Article

To news overview © XPBimages

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli bulldozed the F1 field to roar to a Mercedes front-row lock-out at the Australian Grand Prix.

For the first race of F1's new era, the duo were nearly eight-tenths faster than their nearest rival, Isack Hadjar of Red Bull, as Mercedes unleashed the true performance of its W17 machine.

Behind them, Max Verstappen will be 20th on the grid following a crash in Q1 caused by a car fault, with reigning world champion Lando Norris sixth, behind Charles Leclerc and Norris's own team-mate, home hero Oscar Piastri.

Lewis Hamilton is seventh, whilst Fernando Alonso is 17th, having out-qualified both Cadillacs.

Check out the full starting grid for the 2026 F1 Australian Grand Prix below!

NOTE: Grid remains provisional until officially confirmed by the FIA.

Full starting grid for 2026 F1 Australian Grand Prix
Position	Driver	Team
1st	George Russell	Mercedes
2nd	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes
3rd	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull
4th	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari
5th	Oscar Piastri	McLaren
6th	Lando Norris	McLaren
7th	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari
8th	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls
9th	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls
10th	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi
11th	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi
12th	Oliver Bearman	Haas
13th	Esteban Ocon	Haas
14th	Pierre Gasly	Alpine
15th	Alex Albon	Williams
16th	Franco Colapinto	Alpine
17th	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin
18th	Sergio Perez	Cadillac
19th	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac
20th	Max Verstappen	Red Bull
21st	Carlos Sainz	Williams
22nd	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin