George Russell heads Mercedes 1-2 at Australian Grand Prix
8th March 2026George Russell led Mercedes to a 1-2 finish at the Australian Grand Prix, after a fierce fight for the race win against Ferrari.
Feature image credit: Mercedes F1
Russell has claimed the first race victory of the 2026 Formula 1 world championship at Melbourne’s Albert Park for the Australian GP, as his teammate Kimi Antonelli finished just behind the championship leader.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the podium in third place, as the Monegasque came under late pressure from his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, in fourth.
It meant the Silver Arrows finished in the same position they started, one-two, in the sports season opener.
However, it was not straightforward for the Mercedes squad as the drivers struggled to get away at the beginning of the race.
When the lights went out, the Mercedes quickly got bogged down off the line and became vulnerable to Ferrari’s incredible race starts, previously seen in testing.
At turn one, Leclerc had taken the race lead from the Briton. From there, the Monegasque and Russell kept leapfrogging each other for the race lead.
At times, their fight brought Hamilton into the fold to battle for victory.
However, after the first set of pit stops, where the Mercedes pair stopped under the Virtual Safety Car, thanks to Isack Hadjar’s retirement on lap 11, Russell’s race lead no longer seemed to be under threat.
Russell’s victory brought Mercedes their first 1-2 finish since the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, where the Briton was accompanied by now-Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.
Who finished where?
- George Russell, Mercedes
- Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
- Oliver Bearman, Haas
- Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
- Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine
- Esteban Ocon, Haas
- Alexander Albon, Williams
- Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
- Franco Colapinto, Alpine
- Carlos Sainz, Williams
- Sergio Perez, Cadillac
There were a total of four retirements of the race, with Hadjar being the first retirement of the race due to a mechanical issue, before Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac, retired shortly after.
Both Aston Martins failed to make it to the end of the race, as expectations were high due to the team’s ongoing problems. Fernando Alonso was the first to retire from the Silverstone squad before heading back out and then retiring again, ahead of Lance Stroll.
Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri were non-starters for the race.
The former had technical issues, which meant the German was not able to make it out for the season opener. Whereas, for Piastri, the Australian crashed out of the race on the way to the grid.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Oscar Piastri crashes on way to 2026 Australian Grand Prix grid
- George Russell heads Mercedes front row at Australian Grand Prix
- George Russell clears gap to Hamilton in FP3 at Australian GP
- Oscar Piastri tops second practice at Australian Grand Prix
- Charles Leclerc pips Hamilton to fastest FP1 lap at Australian GP
- Valtteri Bottas will serve grid penalty at Australian Grand Prix
Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from ApexMotorsports.co.uk!
Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
