Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix 2026: How the race unfolded
Leclerc repelled numerous advances from Russell in the opening laps; The Briton was certainly unimpressed when the Ferrari passed the bow of the Mercedes at Turn 11 on lap six. “Leclerc is very dangerous,” Russell said, suggesting that Ferrari slowed down too suddenly heading into the corner.
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Two laps later, Russell retook the lead into the slow right-hand third corner and Leclerc raced towards the 9-10 chicane in the run, with Russell locking up at the first corner on the next lap allowing Hamilton to close on the front pair.
It was the fiercest battle of a frantic opening 10 laps in which the lead changed hands seven times, and the tussle saw Antonelli, who had fallen to seventh in a frantic opening lap after battery drain problems hinder his start, back into the game on lap four.
3. Round 11: Hadjar’s retirement opens strategy game
Second-year French driver Hadjar, who had finished a solid fifth in his first race with Red Bull Racing, crawled to a halt at turn eight due to smoke billowing from his car; This marked the first race of Red Bull’s second F1 season, marking the debut of its in-house engine collaboration with Ford.
A virtual safety car was called to neutralize the field to move Hadjar’s car to safety, while Mercedes opted to pit Russell and Antonelli from first and fourth respectively, while Ferrari opted to keep Leclerc and Hamilton on track to take first and second place.
Hamilton was unimpressed. “At least one of us should have taken part,” said the Briton, who understood that given Mercedes’ clear speed advantage over the others, any chance of a first podium finish for Ferrari depended on him pursuing an alternative strategy to put his teammate ahead.
4. Lap 25: Leclerc pits, Hamilton leads briefly
Ferrari’s chance to potentially pit during the race’s second virtual safety car period, when Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac stalled at the final corner of the 14-turn layout, was dashed when race management temporarily closed the pit lane entrance as the Finnish driver’s stricken car was deemed to be in a dangerous position.
Leclerc maintained the lead until lap 25 before pitting, Hamilton had his way and begged to stay out rather than waste time in the pits waiting for new tires behind his teammate.
Closing quickly, Russell passed Hamilton on 17 older tires to take the lead three laps later, before Hamilton pitted himself and got behind Leclerc once again.
5. Lap 53: Verstappen’s chase of Norris ends
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen made surprising progress after his Saturday qualifying crash, moving from 20th to sixth in the standings and, after his second pit stop on lap 41, started to chase last year’s championship rival Lando Norris (McLaren) at the end of the race.
The Dutch driver narrowed his deficit to Norris to just half a second by lap 48, but Norris eventually leveled off Verstappen’s onslaught with six laps to go, opening up a 1.4-second gap and starting to cross the line 2.8 seconds ahead at the checkered flag.
After Norris beat Verstappen by just two points last year and the pair won 15 of the season’s 24 Grands Prix, finishing 51.7 seconds behind race winner Russell, Verstappen became the last driver to fail to lap as Mercedes showed off its pre-season strength in Melbourne.
