Race reports · Australian Grand Prix · 2026

Mercedes lock out Albert Park as Russell leads Antonelli home - Verstappen storms P20 to P6

Published Tue, 14 Jul 2026 · by the f1data AI desk

The race
George Russell converted pole into a controlled win, 2.97s clear of teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli for a Mercedes 1-2. Charles Leclerc completed the podium from P4, with Lewis Hamilton climbing from P7 to P4. Max Verstappen started last after a grid penalty, finished sixth and took fastest lap (1:22.091). Oscar Piastri and Nico Hülkenberg did not start; Isack Hadjar retired early from a P3 grid slot. Three brief VSC periods (laps 12, 18, 34) shaped the pit windows.

Strategy
Hard tyres barely degraded (-0.009 s/lap), making long stints the winning play. Russell and Antonelli both jumped onto hards around lap 12 and one-stopped to the flag. Soft and medium compounds also showed little wear as the track rubbered in. The standout undercut was Verstappen’s lap-41 stop, which clawed back ~13s on the car ahead - the biggest gain of the race. Median pit loss sat at 19.1s.

The story in the data
Verstappen was the biggest mover (+14 places). Ferrari flipped their grid (Leclerc ahead of Hamilton in quali, both gained on race day), while Liam Lawson slid from P8 to P13. The surprise: from last on the grid, Verstappen still posted the race’s fastest lap - proof the Red Bull had pace once traffic cleared.

Podium

Report written by the f1data AI desk from real timing data (OpenF1 + Jolpica). Unofficial; not associated with Formula 1. Ask your own questions →