Australian Grand Prix: Formula 1 Teams & Drivers report from Melbourne

Despite a brief challenge from Ferrari, George Russell managed to lead teammate Kimi Antonelli home on Sunday at Albert Park thus ensuring the best start for the 2026 Formula 1 season for Mercedes.

The race was not lacking any drama with Oscar Piastri crashing before lights out while Max Verstappen recovered from a qualifying crash to finish sixth.

Several drivers did not finish as Isack Hadjar retired with car issues which applied to Valtteri Bottas in the Cadillac while Nico Hulkenberg did not even start. Aston Martin managed to have both cars in the race but not for the full distance.

Here is a compilation of what Teams and Drivers said after the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.

George Russell: "That wasn't a straightforward afternoon, but this win feels very sweet! Congratulations to the whole team; they've done an incredible job and this victory is for them.

"We had a difficult and chaotic start and from there, were yo-yoing with the overtakes between Charles and me. I could have perhaps used my energy more smartly to defend when I first overtook him and that cost me when he passed me back. It was quite stressful from in the car but hopefully meant we put on a good show for the fans.

"We stopped quite early on when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed and knew we were going to have to manage our tyres from there. We were not clear on whether the one or the two-stop was going to be quickest or which one was the right decision to help us take victory. The strategy team made a great call though and I am really happy we could take the victory and the 1-2. It's a perfect way to start the season and we will enjoy this moment, but it is still very early days in the championship, and we know our rivals will be trying to close the gap quickly. It wasn't easy for us so let's see how we perform in China next week."

Kimi Antonelli: "What an afternoon and what a weekend! It has not been easy on my side of the garage here in Melbourne, but we've come away from here with a great result. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone at Lauda Drive and Morgan Drive; they've produced a really strong car and a platform for us to build on. This 1-2 is for them and due to all the hard work and effort they've put in over several years.

"Coming to the grid, I had a lower battery level so the start was very stressful! We obviously made a slow launch but from there our recovery was good and our pace was strong. That enabled us to fight our way back to the Ferraris and ultimately, after we went through the pitstops, to take a 1-2 for the team.

"There is a lot we've learned about our car and how to operate within these new regulations this weekend. Whilst we were the strongest team in Melbourne, we are going to have to work really hard to stay ahead. I'm now looking forward to China and seeing what we can do in Shanghai."

Toto Wolff, Team Principal: "We feel a lot of contentment coming away from Melbourne today. It is great to see Mercedes back at the front of the field at this opening race of the season. The teams at Lauda Drive and Morgan Drive have done a brilliant job to get our package to Australia in such a strong place. To see us take a solid 1-2 in race one with the season ahead hopefully means we can try and fight for a world championship. It will take a lot of hard work, and we know our competitors will be chasing us down, but this is exactly how we wanted to start the year. Congratulations to the whole team, the drivers, and everyone involved on this result.

"We were going into the unknown this weekend, but I think F1 put on a good show with some exciting racing today. The back-and-forth fight between George and Charles (Leclerc) in those early stages was fun to see and I am looking forward to seeing how things play out in Shanghai next weekend. There is lots we learned here in Melbourne, and I am sure it will only get even more interesting from here."

Charles Leclerc: "We were quite strong in the race, which was a positive given that our expectations yesterday were not that high. I had a good start and learned a lot on those opening laps. There are lots of things to manage at the same time, energy deployment, tyres, overtakes, and I’m happy with how I handled the situation from inside the car. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the pace to hold onto first place later on.

"We’ve got to be on it in terms of development and push to the maximum to reduce the gap. We have gained a lot of insight in these days. We will take that knowledge with us and work on making a step forward for China."

Lewis Hamilton: "I was happy with the performance for our first race of the season. There has been a lot of learning over the weekend and we squeezed everything out of today and took absolutely all the performance that was on the table. From the first laps I felt switched on and throughout the race understanding more and more about the car and adjusting my inputs to get the most from it.

"There is still lots to learn and work to do but it’s clear we’re in the fight. We’ll stay grounded, stay precise, and keep pushing to build on this."

Fred Vasseur Team Principal: "For the sport this was a very good race. There were some pessimistic comments about this new Formula 1 going into the season and I think today’s race start and then the first ten laps were the most exciting we have witnessed in the past ten years and not just because we were in front! From our side, third and fourth is a good result. We saw after qualifying that there was a performance gap and so this result was the best we could do today. We have a long season ahead of us and we must improve many aspects over the coming months. With regards to our strategy, we decided not to pit under the VSC, as we were focused on our optimal strategy. Then, we and I think also Mercedes, were very surprised by the long life of the tyres and with the second VSC we were a bit unlucky as the pit lane entry was closed when we could have pitted. It is what it is and now we are focussing on the next race. We can be positive, because we know where we need to improve, even if we know it will be a challenge.

Lando Norris: "P5 is a good result, I think we maximised what we could achieve today. The gap to the guys ahead is pretty big, and we clearly have a lot of work to do, which we thought might be the case coming into this weekend. The fact that we could defend against Max and keep him behind, even though he had a lot more pace, was positive. We managed the strategy well, protected our position, and managed the tyres well to keep him behind.

"We need to work hard to understand where we're losing pace to the front runners, as well as understanding how we can approach the weekend better, but I've got full confidence in my team to be able to do that. It's looking like it's going to be a long, tough season, but we're in a reasonable place to start from, and we'll do the best we can."

Oscar Piastri: "Disappointed. Today was not how we wanted to start the season. Unfortunately, a combination of factors, including cold tyres, being up on the kerb and then more power than I had in Quali in that corner, meant I spun. We will review everything this evening and go into next week with our heads down and ready to keep fighting. Thank you to fans for their support this weekend, it's been amazing, and I'm sad to not have been able to race in front of them."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal: "It was certainly a shame to go into the Grand Prix with only one car. During the first reconnaissance lap, a combination of factors, including suboptimal tyre temperature, unexpected torque deployment and being up on the kerb, caused Oscar to unexpectedly spin at Turn 4 and subsequently crash into the barriers. It was a tough moment for him, especially at his home race, but he is a strong person and will regroup with the team and go to China even more motivated.

"In terms of the race itself, it was very important to finish it with Lando, to gather as much data and learning as possible under these new regulations. Lando did a great job to adapt to various scenarios and battle with Verstappen's Red Bull. However, we finished some distance behind the leader, so it is clear we have work to do. Whilst we were on a different strategy, and we lost a bit of time in the first stint behind the Racing Bulls. We absolutely have performance that we need to find through the exploitation of the power unit and by improving grip in the corners.

"Thank you to the team in Woking and trackside, and to HPP, for their work so far. We will take what we've learned across all aspects of this weekend and ensure we go into China stronger."

Max Verstappen: "The first laps were pretty hectic and we just needed to stay out of trouble. I had some issues at the start with the battery so as soon as the clutch was dropped, I had no power so that is something we need to understand. We then got quite cleanly through the field, did some decent overtakes and learned a bit about what we could do. We settled into our own race but unfortunately had a little too much degradation; the tyre behaviour was surprising as we had a lot of graining on the Hard compound, which of course compromised our stints and meant that we couldn't really fight for more. So, this is something that we need to go back and understand a bit more. We also tried everything at the end to overtake again and gain a position but when we got close my tyres opened up. Overall the Team still did a great job: it was a decent comeback from P20 and we will work as a Team to close the gap further."

Isack Hadjar: "Today was frustrating. I was confident that we could challenge for the podium so this result is a shame. I felt really strong off the line but unfortunately the issue we had came up straight away. The reliability we had throughout the weekend was good, but of course, the race is different and I could feel that there was a problem quite early on. The car was making a funny sound and I knew that we weren't going to make it to the end. It's frustrating, but these things can happen and we're so early on in our journey. We quickly go onto China with a short turnaround but I'm confident that we're going to learn from this."

Laurent Mekies, CEO & Team Principal: "This has been a very important weekend for Formula 1, the first race of a new era for the sport and, after weeks of speculation, fans were treated to an enthralling contest this afternoon in Albert Park. With such a radical change to the technical regulations, some retirements were inevitable and it's unfortunate that one of those was Isack, after he did so well to claim third place on the grid. Looking at the positives, the remaining three Red Bull Ford Powertrains powered cars saw the chequered flag, two of them in the top ten. And in case anyone needs reminding of what an exceptional driver Max is, he put in a fantastic performance to go from 20th on the grid to sixth at the finish. We acquired a lot of data this weekend that we will put to good use in just a few days' time in China. We will do this more than ever this season and this was certainly a development and learning race for us. We always know that we can count on everyone back in Milton Keynes to push very hard and take us to the next level."

Ollie Bearman: "It was a good race. It wasn't the best first lap, but after that we had great pace and made some overtakes, so I'm really happy as it was a strong performance out there from us today. It's a special feeling to start off these new regs like this, it's a great result for the team being 'best of the rest'. We benefited from a few retirements from others ahead of us, but regardless, we scored points, and we're going to take every one of them. I'm proud of this team, finishing the race in P7 shows and validates all their hard work."

Esteban Ocon: "It's been a disappointing race as we should have been in the points after the great start we had gaining places. After that though, the pace wasn't there and we were struggling with a lot of rear instability. It was frustrating as I think there was a lot more the car could have done. While we do need to get on top of it, we've still learned a lot this weekend, so we'll see how it goes in the next race. I'm pleased for the team that we've scored points here in Melbourne, as there was a lot of hard work over the break to get ready for the season."

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "First and foremost, a big congratulations to everyone. This journey has been hugely challenging, not just over the last few months, but throughout the development phase as we were working on the VF-25 and VF-26 in parallel, which wasn't the case for everyone else. There were mixed emotions after qualifying yesterday – it was a solid result, but we could have done better. Today we focused on the basics, ran our own race, made the right calls at the right time, and the pit stop crew delivered. The race was a brand-new challenge in terms of managing energy, which I think we handled as well as we could, learning with every lap. To come away with P7 for the team is unbelievable – only beaten by the top four teams – I'm so proud of everyone. We have a huge learning curve over the next few races, but I don't think we could have started the year any better."

Alan Permane, Team Principal: "Firstly, a huge congratulations to Arvid; he had great race and a near-perfect weekend which resulted in very well-deserved points on his debut. We weren't quite quick enough to keep Bearman behind, but the car worked extremely well; we just need to look at our Quali-to-race pace and see if there's something we could have done better to improve on race day. Liam had an unfortunate issue at the start with a lack of power but did his best to manage the situation.

"A great result for the whole team with a lot of hard work put in over the winter and we ended with a good reward for that today. A special thanks to Red Bull Ford Powertrains for a really fantastic race weekend, we look forward to continuing to learn each weekend on how we can improve in every aspect and continue fighting for points."

Gabriel Bortoleto: "To finish in the points in our first event as Audi and writing a piece of motorsport history is something the whole team can be extremely proud of. It was a positive race at the end of a good weekend for us: the car and the power unit ran reliably throughout the day, which is a great reward for the enormous effort that went in over the winter to get everything ready for the season.

"The race itself was quite busy and at times a bit chaotic with the new regulations, so there are still many things for us to study and understand better. But the pace was strong, the communication in the garage was excellent and the team executed the race very well.

"Overall, it is probably more than we could have expected from the first weekend. This result gives us a good baseline to build from, but we know there are still many areas where we can improve. There are a lot of races ahead of us, and our focus now is on continuing to learn, develop the car and come back even stronger at the next events."

Nico Hulkenberg: "Unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to compete today. We developed a technical problem on the way to the grid, and it was something we couldn't resolve in time for the start. The team is investigating now to understand exactly what happened. It's obviously frustrating to miss out on the race and the opportunity to learn more.

"That said, it's positive to see the team finish with points through Gabi, which is a great result and a strong way to start the F1 era for Audi. Racing moves quickly, so we reset and go again next week."

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: "Gabi delivered an outstanding drive today. It was a very mature performance from start to finish. The start wasn't ideal, which we expected might be a challenge here, but he kept his composure, managed the race extremely well and showed great confidence throughout. We chose an aggressive strategy towards the end with the final pit stop to try and put pressure on the cars ahead, and with a slightly different scenario in the closing laps we might even have had the opportunity to fight for P8.

"On the other side of the garage, it was obviously disappointing not to see Nico take the start. He was incredibly motivated for his first race with Audi Revolut F1 Team, so that was a difficult moment for him and for everyone in the team.

"Ultimately, leaving our first Grand Prix with P9 and points on the board is a fantastic way to begin our journey. It's a historic moment for Audi Revolut F1 Team and something the whole team can be very proud of."

Pierre Gasly: "That was a really hard-earned point today, which we can be pleased to achieve. It was certainly a long afternoon at the wheel! I had a good start off the line to gain a few positions and then some quite interesting battles on track. We had a bit of damage from some contact so we probably could not show our full potential as a result of that. I think had some circumstances come our way we could have been fighting even higher up. There are a lot of positives to take and I am sure we will put the hours in this week as there are so many things to learn ahead of next week. The racing is certainly different. It brought a lot of new challenges today and there are so many tactics and factors that now come into play. Now that we have seen a race unfold there are so many new tricks for us to understand and implement for next time. I enjoyed it, it was busy for the entire race, and there is so much for us to now take on. Next week we have the Sprint weekend in China where we have to be on it straight away and up to speed quickly. I leave here happy so well done to the entire team."

Franco Colapinto: "Based purely on the result, it's not where we wanted to be, however there's definitely some positives to take away with the race pace and data we gathered, which we can learn from for future races. From where we started on the grid, it was always going to be difficult and ultimately the penalty for a start infringement cost us from fighting further up. We win and lose as a team and we're in it together. I was actually lucky to finish the race, as it almost ended at the start with a scary moment trying to avoid [Liam] Lawson who was very slow off the line. I almost went straight into the back of him and managed to see him at the last minute. I swerved to the right and squeezed between him and the pit wall. I think I touched the wall, but thankfully we didn't suffer any serious damage and we got through the first lap unscathed. Despite the result, I think from where we started the weekend, we can be pleased with how the car felt and performed, especially in race trim which is comparable with some of our midfield rivals. Well done to Pierre also for getting a point to start the season."

Steve Nielsen, Managing Director: "We leave Australia with a point in the bag after Pierre's tenth place finish. It was a very busy race at the wheel for him with a lot of hard battles on track and, in the end, he secured a strong result after showing a lot of resilience and skill in a challenging scenario where so many factors have to be considered. Unfortunately, an operational error on Franco's side meant he had to serve a penalty which ended any chances of him scoring points. This is something we, as a team, take on the chin and can only apologise to Franco as this was out of his control. He would have taken a lot of experience from today's race and I am sure he will spend a lot of time with the team, and with Pierre, on some of those new skills drivers now have to deploy while racing. From a sporting point of view, we experienced a very unique Grand Prix with different tactics and tricks coming into play and some interesting takes on racing up and down the field. This is day one in the new era of Formula One and I think we can all be satisfied with the outcome of today's race. Our attention turns to next weekend's Chinese Grand Prix Sprint where a new challenge is presented."

Alex Albon: “It was a long race for us today. Currently we are in no man’s land and not really fighting against the midfield, however our strategy was good, but it’s clear we are lacking pace. It’s obvious from lap times that we’re overweight and not producing enough downforce, and graining was also a problem for us today especially on the hard tyre. Realistically we know where we can find the lap time and the team are working tirelessly on an aggressive plan to get us closer to where we want to be. A positive from today is that we got mileage and that we overcame some reliability issues from previous sessions, but we’ll learn as much as we can from this weekend to apply next time out in Shanghai."

Carlos Sainz: “It’s been a tough weekend with too many issues across every session. We had a great start and I managed to climb to P12 in the initial laps. Unfortunately, we had an issue with the front wing which cost us all the aero balance and the understeer I picked up meant we started degrading the tyres massively. From then on it became a test session for me to be honest. This front wing issue is not new and we need to focus on solving these sort of problems quickly if we want to improve in the short term. We’ve got homework ahead of us, but I trust we can put together a good plan to make those improvements."

James Vowles, Team Principal: “A challenging weekend, but with good learning that will serve us well for our future. We know that whilst we're not performing at the level we want to, this is the opportunity to make sure we understand everything about this car and we executed that during the race with both drivers. It's clear that we're lacking performance and there's a plan in place to bring that to the car aggressively. Beyond that we also had a number of small issues across the weekend that are being flushed out - both cars got to the end of the race, but there was performance left on the table as a result of it. We will get back together and review what needs to be changed for Shanghai. There's a lot to learn, and I'm confident that every race we do will be another step.

"On a separate note, it was great to see the quality of racing up and down the field under these new regulations, with overtaking at one of the most difficult tracks to pass. So whilst everything isn't perfect, as a sport we're not in a bad place."

Checo Perez: "Our first race as a team is done. Completing the race is incredible and a real achievement just one year after the entry was confirmed. Now this is over, we need to move on to adding performance so we can really race hard. We're feeling competitive within the team, and that's the attitude we need from now on to be able to close the gap and aim for something big."

Valtteri Bottas: "We made history as a team today. Our first-ever Grand Prix weekend, and we're here, we're racing, and that's a proud moment for everyone. It's a shame that the race was cut short for me due to a fuel system problem, but we learned a lot. The team did a great job to finish the race with Checo's car. There's still a lot of positives to take from this weekend, and it's only the very start of this journey together. I enjoyed the process and can't wait to get to China and try again."

Dan Towriss, CEO, Cadillac Formula 1® Team Holdings: "Today was a good first step for the Cadillac Formula 1 Team. Everything builds off a foundation, and we can progress from what we have here. I'm very proud of this team and the dedication, effort, and hard work put forward by every single person. Moments like this don't happen every day, and as we look forward to our next race, we'll continue to progress together and push forward. Even this early on, we're hungry for more."

Graeme Lowdon, Team Principal: "I'm really happy with the performance of the team. We had some issues with Valtteri's car, which was a real shame. It was great to see the Cadillac Formula 1 Team bring its first car home. We're up against incredible competition, who we have huge respect for, but I've got enormous belief in the team that we're building here. This is a really good start to our journey. I want to say a special thanks to everybody in the team — in Indianapolis, in Charlotte, in Silverstone and in Germany with the wind tunnel. Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who has allowed us to build what I truly believe is going to be a very special race team."

Fernando Alonso: "The first two laps were the most enjoyable part of the race for me. We had a good start and ended up P10 which was unexpected. We were then out of position and so we fell back. We then brought the car into the garage to check things over and went back out before we had to retire the car. China next weekend will be another good opportunity to get mileage and optimise things."

Lando Stroll: "It was good to get some kilometres in the car today, especially after missing pretty much all the track running this weekend. We used the race as a learning session and stopped for several laps to check things over in the garage before heading back out. There's still quite a bit missing in terms of performance and reliability, but the laps we managed today should give us a bit more direction going into China."

Adrian Newey, Team Principal: "Today was primarily an opportunity to learn more about the AMR26. Both cars took the start and, when it became clear we could not compete for points, we chose to pit and check the cars over. The team then asked Fernando to retire the car to preserve components. The data and learnings from this weekend will help us as we go into the next event."

Dario Marrafuschi – Pirelli Motorsport Director: "As we expected yesterday, the first Grand Prix of the season was won with a one-stop strategy. The Mercedes drivers crossed the finish line in the same positions in which they started on the grid, adopting an identical strategy. The final stint on the hard tyres could be extended compared to Saturday's forecasts thanks to limited degradation, which allowed the drivers to complete the race with the same set they had during the VSC.

Those who opted for two stops took advantage of the neutralisations to change fresh tyres without risking losing too many positions, in some cases even using the Softs for a final sprint.

All three compounds therefore proved useful during the race, with the C3 capable of supporting stints of up to 46 laps thanks to its consistency. The left front was the tyre most affected by graining, though without causing excessive wear or degradation issues.

We are, however, at the beginning of a new technical cycle and on a track that is not particularly demanding on tyres. With the development of the cars and the arrival of more challenging circuits, we expect inevitable changes in tyre management. Tyres remain one of the many variables teams will have to consider among the numerous innovations of this season.