Oscar Piastri out of the race after crashing during installation lap
Incredible drama in Melbourne, as the hometown hero Oscar Piastri, the subject of so much attention during the build-up to the race, is out of the Australian Grand Prix after crashing out in the warm-up lap.
Coming out of turn four, the Australian’s car lost grip as he looked to accelerate, causing him to lose control and watch on helplessly as he went nose-first into the wall.
Key events
While Audi finish in the points through Bortoleto, a nice little moment for new boys Cadillac, too, as while Bottas recorded a DNF, Perez has crossed the line in the American team’s first race – just over a year on from being given the greenlight to field a team in 2026.
A neat little stat on the broadcast. With his win today, Russell has taken the lead in the World Championship for the first time in his career.
George Russell wins the Australian grand prix
Lap 58/58: It’s a Mercedes one-two to open the 2026 Formula One World Championship, as Russell takes the chequered flag in Melbourne, followed by his teammate Antonelli.
‘Wooo! Very nice! Very nice! I like this car, I like this engine!”
Leclerc edges out Hamilton for third – the gap ended up at 0.6 seconds – with Norris holding off a determined charge from Verstappen to take out fifth. Berman finishes seventh while Racing Bulls Lindblad will finish eighth in his debut race.
Audi, meanwhile, will pick up points in their first race as a team as Bortoleto crosses the line in ninth, with Gasly picking up a point for Alpine as he finishes tenth.
57/58: The penultimate lap is done and Russell continues to lead from Mercedes teammate Antonelli.
Leclerc’s gap over Hamilton is shrinking but he should have enough for third. Norris is fifth, Verstappen, sixth, with Berman, Lindblad, Bortoleto, and Gasly also in the points.
Lap 56/58: Hamilton has the gap to Leclerc down to 1.6 seconds but he might just run out of time in his efforts to get on the podium. Bortoleto is less than second back of Lindblad as he looks to jump up to eighth.
Lap 55/58: Russell leads Antonelli by 4.6 seconds, with Leclerc’s lead over Hamilton in third down to two. Norris has very slightly widened the gap between himself and Verstappen, too, as the heavyweights jostle for position.
Lap 54/58: Hamilton has closed the gap between himself and Leclerc to less than three seconds now – regardless of what happens through the remainder of this one, it’s an auspicious start to the season for the Brit after his morose debut season with Ferrari.
Russell continues to lead from Antonelli, followed by Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris, Verstappen, Bearman, Lindblad, Bortoleto, and Gasly in the top ten.
Stroll, meanwhile, has resumed driving after looking as though he’d retired at one point.
Lap 53/58: Antonelli has closed the gap on Russell to five seconds but he almost certainly doesn’t have the laps remaining to overhaul him. Hamilton, meanwhile, on fresher tyres, is just three back from Leclerc.
Lap 51/58: It’s increasingly looking likely that Hamilton’s query as to why one of the two Ferraris didn’t pit during the virtual safety car looks increasingly prescient. The Mercedes remain well, well out in front.
Lap 50/58: Russell’s lead over Antonelli is just under six seconds, while Leclerc is nine and a half back of the sophomore Mercedes driver. Hamilton, for his part, trails his teammate in third by three seconds, with a gap over thirty seconds then existing to Norris in fifth.
Lap 49/58: With less than ten laps remaining, Russell, who is going to go all the way through to the finish on his tyres, leads from Antonelli. The Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton are doing their best to close the gap, with Hamilton in fourth place also trying to move in on Leclerc in third.
Norris continues to defend fifth from Verstappen, while Bearman has opened up a bit of a gap on Lindblad. Bortoleto’s Audi is in the points in ninth, while Gasly’s Alpine rounds out the top ten.
Lap 48/58: The battle between Norris and Verstappen continues, with the Dutchman less than a second back of his rival in the McLaren. Further ahead, Hamilton continues to close the gap on Leclerc while Antonelli is creeping a bit closer to Russell.
Lap 47/58: Hamilton has started to close the gap on Leclerc in third – the Brit’s Ferrari now less than four seconds behind his teammate’s.
Lap 46/58: Verstappen is pushing Norris with everything he has, which the defending champion’s garage get on the radio to let him know.
Word, meanwhile, is that Russell is going to try and push to the end on the hard tyres he had put on during the race’s first virtual safety car. A high-risk, high-reward strategy.
Lap 45/58: Verstappen is putting his new tyres to work, setting a new fastest lap as he closes back in on Norris and looks to resume that battle. Ahead of them, Russell leads the race still from Antonelli, Leclerc, and Hamilton, while behind them, Bearman, Lindblad, Bortoleto, and Gasly round out the top ten.
Lap 43/58: Verstappen pulls into the pits, now confirmed to be on a two-stop strategy. He emerges in sixth position on hard tyres.
Lap 41/58: Russell continues to lead the Australian grand prix, with his teammate Antonelli trailing in second. The Ferrari of Leclerc rounds out the podium, with the Monégasque driver’s teammate Hamilton in fourth. Verstappen has come from the second-last row of the grid to occupy fith place, with defending champion Norris behind him. Bearman trails them in seventh, followed Lindblad, Bortoleto, Gasly in the top ten.
Lap 40/58: Two more retirements, with the Aston Martins of Stroll and Alonso waving the white flag. Bearman and Lindblad are tussling fiercely for the seventh spot, with the former taking the position and then defending an aggressive re-take attempt by the latter.
Lap 39/58: Leclerc has set a new fastest lap as he looks to close the gap on the two Mercedes that lead the race. Bortoleto has moved past Ocon and taken a place in the top ten, with Gasly not too far ahead.
Lap 38/58: Bottas, Hadjard, Piastri, and Hulkenberg remain our only four scratchings, thus far. Norris, meanwhile, has gone past Bearman and has now set his sights on Lindblad.
Lap 37/58: Russell is going hell for leather at the front of the pack. Perhaps the signal has come through to flog the tyres as they’re going to need to execute a two-stopper?
After pitting for the second time, Norris is all over the back of Bearman, trying to move into seventh.
Lap 36/58: Norris emerges in eighth as the only driver in the top ten to have pitted twice.
The Mercedes lead, followed by the Ferraris. Verstappen is fifth, trailed by the Racing Bulls of Lindblad, the Haas of Bearman, Norris in his McLaren, Gasly’s Alpine, and the Haas of Ocon.
Lap 35/58: Verstappen is monstering the back of Norris now as he looks to move up into fifth and then… Norris pits, giving the position to the Dutchman. The McLaren garage had been on the blower asking the defending champion how far he could push his tyres and let’s just say, Norris wasn’t enthusiastic.
Lap 34/58: Leclerc is on the charge, trying to close the gap on the two Mercedes and ensure that, if they can’t pull off an audacious one-stopper, he’ll be ready to pounce.
Oh, hold on, a virtual safety has been called for due to debris on the track. But it lasts all of a few seconds as the debris from Perez’s Cadillac are rapidly cleared.
Lap 33/58: After Russell said a one-stop strategy was viable, the Mercedes garage gets onto the radio and asks Antonelli his thoughts on such a strategy: “that would be brave.”
Lap 32/58: Verstappen is well and truly putting the pressure on Norris for fifth place, now sitting just under two seconds back of the McLaren.
Lap 31/58: Hello, is Alonso back out there? He is. After coming into the pit lane and looking like his day was done, the Aston Marin driver is back out there – albeit he’s 12 laps off the pace.
Lap 30/58: We’re more than halfway through the Australian grand prix and it’s Russell who leads from Mercedes teammate Antonelli, with the Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton then coming through in third and fourth. Norris is fifth, followed by Verstappen, Lindblad, Bearman, Bortoleto, and Gasly in the top ten.
Lap 29/58: Russell gets on the radio and tells the Mercedes garage that, after a few laps to get used to the new tyres and the lead secured, he believes a one-stop strategy on his hard tyres is viable.
Sainz, who has been hardly sighted in his Williams this week due to mechanical issues, has quietly moved up from the back row of the grid and into 12th.
Lap 28/58: Overtake is active for Russell as he closes in on the back of Hamilton and he blasts past him on turn nine. The Brit once again leads the Australian grand prix. Antonelli remains third, followed by Leclerc, Norris, Verstappen, Lindblad, Bearman, Bortoleto, and Gasly.
After being overtaken, Hamilton pulls into the pits. A really good stop sees him emerge from the pit lane in fourth, just behind Leclerc.
Lap 27/58: The gap is now down to under a second between Hamilton and Russell, with the race leader pushing out for another lap as we approach the halfway mark of the race.
Lap 26/58: Hamilton stays out there for another lap, with Russell lurking ominously, just 1.4 seconds back from the Ferrari and drawing ever-closer to being able to activate overtake mode. Antonelli is just under eight seconds back of his teammate, with Leclerc eight further seconds back of the sophomore Mercedes driver.
Lap 25/58: Leclerc dives into the pits, heading in under green flag conditions. Hamilton moves into the lead, followed by Russell and Antonelli. Leclerc re-emerges in fourth place, in front of Norris, Verstappen, Lindblad, Bearman, Bortoleto, and Gasly.
Lap 24/58: Another lap passes without a Ferrari pit, they’re going to push the medium tyres they started the race with for as long as they can. Russell is now just three seconds back of Hamilton, giving him about three or so laps until he’s on top of them.
Lap 23/58: Piastri is pictured on the broadcast speaking to media, so we’ll hopefully soon have a greater insight into what went wrong during the installation lap that saw him crash out.
Leclarc and Hamilton remain on the track and remain first and second, with the Mercedes of Russell and Antonelli trailing.
Lap 22/58: Ferrari will have come into the race wanting to do a one-stop strategy and, there hand somewhat forced by the location of Bottas’ crash, they’re going to stick with that policy. The question now is, when do they come in?
Lap 21/58: Russell is slowly but surely closing the gap between himself and Hamilton – the margin between the two now down to five seconds.
Lap 20/58: Leclerc and Hamilton, denied a chance to pit (they’re now the only cars yet to do so), remain first and second. Russell and Antonelli follow, then comes Norris and Verstappen and Lindblad, with Bearman, Bortoleto, and Gasly round out the top ten.
Lap 19/58: The unfortunate location of Bottas’ breakdown means that the pit lane entrance is closed as marshals clear away the car. And as soon as it’s gone, the virtual safety car ends – denying the Ferraris a chance to pit.
Valtteri Botta breaks down in first race for Cadillac
Lap 18/58: Both Ferraris continue to set the pace but both are stull yet to pit.
Oh, no, I jinxed Bottas. He’s gone off the track just in front of turn 14. A virtual safety car is called for, a chance for Ferrari to pit?
Lindblad, Verstappen, Bearman, and Bortoleto, yet to pass the pit lane entrance at the time of the incident, all pit.
Lap 17/58: Alonso, Hadjar, Piastri, and Hulkenberg are our scratchings across the opening 17 laps, with Bottas in his Cadillac well well off the pace but staying out there, gathering data.
Lap 16/58: Antonelli has moved past Lindblad and into fourth, with the rookie now having to deal with Verstappen all over his back. Leclerc maintains the lead, with the gap between Hamilton and Russell now down to eight seconds.
Lap 15/58: Leclerc and Hamilton, both yet to pit, lead in Melbourne, with Russell, who has pitted, rolling through in third. Lindblad, who also hasn’t pitted, is fourth, followed by Antonelli, Verstappen (oh lawd he coming), Bearman, Bortoleto, Norris, and Ocon.
Hamilton expresses amazement when he’s told on the radio that Russell is only ten seconds back but is assured that this is all part of the plan.
Lap 14/58: Green flags wave and we resume racing. Alonso, however, looks done, getting on the radio and telling his team to stop the car as there’s an issue. Which issue, take your pick going off Aston Martin’s week.
Lap 13/58: Hamilton isn’t a fan of Ferrari keeping both he and Leclerc out there during the virtual safety car, getting on the radio and declaring that at least one of them should have come in.
And that’s interesting. It looked like the Ferrari crew was up and ready for at least one of their drivers to come in but both blew past the pit lane entrance at the end of the lap.
Lap 12/58: Hadjar did ever so well in qualifying but it appears on the replays that his gearbox has completely died on him. Very unfortunate. Russell and Antonelli have both pitted but, for now, Leclerc and Hamilton have remained out there.
Isack Hadjar out of the race
Lap 11/58: Hadjar has gone off! The Red Bull driver pulls up onto the grass just ahead of turn nine – his power unit seemingly done – and a virtual safety car has been called for.
Very rapidly, a host of cars dive into the pit lane, highlighted by Norris.
Hulkenberg, meanwhile, after breaking down during an installation lap, has also retired without recording a lap.
Lap 10/58: Leclerc leads from Russell, followed by Hamilton and Antonelli, who has rebounded from his horror start and his moving back up the grid. Hadjar and Lindblad are then followed by Norris, Ocon, and Verstappen, who has moved up to ninth. Gasly rounds up the top ten.
Lap 9/58: And now Hamilton has joined the party! He tries to sneakily move beyond both Leclerc and Russell as the two do battle and, while they’re able to hold them off, remains well-poised to bounce on any kind of error.
Verstappen, meanwhile, has moved up into the top ten.
Lap 8/58: Russell overtakes Leclerc and tries to accelerate away but his energy eventually runs dry and Leclerc takes advantage by getting in his slipstream, building up his juice, and taking the lead back! This is fun.
Lap 7/58: The cat and mouse game between Leclerc and Russell continues, the need for the Brit to manage his power and power recharging giving him an extra consideration as he looks to overtake.
Lap 6/58: Russell is all over the back of Leclerc but, for now, can’t find a way to bring his extra power to bear and find a way past the Ferrari. The Brit gets on the radio, complaining about a defensive move from Leclerc being dangerous, which the broadcast quickly diagnoses as being for the stewards benefit, not his team.
Lap 5/58: What a start for the rookie Lindblad, who started at ninth in his Racing Bulls car but has now moved up into sixth.
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