Russell: McLaren so far ahead they can focus on 2026

Britain’s Lando Norris, already established as the bookmakers’ favourite for the title before securing the first pole of the season, has local hero and teammate Oscar Piastri alongside him on the front row for Sunday’s race.

Russell told reporters at Melbourne’s Albert Park: “They’re in such an advantage because they can stop development now and go fully on 2026, and it’s difficult to overcome that gap. If you’ve got a six-tenth advantage at the start of the year, nobody finds six-tenths throughout the year.

“So McLaren is in prime position for now and the future. Tomorrow is anybody’s game, as it always is in the rain, but if it was dry, I expect that gap from McLaren to probably increase in race pace.”

The forecast for Sunday is wet, and the McLarens have Red Bull’s three-time world champion Max Verstappen right behind in third place, albeit 0.485 seconds off pole, with Russell fourth and six-tenths adrift.

Verstappen said of his car’s long-run pace: “I don’t expect miracles, but I think it’s okay. Not on the same level (as McLaren), but I’ll just do my best and see what happens tomorrow.”

Norris and Piastri both admitted they were surprised Ferrari had not been quicker, with Charles Leclerc qualifying seventh and Lewis Hamilton eighth.

Piastri said after qualifying: “Going into qualifying, we expected Ferrari to be our biggest challenge. Maybe we just took more sandbags out than everyone else, I don’t know. I was pleasantly surprised by the pace we had in qualifying. Obviously, the headline now is probably going to be ‘McLaren is by far the quickest.

"I think it will change a lot over the next few races… It’s going to be a good fight. I expect Ferrari to be fast and competitive through the year,” added Piastri, who will be aiming to become the first Australian to finish on the podium in Melbourne - preferably on the top step.