Predictions placing Mercedes-AMG as the favourites on the 2026 F1 grid have been realised, posting the two fastest lap times ahead of the Australian GP tomorrow.
George Russell will park on pole position in tomorrow's Formula One Australian Grand Prix, leading team-mate Kimi Antonelli in second for a dominant one-two start for the Mercedes-AMG team.
Melbourne-born Oscar Piastri qualified fifth in his McLaren – ahead of team-mate and reigning World Drivers' Champion, Lando Norris, in sixth – in an eventful qualifying session that saw multiple red flags for crashes and mechanical incidents.
Isack Hadjar is due to start third in his first race for Red Bull, the highest qualifying result for a debutant with the team since Daniel Ricciardo qualified second at the 2014 Australian GP.
In contrast, a crash for his four-time champion team-mate Max Verstappen at the start of his first flying lap will see him start near the back of the grid.
Mercedes-AMG started the Australian Grand Prix weekend as the favourites; a prediction proven in qualifying, with the highest-placed non-Mercedes car nearly eight tenths slower than Russell's top time.
"We know we're better in these cooler conditions, and as the track temp dropped, we always seem to fight for lap time. But, you know, I think we've really got a great engine beneath us," Russell told the post-session press conference.
"... We've also got a really amazing car beneath us, and I think that probably hasn't been highlighted enough in the press these past weeks."
Russell's fastest time of 1:18.518 was more than three seconds slower than the 1:15.096 set by Norris to claim pole last year.
While it is not that far off the 1:17.868 pole-position time in 2022, at the start of the last set of F1 rules, the 2026 leaderboard is a reflection of the slower pace of the new generation of hybrid Formula One cars introduced for 2026.
Smaller and lighter than before, the new cars produce less downforce, and offer a 50:50 split between petrol and electric power, at about 350kW each – compared to about 600-650kW petrol and 120kW electric in 2025 racers.
It has placed much greater focus on keeping the cars' batteries charged – which occurs under braking, or through engine power – with active aerodynamics and a 'push-to-pass' overtake mode to help drivers race.
"The cars are more agile when you're sort of sliding them around a bit more, and definitely it's more easy to lock up and sort of run wide, lose the rear," Russell told the post-qualifying conference.
"It wasn't easy, with the conditions out there, it was quite windy, quite gusty, but I'm enjoying that. It feels more like a go-kart compared to last year, which felt like a bouncing bus."
A harsh critic of the latest generation of F1 cars, four-time champion Max Verstappen will start Sunday's race from the back of the grid after spinning into the wall at Turn 1 of his first flying lap in the first portion of qualifying, bringing out the red flag.
"Yep, the car just ****ing locked the rear axles," the Dutch driver said over team radio. "Fantastic."
His team-mate, Isack Hadjar, finished third, becoming the first driver to qualify in the Top 10 on his Red Bull Racing debut since Verstappen joined the squad in 2016.
Liam Lawson, who qualified 18th for last year's Australian Grand Prix in a Red Bull, is due to start the race eighth in the 'junior-team' Racing Bulls car, ahead of rookie team-mate Arvid Lindblad in ninth.
Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and seventh, respectively, while Piastri led Norris in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Knocked out in the first portion of qualifying were both Cadillac cars, the US brand debuting in Formula One this weekend as a brand-new outfit.
Also failing to progress to Q2 were both Aston Martins – with Lance Stroll not even setting a time in qualifying – as the team struggles with critical vibrations from its new Honda engines, causing battery pack failures and limiting their time on track.
The Williams of Carlos Sainz was the other car that did not leave the pit garage in qualifying, following mechanical issues in the third practice session earlier today.
The other new name on the grid, Audi, performed better, with Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto qualifying 11th and 10th, respectively, but the latter could not set a lap time in Q3, after his car came to a stop in the pit entry at the end of the second part of qualifying.
The 2026 Formula One Australian Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 3:00pm local time tomorrow, Sunday 8 March, with dry weather expected.
2026 Formula One Australian Grand Prix qualifying results (preliminary)
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
