Russell leads the championship for the first time, Mercedes power wins for the 30th year in a row and Lindblad becomes F1’s third youngest points-scorer. Here are the facts and statistics from the 2026 Australian Grand Prix!
RUSSELL WINS THE 2026 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
George Russell claimed victory in the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, taking the sixth Grand Prix win of his career. It was his first win since the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix.
With his win, Russell climbed to the top of the Drivers’ Championship for the first time in his career. He became the 65th different driver to sit at the top of the standings in F1 history.
Russell’s victory made 2026 the 30th consecutive Formula 1 season in which a car with a Mercedes engine has won a Grand Prix.
Russell finished on the Australian Grand Prix podium for the third time. From his six visits to Melbourne, Russell’s podium finishes have been his only points-scoring appearances.
This was Russell’s 35th consecutive finish, overtaking Daniel Ricciardo for the fourth-longest finishing streak in Formula 1. It was also his 17th consecutive points finish.
ON THE PODIUM
George Russell was joined on the 2026 Australian Grand Prix podium by team-mate Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Antonelli finished as runner-up. This was Mercedes’ first 1-2 result not to feature Lewis Hamilton since Juan Manuel Fangio and Piero Taruffi finished first and second in the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.
This was Mercedes’ fourth 1-2 result at the Australian Grand Prix.
Antonelli equalled the best result of his career, having previously finished second at the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. This was his fourth top three finish.
Antonelli is yet to finish outside of the top four at the Australian Grand Prix.
Leclerc finished third in the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, recording his first podium finish since last year’s Mexico City Grand Prix.
This was Leclerc’s third podium finish at the Australian Grand Prix. He has now stood on every step of the Albert Park podium.
IN THE POINTS
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth in the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, making him only the second driver – after Fernando Alonso – to score points in as many as 20 Formula 1 seasons. He also extended his record for the most consecutive seasons in which a driver has scored a point.
Leading three laps of the race, Hamilton extended the record for the most successive years in which a driver has led a Grand Prix to 20.
Hamilton overtook Fernando Alonso at the top of the list of most points-scoring appearances at the Australian Grand Prix, this being his 15th points finish at Albert Park. Hamilton became the first driver to have scored as many as 200 points at the circuit. He also equalled Alonso’s record of 15 top ten finishes at the track.
Hamilton equalled his best Grand Prix result from the 2025 season, having finished fourth four times last year in his first podium-less season in F1.
This was Hamilton’s best result at Albert Park since finishing as runner-up in 2023.
This was the first race in which neither of the previous two champions – Lando Norris or Max Verstappen – finished on the podium since the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. Verstappen’s run of ten consecutive podium results, which dated back to the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix came to an end.
Norris finished fifth, making this the first time he has crossed the line in a position outside of the top four since the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Verstappen gained 14 places over the course of the 2026 Australian Grand Prix to finish sixth. This was the first time that he has gained more than one position in a race at Albert Park.
This was the best result for the driver starting 20th on the grid since Verstappen himself finished as runner-up in the 2021 Russian Grand Prix. It was the best-ever result for the driver starting 20th on the grid at Albert Park, bettering the eighth place recorded by Pedro de la Rosa in 2002.
Verstappen set the fastest lap of the race and with it, Red Bull set a new record for the most consecutive seasons in which a team has set a fastest lap. 2026 is the 18th season in a row that a Red Bull driver has set the fastest Saturday lap time. Their continuous streak since 2009 has now outlasted Ferrari’s previous record, which ran for 17 seasons between 1995 and 2011.
This was Verstappen’s first fastest lap at Albert Park, making it the 22nd different venue at which he has recorded a fastest lap.
Ollie Bearman finished seventh in the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, scoring points for the sixth time in the last eight races.
Arvid Lindblad became the third youngest points scorer in Formula 1 history, behind Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli.
With Lindblad, Russell, Hamilton, Norris and Bearman all in the top eight, this was the first race in which five British drivers finished in the top eight since the 1968 French Grand Prix.
Gabriel Bortoleto scored points on Audi’s Formula 1 debut, coming home in ninth place. This was his first points finish since last year’s Mexico City Grand Prix and his best result since finishing eighth in the 2025 Italian Grand Prix.
Bortoleto made this the fifth time in the last six Australian Grands Prix that a driver for the former Sauber team has scored points.
Pierre Gasly finished tenth in the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, scoring Alpine’s first point since the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Gasly has scored three points in the last 13 Grands Prix, with each of those points finishes being tenth places.
This was only the second time, after 2022, that Gasly finished in the top ten at the Australian Grand Prix.
This was the first time since 2022 that an Alpine driver scored a point in Melbourne.
THE OTHER FINISHERS
Carlos Sainz finished 15th in the 2026 Australian Grand Prix. His 2024 win remains his only points-scoring appearance in his last six visits to Albert Park.
Sergio Perez was Cadillac’s only finisher on the team’s maiden Formula 1 appearance. He finished 16th – his worst ever-result at Albert Park.
TWO DRIVERS FAIL TO START
Oscar Piastri failed to start the 2026 Australian Grand Prix after crashing out in front of his home fans on the formation lap. This was the first time in his four appearances at Albert Park that he failed to score a point.
This was the first DNS of Piastri’s career. Piastri recorded McLaren’s second DNS at the circuit – their first since Kevin Magnussen failed to make the start in 2015.
Nico Hulkenberg also failed to start the race, recording his fifth DNS.
This was the first time Hulkenberg failed to score on an appearance at the Australian Grand Prix since 2017.
2026 was the second year in a row that the driver who was due to start 11th on the Australian Grand Prix grid failed to make the start.
THE RETIREES
Isack Hadjar retired from the 2026 Australian Grand Prix on his Red Bull debut, recording his second non-finish in the last three races.
Hadjar is yet to finish a race at Albert Park, having failed to even start last year’s race.
2026 is the third consecutive season in which Red Bull have failed to see one of their cars reach the chequered flag at the Australian Grand Prix.
Aston Martin recorded their first double DNF since the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. Although running at the end of the race, Lance Stroll was not classified in the final result.
This was the Silverstone-based team’s first double DNF at the Australian Grand Prix since they competed as Force India in 2008.
Stroll recorded his third retirement in the last four races. His DNF brought to an end a run of three consecutive points-scoring appearances in Melbourne.
This was the second year in a row that Alonso failed to finish the Australian Grand Prix.
Valtteri Bottas failed to finish the 2026 Australian Grand Prix. From his ten starts at Albert Park, this was the first time he failed to cross the finish line.