By Camille Lebez Leroy
Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix started with a small change this season. Because Cadillac has joined the grid, the format had to be adjusted. Q1 is still 18 minutes long, but now six cars are eliminated instead of five. Q2 also removes six cars in 15 minutes, leaving the top ten to fight for pole in a 13-minute Q3.
Q1
When the session began, Nico Hulkenberg was the first driver out for Audi, with Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad also heading onto the track early. Everyone started on the soft tyre. Some drivers stayed in the garage at first, including Kimi Antonelli, whose car was still being repaired after his FP3 crash. Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll were also in the pits while their teams worked on their cars.
The first times started to appear, and Lindblad was quickest early on, ahead of Hulkenberg. Soon after, the McLarens completed their laps, and Oscar Piastri moved to the top of the times. Ferrari chose a different approach and sent their cars out on medium tyres while the rest of the field stayed on softs. Gabriel Bortoleto then surprised many by going fastest for Audi, before George Russell set a very strong lap to take the lead by a large margin.
Max Verstappen had waited longer than most drivers to go out, but his first push lap ended badly. He lost control of the car under braking, went through the gravel and crashed into the barriers, bringing out the red flag and ending his session early. The stoppage paused the clock, which gave more time to teams still working on their cars, including Mercedes with Antonelli.
When the session restarted, Russell was still leading ahead of Charles Leclerc and Piastri. Drivers went back out for their final laps, with most using soft tyres while Ferrari stayed on mediums. Antonelli managed to get on track despite his earlier problems and set a strong lap that placed him safely inside the top group.
Out in Q1
P17- Fernando Alonso
P18 – Sergio Perez
P19 – Valtteri Bottas
P20 – Max Verstappen
P21 – Carlos Sainz
P22 – Lance Stroll
Q2
Ferrari were among the first back on track, and this time both cars were on soft tyres. Lewis Hamilton began a push lap but made a small mistake and backed off, so Charles Leclerc set the first proper time with a 1:20.088. Kimi Antonelli soon went second on fresh soft tyres, but George Russell stayed on top with another strong lap. Oscar Piastri moved into second between the two Mercedes cars, followed by Isack Hadjar, Lando Norris and Arvid Lindblad.
At that stage, drivers like Pierre Gasly, Oliver Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon were in the danger zone, while Hamilton still had not set a proper lap. Leclerc also complained about problems with energy deployment, which seemed to slow him down for a while. Hamilton later returned to the track on a new set of tyres after briefly being called to the weigh bridge.
In the final minutes, most drivers went out together for their last laps. Hamilton improved into sixth place, and Leclerc finally found more pace, jumping up to second behind Russell. McLaren had already brought their cars back to the pits, feeling safe about reaching Q3. In the end, the drivers eliminated in Q2 were Hulkenberg, Gasly, Bearman, Colapinto, Albon and one of the Audi cars. Lindblad managed to reach Q3 after another solid performance.
There was also late drama when a slow Audi was returning to the pits, and Lindblad nearly ran into his own teammate. Soon after, Gabriel Bortoleto’s car stopped before he could fully enter the pit lane, which meant he could not take part in Q3 even though he had originally qualified for it.
Out in Q2:
P11 – Nico Hulkenberg
P12 – Ollie Bearman
P13 – Esteban Ocon
P14 – Pierre Gasly
P15 – Alex Albon
P16 – Franco Colapinto
Q3
Q3 began with nine cars instead of ten after Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi suffered a technical problem at the end of Q2. Most drivers went out on new soft tyres, while Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson used used ones. Early in the session, there was an issue in the pit lane when Andrea Kimi Antonelli was released with cooling fans still attached to his car. Both fell off, and one of them was run over by Lando Norris, which quickly brought out the red flag. No proper lap times had been set yet, and Antonelli would later be investigated after the session.
When the session restarted, the drivers headed back out for their first real runs. Antonelli made a small mistake and had to abandon his lap, allowing George Russell to complete his. Russell set the first strong time with a 1:19.084. Norris moved into second, about half a second behind, while Isack Hadjar went third ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Lewis Hamilton could only manage sixth at that point.
In the final minutes, the drivers went out again for their last attempts. Antonelli produced a brilliant lap and briefly went to the top, almost three tenths faster than Russell. However, Russell quickly responded with an even faster lap to take provisional pole back from his teammate. The rest of the field could not match the Mercedes pace. Piastri and Leclerc both fell short, while Hadjar delivered an impressive lap to secure third place.
At the end of the session, Russell confirmed pole position with a time of 1:18.518. Antonelli finished second to complete a Mercedes front row lockout, while Hadjar took third place after a very strong performance. Norris ended up behind his teammate, and Hamilton could only manage seventh. As we expected, it was a dominant result for Mercedes to start the 2026 season.
Pole – George Russell
P2 – Kimi Antonelli
P3 – Isack Hadjar
P4 – Charles Leclerc
P5 – Oscar Piastri
P6 – Lando Norris
P7 – Lewis Hamilton
P8 – Liam Lawson
P9 – Arvid Lindblad
P10 – Gabriel Bortoleto
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