On Saturday, Russell claimed the first pole of the season by setting the fastest time during qualifying at Albert Park Circuit. The Brit produced a superb lap of 1:18.518 in Q3 to secure the top spot on the grid.

His teammate, Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli, completed a dream session for Mercedes by clocking the second-fastest lap of 1:18.811, locking out the front row for the Silver Arrows.

Max Verstappen ends up in the gravel trap after a brake failure in Q1 - F1

It was an impressive showing from Isack Hadjar, who was third quickest in qualifying with a time of 1:19.303 for Red Bull Racing’s sister outfit, the Flying Bulls, in what is his first full season in Formula One.

However, it was a disastrous session for three-time world champion Max Verstappen, who will start from 20th on the grid after crashing out in Q1 following a suspected brake failure, ruling him out of the remainder of qualifying.

Home favourite Oscar Piastri was the quickest of the McLaren drivers, posting a lap of 1:19.380 to line up fifth on the grid. His teammate and reigning world champion, Lando Norris, will begin his title defence from sixth, after being narrowly edged by the young Australian with a time of 1:19.450. 

Kimi Antonelli into the barrier! ??

Here's the sizeable crash which ended the Mercedes driver's FP3 ??#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/ZC1PrM1JE0

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 7, 2026

Among the new teams on the grid, Audi F1 Team emerged as the fastest, with Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg qualifying 10th and 11th respectively.

Meanwhile, the American outfit Cadillac Formula 1 Team will make their Formula One debut from the back of the grid after Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas posted the slowest times in Q1, qualifying 18th and 19th respectively. The only drivers set to start behind them are Verstappen, Lance Stroll of Aston Martin F1 Team, and Carlos Sainz Jr. of Williams Racing.

Russell was understandably delighted after claiming the first pole position of the season and leading a Mercedes front-row lockout.

Kimi Antonelli thanks his team after securing P2.

??? “It was such a stressful day, but the mechanics are the real heroes today.” ??#F1 | #AusGP

pic.twitter.com/cCE5CeC8Xp

— Everything Formula (@evrythngformu1a) March 7, 2026

“I’m excited for the race tomorrow and I think it can bring some quite exciting racing,” he said. “Also for you guys in the crowd – it’s always amazing every time we come to Melbourne. Thank you so much for the support for all of us and hopefully we can deliver a good race.

“I think a lot of the simple things in the past, like race starts and pit stops, are a hell of a lot more challenging with these new cars.

“I said to the team in the garage at the beginning of Q3: let’s just have a clean session, because who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. Obviously we’ll all work hard tonight. Today was a really great day – we’re in the best place possible.”

Lights out for Sunday’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix is scheduled for 6:00.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport