Mercedes domination in Melbourne as George Russell claimed the first pole position of Formula 1’s new era. The British driver lived up to the expectations on a Saturday in which his leadership was never seriously challenged. It was a result worth celebrating for Mercedes, which also completed a front-row lockout thanks to Andrea Kimi Antonelli finishing second on the grid.
One of the biggest surprises of the session came from Isack Hadjar, who in his debut qualifying appearance with Red Bull secured the third spot on the starting grid. It was a dramatic qualifying session that also saw Max Verstappen become the unexpected negative protagonist of the day. The Dutch driver made a costly mistake during Q1 and ended up crashing into the barriers. The first Ferrari on the grid will be that of Charles Leclerc in fourth position, while the other SF-26 of Lewis Hamilton will start from seventh place.
Shock in Q1: Verstappen crashes into the barriers
With air temperatures around 21 degrees Celsius and the track reaching 37 degrees, the serious business began in Melbourne. It was finally time for drivers to push flat out against the clock in the first qualifying session of the new Formula 1 era.
It is also worth remembering that with the expansion of the grid to 11 teams, the number of drivers eliminated in Q2 and Q3 increases from five to six. Inside the Mercedes garage there was a situation with two very different stories unfolding. On one side, George Russell took to the track as the clear favourite after setting an impressive benchmark during Free Practice 3. On the other side of the garage, the team was racing against time following Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s crash during the closing stages of the final practice session.
An unexpected helping hand for the Mercedes mechanics arrived ten minutes into Q1 thanks to a dramatic twist: Max Verstappen made a mistake while braking into Turn 1, lost control of his RB22 and crashed into the barriers.
Following the red flag, Antonelli was finally able to return to the track. In the closing minutes of the session, the Italian set a lap time that safely secured his progression to Q2.
At Ferrari, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton opted to run on Medium tyres and both drivers set their best lap times on that compound. At the end of Q1, alongside Verstappen, the eliminated drivers were Fernando Alonso, the two Cadillac cars of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, as well as Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll. The latter two were unable to take part in qualifying after reliability issues prevented them from leaving the garage.
The fastest lap of Q1 was once again set by George Russell, followed by Oscar Piastri’s McLaren and the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton.
Russell untouchable in Q2, Ferrari survive the cut
The opening runs of Q2 immediately confirmed Mercedes’ superiority, with Russell and Antonelli temporarily occupying the top two positions on the timesheets. The Italian driver was later displaced by Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, as both he and teammate Lando Norris completed two preparation laps before starting their flying attempts.
Midway through the session Ferrari had yet to produce competitive lap times, with Charles Leclerc expressing some frustration regarding the energy deployment on his SF-26. The Monegasque driver, provisionally sitting in seventh place, was forced to improve during his second attempt.
The situation looked even more complicated for Lewis Hamilton, who at that stage had not yet set a representative lap time. However, both Ferrari drivers managed to improve during their final run. Leclerc climbed to second place, ahead of Antonelli but still four tenths behind a George Russell who appeared completely out of reach.
Meanwhile, the drivers eliminated in Q2 were Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon and Franco Colapinto.
There was also a moment of concern involving Gabriel Bortoleto on his way back to the pits. The Audi driver became stranded at the entrance of the pit lane after the end of the session.
Mercedes dominate Melbourne qualifying: Russell on pole, Leclerc’s Ferrari fourth
Shortly after the start of the decisive Q3 session, some cooling components were accidentally left attached to Antonelli’s Mercedes by the mechanics. The Italian driver subsequently lost those parts on track, triggering another red flag.
Attention now turns to the possibility of a penalty for an unsafe release that Antonelli could potentially receive. One of the loose components was also struck on track by the McLaren of Lando Norris.
Once the circuit was cleared and the session resumed, it was once again George Russell who set the pace. The British driver reaffirmed his leadership by setting the fastest provisional lap on used Soft tyres. Norris temporarily moved into second place ahead of Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull, although the French driver was already running on a fresh set of Soft tyres.
Antonelli, meanwhile, made a braking error during his first Q3 attempt and had to postpone everything to his final run. His decisive lap eventually secured him second place on the starting grid.
However, George Russell’s position at the top remained untouchable. The Mercedes driver claimed the first pole position of the new Formula 1 era with a stunning lap of 1:18.518. His teammate finished three tenths behind in second place.
Special mention must go to Isack Hadjar, who in his very first qualifying appearance with Red Bull secured third place on the grid, albeit almost eight tenths behind the leader.
Fourth fastest time went to the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, while Lewis Hamilton’s SF-26 finished seventh. Sandwiched between the two Ferrari cars were the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
The Racing Bulls drivers Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson completed the Q3 classification, while Gabriel Bortoleto was unable to take part in the final segment after the issue he encountered at the end of Q2.
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