Mercedes's George Russell (L) of Britain and Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy attend a press conference after the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
by F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth
MELBOURNE, March 7 (Xinhua) -- George Russell underlined Mercedes' status as favorite for the 2026 Formula One World Championship by taking pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix here on Saturday.
Mercedes dominated qualifying at Melbourne's Albert Park, with teammate Kimi Antonelli setting the second-fastest time, around half a second clear of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar in third.
Hadjar's teammate Max Verstappen will start 20th on the grid after spinning out in the opening phase of qualifying, with the four-time world champion saying his rear wheels locked while braking for Turn 1.
"It was a great day. We knew there was a lot of potential in the car, but until you reach that first Saturday of the season you never really know. It really came alive this afternoon," said Russell, who set the fastest lap in all three qualifying segments and will start as the clear favorite for Sunday's race.
"I'm excited for the race tomorrow and it could bring some quite exciting racing. Hopefully we can deliver a good race."
Antonelli's front-row start came despite the Italian crashing heavily in the third free practice session earlier in the day, leaving Mercedes mechanics in a race against time to repair his car ahead of qualifying.
Verstappen's crash ultimately aided Antonelli, as the session was halted for several minutes while marshals cleared the stricken Red Bull, giving Mercedes additional time to ready the Italian's car.
"It has been a very, very stressful day," Antonelli said afterwards.
"In FP3 I went into the wall but the mechanics were heroes to put the car back on track. We couldn't even set up the car, we just went out and managed to put it on the front row. I'm really happy with that."
"It was not easy, I had to dig deep. Next time I need a clean weekend because I definitely compromised qualifying a little bit. But we have a race tomorrow to look ahead to and a good result is possible."
Hadjar will start third on the grid for his debut race with Red Bull and said he hopes to finish in the top three.
Charles Leclerc lines up fourth for Ferrari ahead of the two McLarens, with local favorite Oscar Piastri starting ahead of reigning world champion Lando Norris, whose session was hindered when he ran over a cooling fan that had fallen from Antonelli's car.
Leclerc's teammate Lewis Hamilton will start seventh ahead of the impressive Racing Bulls pairing of Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad.
Despite failing to run in the final qualifying segment after stopping with a mechanical issue, Gabriel Bortoleto will start 10th for Audi in the team's debut race.
Bortoleto's teammate Nico Hulkenberg starts 11th, with the Haas pair of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon 12th and 13th respectively.
Pierre Gasly is the first of the Alpines in 14th ahead of Alex Albon, whose Williams appears to be slightly overweight.
Gasly's teammate Franco Colapinto will start 16th, while Fernando Alonso lines up 17th after a difficult weekend for Aston Martin, which has struggled with a slow and unreliable Honda power unit. The Silverstone-based team is also battling severe vibration issues and a shortage of spare parts, raising doubts over whether Alonso or teammate Lance Stroll will finish the race.
Behind Alonso on the grid are the Cadillac pair of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, both of whom said they were satisfied with their performance ahead of the team's debut race.
Stroll will start last after failing to take part in either FP3 or qualifying, while Williams' Carlos Sainz joins him on the back row after also failing to run in qualifying following a hydraulic failure during FP3. ■
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso of Spain drives during the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Former British Formula One World Champion Jackie Stewart arrives at the paddock before the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
McLaren's Oscar Piastri of Australia interacts with audience before the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Marshals remove the car of Red Bull's Max Verstappen from the track during the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Scotty James, Australian winter olympic silver medalist, presents Pole Position Award to Mercedes' George Russell (L) of Britain after the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Mercedes's George Russell of Britain attends a press conference after the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc of Monaco drives during the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar of France drives during the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Mercedes' George Russell (C) of Britain, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli (R) of Italy and Red Bull's Isack Hadjar of France pose for the top 3 photo after the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar of France speaks during a press conference after the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Mercedes' George Russell of Britain celebrates after the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Mercedes's Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy drives during the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Red Bull's Max Verstappen of the Netherlands spins off the track during the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Red Bull's Max Verstappen of the Netherlands leaves his car during the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Red Bull's Max Verstappen of the Netherlands spins off the track during the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Mercedes's George Russell of Britain drives during the qualifying session of the Formula One Australia Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, March 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
