George Russell has secured the first pole position of 2026. The Briton from Mercedes was supreme on Saturday morning in the qualifying for the Australian GP. Behind him, teammate Kimi Antonelli took second place. The rest of the field followed at a large distance. For Max Verstappen, qualifying in Melbourne turned into a huge disappointment. He slid off the track in Q1 of the session.

Relive the qualifying for the Australian GP below.

Q1: Max Verstappen crash in first fast lap

The first qualifying session of 2026 has begun! Q1 lasts eighteen minutes, six drivers are eliminated. The first times are on the clock. McLaren driver Oscar Piastri gets off to a flying start in front of his home crowd in 1.20,552, but he is immediately outdone by Gabriel Bortoleto on behalf of Audi (1.20,495). Max Verstappen is still in the pits.

Mercedes driver George Russell replaces Bortoleto as the fastest, in 1.19,840. With 9,30 minutes left on the clock, Max Verstappen also comes out now.

No, Max Verstappen crash!! In the first corner of his fast lap, he slides off! Red flag! The rear of his Red Bull car locks up and he slams hard into the barriers across the gravel. ‘Fantastic’, comes the cynical voice over the team radio. He is the first certain elimination in qualifying.

Video: Footage of Max Verstappen’s crash

The session has resumed with over five minutes left on the clock. Lewis Hamilton sets the fastest time, in 1.19,811, but he cannot enjoy it for long. George Russell and Oscar Piastri dive under it almost immediately. Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli had no time to his name yet, but immediately drives himself to safety in his first lap.

Besides Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll also have no time to their names. Along with this trio, Cadillac drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez, as well as Fernando Alonso, are also eliminated. The elimination of the Cadillacs and Aston Martins was expected.

Eliminated in Q1: Sainz, Stroll, Verstappen, Bottas, Pérez, Alonso.

Q2: Russell impressive, Bortoleto through (but then again not)

Q2 has started with sixteen drivers. Lewis Hamilton is the first to take to the track, on soft tires, and neatly moves aside for teammate Charles Leclerc, who sets the first time: 1.20,088. George Russell replaces him a little later with a fast time: 1.18,934. He is by far the fastest for now. Following Russell are Antonelli, Piastri, Hadjar, and Norris respectively.

With one minute left on the clock, the drivers from Audi, Haas, and Alpine are in the danger zone.

Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto scrapes through to Q3, teammate Nico Hülkenberg just misses out.

Bortoleto fails to reach the pits after his final lap in Q2 and has to be pushed back by the marshals. For him, qualifying is over after all. That’s tough!

Max Verstappen went for a medical check-up to have his hand looked at, but he is now back in the paddock. Physically, there seems to be little else wrong.

Eliminated in Q2: Hülkenberg, Bearman, Ocon, Gasly, Albon, Colapinto.

Q3: Red flag due to Mercedes part on the track

And we have started Q3 with nine drivers, including F1 debutant Arvid Lindblad on behalf of Racing Bulls. Quite an achievement!

There is a cooler attachment on the track, coming from Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes. The session is briefly halted. Lando Norris drives right over it and suffers damage to the front wing of his McLaren. For Antonelli, it means an ‘unsafe release’.

And we’re racing again. Nine minutes left on the clock. George Russell immediately sets the fastest time again (1.19,084), followed by Isack Hadjar by over half a second.

Kimi Antonelli dives under his teammate Russell’s fastest time with a 1.18,811, but the latter restores the pecking order a little later: 1.18,518. The gap between both Mercedes and the rest is enormous.

Isack Hadjar drives to the third fastest time! It’s a small consolation for Red Bull after Max Verstappen’s early exit. World champion Norris has to settle for P6.

Top 10: Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Leclerc, Piastri, Norris, Hamilton, Lawson, Lindblad, Bortoleto.