F1 2026 | George Russell wins Australian Grand Prix in Mercedes' 1-2 finish in Melbourne
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "F1 2026 | George Russell wins Australian Grand Prix in Mercedes' 1-2 finish in Melbourne")
Russell wins Australian Grand Prix in Mercedes' 1-2 finish Photograph: (X/F1)
Russell's teammate Andrea Antonelli finished second in the 58-lap race with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and 7-time F1 champ Lewis Hamilton finishing third and fourth, respectively.
George Russell won Formula 1 2026 season's first race as Mercedes finished 1-2 in the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday (Mar 8). Russell's teammate Andrea Antonelli finished second in the 58-lap race with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and 7-time F1 champ Lewis Hamilton finishing third and fourth, respectively. McLaren's Lando Norris, who won the F1 title last season, finished fifth while four-time world champion Max Verstappen finished sixth for the Red Bull Racing. Hass driver Oliver Bearman got his team on the points table after finishing seventh while 18-year-old Lindblad secured eighth position for the Racing Bulls. Gabriel Bortoleto from Audi finished ninth while Pierre Gasly of Alpine completed top 10.
"Feeling incredible. It was a hell of a fight in the beginning," said Russell after his first win since Singapore GP last year. "We knew it was going to be challenging. "I made a bad start and some really tight battles with Charles at the start. Just really glad to cross the finish line."
Hamilton also had a flying start for Ferrari and surged to third, ahead of Hadjar.
Russell immediately hit back, reclaiming the lead on lap two before Leclerc responded a lap later to go first again as they and Hamilton began pulling clear.
It morphed into a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle at the front, with the lead changing hands three times on lap eight as Russell and Leclerc fought for supremacy.
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The virtual safety car came out on lap 12 when Hadjar's car stopped with Russell and Antonelli pitting and coming back on hards.
With his tyres starting to wear, Leclerc pitted on lap 26 but Hamilton stayed out and was passed by Russell before coming in.
Russell radioed that he thought a one-stop race was viable and he began pulling clear, with Antonelli second.
And there was no way back for the Ferraris, who were 15 seconds behind and barely made a dent in the Mercedes advantage in the second half of the race.
With inputs from Agencies
