George Russell Wins 2026 Season Opener in Australia as Mercedes Score a 1-2

MELBOURNE, Australia. George Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, leading teammate Kimi Antonelli home by 2.974 seconds for a Mercedes 1-2 in the first race under Formula 1's new technical regulations. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were third and fourth for Ferrari.

It was the sixth win of Russell's career. He started from pole, with Antonelli second after bouncing back from a heavy crash in final practice.

"I'm feeling incredible," Russell said. "It was a hell of a fight at the beginning. We knew it was going to be challenging. I got on the grid, saw my battery level had nothing in the tank, made a bad start and then obviously some really tight battles with Charles. Honestly thank you so much to the whole team because it's been a long time coming to have this car beneath us and we couldn't start off in a better way."

Mercedes make one stop work

Leclerc surged from fourth on the grid to take the lead from Russell, and the two swapped places over the next few laps. Both Mercedes cars pitted under a Virtual Safety Car after Isack Hadjar pulled off in his Red Bull, while the Ferraris stayed out. A second VSC followed when Valtteri Bottas retired his Cadillac.

When Ferrari finally stopped, Russell and Antonelli were back in front. Mercedes kept both cars out on aging tyres to the finish, and the Ferraris could not get close enough to force another stop.

Piastri out before the start

Oscar Piastri did not start his home race. He clipped the kerb at Turn 4 on his way to the grid, spun and damaged his McLaren. Reigning champion Lando Norris finished fifth as McLaren's only runner. Max Verstappen, who spun into the barriers in Q1, recovered from 20th to sixth for Red Bull Racing.

Ollie Bearman was seventh for Haas, and rookie Arvid Lindblad scored on debut in eighth for Racing Bulls. Gabriel Bortoleto was ninth in Audi's first race as a works team, and Pierre Gasly took the final point for Alpine. Esteban Ocon just missed out in 11th.

Sergio Perez finished 16th, completing Cadillac's first Formula 1 race. Nico Hulkenberg was wheeled off the grid with a technical issue and did not take part.

For the latest title picture, see our 2026 championship standings.

For more, see Formula 1's race report (opens in a new tab).

This was the 2026 season opener. The next race brought Kimi Antonelli's maiden win in China. For the full title picture, see our 2026 F1 standings breakdown.

Sources: Formula 1. More Formula 1 coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Richard Pardon / Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team