, and I imagine there's going to be a couple of mechanical issues, a few drivers losing it, and the usual sort of teething problems one can associate with new cars.
The national anthem begins, and the camera pans to the trophy: who's going to win that big shiny plate at the end of the day?
11:41:42 pm
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Piastri 'post-mortem' after the race
Zak Brown told Sky that there hasn't been anything untoward on Piastri's data, and McLaren will review the incident after the race.
Heartbreaking for the Australian fans, many of whom have turned up in their droves in McLaren gear and Piastri caps.
11:31:39 pm
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Piastri crashes on outlap - won't start
Another dose of brutal home-race luck: Oscar Piastri has crashed on the outlap and thus will not start the Australian Grand Prix.
A snap at Turn 4 over the kerb put him into the wall - and that's his day over.
11:29:34 pm
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Starting grid for the Australian GP
Grid
All Stats
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Time Tyres km/h 1 G. Russell Mercedes 63
Mercedes Mercedes
1'18.518
241.992 2 A. Antonelli Mercedes 12
Mercedes Mercedes
+0.293
1'18.811
241.093 3 I. Hadjar Red Bull Racing 6
Red Bull Red Bull
+0.785
1'19.303
239.597 4 C. Leclerc Ferrari 16
Ferrari Ferrari
+0.809
1'19.327
239.525 5 O. Piastri McLaren 81
McLaren Mercedes
+0.862
1'19.380
239.365 6 L. Norris McLaren 1
McLaren Mercedes
+0.957
1'19.475
239.078 7 L. Hamilton Ferrari 44
Ferrari Ferrari
+0.960
1'19.478
239.069 8 L. Lawson Racing Bulls 30
RB Red Bull
+1.476
1'19.994
237.527 9 A. Lindblad Racing Bulls 41
RB Red Bull
+2.729
1'21.247
233.864 10 G. Bortoleto Audi 5
Audi Audi
11 N. Hulkenberg Audi 27
Audi Audi
+1.785
1'20.303
236.613 12 O. Bearman Haas F1 Team 87
Haas Ferrari
+1.793
1'20.311
236.590 13 E. Ocon Haas F1 Team 31
Haas Ferrari
+1.973
1'20.491
236.061 14 P. Gasly Alpine 10
Alpine Mercedes
+1.983
1'20.501
236.031 15 A. Albon Williams 23
Williams Mercedes
+2.423
1'20.941
234.748 16 F. Colapinto Alpine 43
Alpine Mercedes
+2.752
1'21.270
233.798 17 F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14
Aston Martin Honda
+3.451
1'21.969
231.804 18 S. Perez Cadillac-Ferrari 11
Cadillac Ferrari
+4.087
1'22.605
230.019 19 V. Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari 77
Cadillac Ferrari
+4.726
1'23.244
228.254 20 M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 3
Red Bull Red Bull
21 C. Sainz Williams 55
Williams Mercedes
22 L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18
Aston Martin Honda
View full results
11:28:37 pm
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Qualifying recap
While the final result met expectations, as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli locked out the front row for Mercedes, there were plenty of surprises to be had. Let's review yesterday's qualifying session...
Q1
Max Verstappen was the biggest scalp claimed in the opening part of qualifying, as he crashed out at Turn 1 - his rear axle locked, sending him into the gravel.
Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz had technical issues and didn't make it on-track, while Fernando Alonso was eliminated with the two Cadillacs.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing crash
Photo by: Paul Crock / AFP via Getty Images
Q2
Both Alpines and both Haases missed out on the top 10 shootout, as did Alex Albon. Nico Hulkenberg was also eliminated, having fallen just the wrong side of the cut-off as Audi was nonetheless impressive.
Gabriel Bortoleto made it through into Q3, but ground to a halt in the pitlane at the end of the session.
Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Q3
Russell surged to pole by three tenths over team-mate Antonelli, as Mercedes rescued his car in the nick of time after a monster FP3 crash.
Isack Hadjar qualified third, albeit 0.8s behind the polesitter, beating the Ferraris and McLarens - who seemed to struggle as the circuit temperatures began to drop through the day.
Arvid Lindblad made Q3 at the first time of asking, albeit outqualified by team-mate Liam Lawson.
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
11:17:39 pm
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Round 1: Australian Grand Prix
Hello everyone, and welcome to our live feed of updates from the Australian Grand Prix. Wherever you are: still in bed, watching the race, or working overnight, we'll keep you updated with everything that happens across the first race of the year.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
Pagination
1
2
By: Jake Boxall-Legge
Published: Mar 8, 2026, 4:42 AM
Lap:
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