Rob Kershaw

Russell wins terrific season-opener in Melbourne

George Russell claimed victory in the opening race of the 2026 season in Australia, leading a Mercedes one-two from Kimi Antonelli.

Charles Leclerc came home third despite enjoying a phenomenal start in his Ferrari from fourth on the grid, taking the lead from Russell into Turn One.

Several laps of entertaining action saw the pair swap the lead on multiple occasions, but a Virtual Safety Car would prove Ferrari’s undoing.

Russell and Antonelli, whose poor start saw him fall to seventh on lap one, pitted after Isaac Hadjar’s engine failure brought about a caution period. Ferrari opted not to bring Leclerc or Sir Lewis Hamilton in, costing them valuable time as the Mercedes duo managed to get both cars to the end on one stop.

Leclerc and Hamilton pitted significantly later, but were unable to reel in either Mercedes car despite the freshness of their rubber, ultimately leaving them third and fourth respectively.

Chaos had ensued before the curtain could even be raised when Oscar Piastri, at his home race, lost control of his McLaren on his lap to the grid, ruining his McLaren and leaving Lando Norris as the sole runner for the constructors’ champions. Norris finished fifth in a disappointing day for the Papaya squad.

Mixed fortunes could be found at Red Bull too. Hadjar’s engine failure spelt another ill-fated Melbourne outing for the Frenchman, but Max Verstappen recovered from his accident in qualifying – which saw him start 20^th – to finish sixth.

Oliver Bearman made up impressive ground to end up seventh, and Arvid Lindblad scored points on his Formula One debut in his Racing Bulls car in eighth. Gabriel Bortoleto was the only Audi to take the start after a pre-race issue ruled out Nico Hulkenberg’s car, and the Brazilian crossed the line in ninth.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Haas’ Esteban Ocon renewed their rivalry with a series of absorbing overtakes on one another, the former beating his fellow Frenchman to the final point.

Alex Albon finished 12^th for Williams ahead of Liam Lawson’s Racing Bull, the Kiwi suffering a disappointing finish having been slow off the line at the start.

Franco Colapinto took 14^th in the second Alpine ahead of the other Williams of Carlos Sainz, while Cadillac’s Sergio Perez, missing a piece of his bargeboard after it came loose, took 16^th.

Lance Stroll was 12 laps behind in 16^th, having initially brought his Aston Martin into the pits before heading back out to complete some more running.

His team-mate Fernando Alonso retired early due to the British team’s persistent safety concerns, and Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac joined the retirement list when he ground to a halt at the final corner midway through the grand prix.

It is the first time that Mercedes have won the season opener since 2021, and the first time they have opened the season with a one-two since 2019.

8th March 2026
Russell takes Melbourne pole as Verstappen crashes

George Russell claimed pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen suffered a horrible start to 2026, the Dutchman crashing in the early stages.

Russell beat team-mate Kimi Antonelli to pole, with Mercedes locking out the front row in Melbourne for the first time since 2019.

Attention in the early part of qualifying was dominated by Verstappen’s accident which took place on his first timed attempt, confirming a 20th-placed start for the race.

The rear axle of Verstappen’s RB22 seized as he braked into Turn One, sending the four-time champion skating across the gravel into the barrier.

The Dutchman’s misfortune did pay dividends to Mercedes, the subsequent red flag offering them more time to prepare Antonelli’s car following his crash in third practice prior to qualifying.

But more drama ensued in the third and final part of qualifying, when Mercedes sent Antonelli onto the circuit with both sidepod coolers still attached.

The coolers were inevitably deposited onto the racetrack; one landed in the gravel at Turn One, while one was obliterated by Lando Norris’ McLaren having been flung onto the track.

The Mercedes driver’s day became trickier when he took an excursion at Turn Three having locked up. However, he recovered from that and his earlier crash to end qualifying second.

Isaac Hadjar impressed hugely on his Red Bull debut, setting a lap good enough for third behind the Mercedes duo.

Charles Leclerc will line up fourth for Ferrari, ahead of the two McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in fifth and sixth respectively. Sir Lewis Hamilton will start seventh. The Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindlad followed.

Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto will start 10^th having ground to a halt in the pit entry at the end of Q2 – an incident that caught Lawson and Lindblad by surprise. The latter nearly ended up in the barrier as a result.

Nico Hulkenberg was pipped into Q3 by team-mate Bortoleto and will start 11^th, while the Haas cars of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon will take to the grid in 12^th and 13^th respectively on Sunday.

Pierre Gasly ended qualifying in 14^th ahead of the Williams of Alex Albon, a trip across the grass at the end of Q2 preventing any improvements for the Thai driver. Franco Colapinto will start the grand prix in 16^th.

Fernando Alonso, during a torrid opening to the year for Aston Martin, set a time good enough for 17^th, ahead of the Cadillacs of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.

Verstappen, following his shunt, ended the session in P20, while Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll did not manage to get out on track.

Russell’s pole is his eighth in Formula 1, and his first in Australia.

7th March 2026
Leclerc Breaks Home Duck in Monaco

Charles Leclerc took a maiden home win at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon.

After two previous unsuccessful attempts at converting pole to the win at Monaco, the home hero saw off the threat of Oscar Piastri to take the victory in the Principality.

Carlos Sainz suffered a puncture on the opening lap, but was able to retain P3 following a red flag when Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg were all involved in a huge collision out of Turn One.

Lando Norris took fourth in the second McLaren ahead of George Russell, who was forced to back off early after the restart to conserve his Medium tyres having started on the Hards.

He fended off Max Verstappen after the Dutchman stopped late on having started behind Russell, while Sir Lewis Hamilton also pitted late and took the fastest lap in seventh – the seven-time champion too remaining where he started.

Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon enjoyed relatively quiet afternoons as they scored points, with Pierre Gasly scoring a point despite contact with Alpine team-mate Esteban Ocon on the first lap. Ocon sustained terminal damage from the incident.

Fernando Alonso took eleventh ahead of RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, with Valtteri Bottas leading Lance Stroll following the Canadian’s ouncture when he made contact with the wall.

Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu finished bottom of the running order.

26th May 2024
Verstappen takes Victory in F1 Season Finale

Max Verstappen claimed his 19^th win of the 2023 season by dominating the season finale in Abu Dhabi, while Mercedes beat Ferrari to second in the Constructors’ Championship.

Verstappen was forced to defend hard more than once on the opening lap from Charles Leclerc but the Dutchman held him off and opened out an advantage that he would never look like giving up.

George Russell made his way through past Oscar Piastri on track before taking advantage of a slow stop for Lando Norris to grab third, while Sergio Perez himself cleared both McLarens to finish fourth. The Mexican was handed a five-second penalty for hitting Norris at Turn Six though, forcing him down to fourth.

Norris ended up fifth ahead of Piastri, and a late charge from Fernando Alonso saw him climb to seventh. The Spaniard grabbed fourth in the Drivers’ Championship from Leclerc as a result.

Yuki Tsunoda led home Lewis Hamilton despite a last-ditch effort from the seven-time champion, and Lance Stroll rounded out the points.

Daniel Ricciardo finished 11^th in the second AlphaTauri, while Esteban Ocon beat Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly to the line. Alex Albon took home 14^th ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, and they were followed home by Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu.

Carlos Sainz’s car was retired late on after a long two-stop strategy from Ferrari did not pay off. He was classified 18^ththough ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen, who could not recover from an early flat spot.

Featured Image Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

26th November 2023
Verstappen Takes Victory In Exciting Las Vegas Race

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen beat Charles Leclerc to victory at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday night.

Verstappen had been given a five-second penalty when he was ruled to have pushed polesitter Leclerc off the track at the first corner, where Fernando Alonso was also involved in contact with Valtteri Bottas after the Spaniard lost grip and span.

Shortly thereafter, Lando Norris lost grip and slammed into the barrier while running behind McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri; the Briton was winded after the shunt and was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Having pitted on the opening lap of the race, Sergio Perez was afforded a cheap stop when Verstappen and George Russell collided – the Mercedes driver receiving a penalty of his own as a result. This elicited a Safety Car, allowing Perez to re-join in second behind leader Leclerc.

The Mexican made his way through with just under 20 laps to go before Leclerc grabbed the lead back. Perez would then cede his spot to team-mate Verstappen, who went on to pass Leclerc to take victory in an intriguing three-way battle.

Perez pinched second from Leclerc when the Monegasque out-braked himself at Turn 12, but Leclerc came back at him once more to split the Red Bulls.

Esteban Ocon claimed fourth after a tight battle with Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly, with Lance Stroll coming in behind in fifth.

Carlos Sainz, the recipient of an unfortunate grid penalty after Thursday’s practice incident, came home sixth with Lewis Hamilton in seventh for Mercedes.

Russell’s penalty forced him down to eighth behind his team-mate, with Fernando Alonso and Piastri rounding off the points. The Australian set the fastest lap following a late stop.

Gasly ended up outside the points in 11^th, followed by Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen. Zhou Guanyu beat Daniel Ricciardo to 14^th, and they were followed home by Logan Sargeant and Valtteri Bottas.

Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri and Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas fell victim to late reliability failures.

Featured Image By Red Bull Content Pool/Chris Graythen/Getty Images

19th November 2023
Verstappen wins Miami Grand Prix from ninth on the grid

Max Verstappen took victory at the Miami Grand Prix despite starting down in ninth.

Verstappen made his way up to second after a series of overtakes in the opening 17 laps of the race, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc did battle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen.

One of the Dutchman’s moves was a neat double overtake on Leclerc and Magnussen as they diced into Turn One. The world champion was on a charge.

A mega stint on hard tyres saw him re-join right behind polesitter and team-mate Sergio Perez, before passing the Mexican for the win in the closing stages.

Fernando Alonso comfortably held on to take third, while George Russell passed Carlos Sainz for fourth. The Spaniard picked up a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, but stayed ahead of Sir Lewis Hamilton, who recovered from 13^th to sixth.

Charles Leclerc stayed seventh ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, whose team-mate Esteban Ocon and Haas’ Magnussen rounded out the points after a fourth-placed start.

Yuki Tsunoda took 11^th, and he was followed by Lance Stroll – the Canadian failing to make the points after a difficult qualifying on Saturday.

Alex Albon came home 14^th, with Nico Hulkenberg and Zhou Guanyu following the Williams across the line.

A horrible day for McLaren saw Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finish 17^th and 19^th respectively, either side of Nyck De Vries. Logan Sargeant, at his home race, endured a miserable day as he finished 20^th and last having taken front wing damage on the opening lap.

7th May 2023
Perez takes pole in Miami as Leclerc crashes again

Sergio Perez took his second pole position of the season ahead of the Miami Grand Prix on Saturday.

The Mexican set the fastest lap in the early part of the third and final qualifying session, before a late crash for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc left him and Max Verstappen seventh and ninth respectively.

Leclerc lost control in the first sector of the lap on the final run in qualifying. It follows a collision with the barrier earlier in the weekend, and one last weekend in Baku during sprint qualifying.

Perez will be joined on the front row by Fernando Alonso, with Carlos Sainz third ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen. The Dane will be investigated later on for an impeding incident with Sir Lewis Hamilton in the first phase.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly will start fifth ahead of George Russell, and Leclerc had to settle for eighth after his crash on his second run in Q3. Max Verstappen had made what turned out to be a costly error on his initial run in the third session, and the red flag induced by Leclerc means that the reigning champion will start ninth. Valtteri Bottas rounded off the top 10.

Alex Albon got his Williams up to 11^th ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, and a hugely disappointing day for Hamilton saw him eliminated in the second part of qualifying in 13^th. Zhou Guanyu will start Sunday’s race 14^th, with Nyck de Vries and Lando Norris behind on the eighth row.

Yuki Tsunoda was out-qualified by de Vries for the first time this season as he qualified 17^th, and another surprise exit arrived in the form of Lance Stroll down in 18^th.

Oscar Piastri’s elimination in 19^th spelled McLaren’s first double Q1 exit this season, while home hero Logan Sargeant starts at the base of the grid.

Perez heads into the race in search of his third win of the season, which could send him to the top of the championship.

6th May 2023
Verstappen takes Bahrain GP pole

Max Verstappen will start the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on pole.

The Dutchman beat team-mate Sergio Perez by just over a tenth of a second, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz taking out the second row for Ferrari.

Fernando Alonso’s exquisite pace in practice only translated to fifth after Ferrari and Red Bull opened their toolboxes, while Mercedes endured a disappointing evening; George Russell will start sixth ahead of Sir Lewis Hamilton.

Lance Stroll will start eighth – his injured wrist appeared to show during qualifying – before Esteban Ocon and the returning Nico Hulkenberg rounded off the top 10.

It took less than five minutes of the opening session for the red flag to be deployed when some debris flew off the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and ended up on the racetrack.

After things got back underway, the lead swapped hands a number of times, with just over three tenths of a second separating the top five.

Further down though, it was not looking so good for McLaren. Oscar Piastri were eliminated in the first session, joining Pierre Gasly, Nyck de Vries, Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant.

Gasly’s deleted lap time at the end of Q1 sent him down to last, while Sargeant set the same time as Lando Norris, but set it later. That meant the American agonisingly missed out on a Q2 appearance to the lead McLaren.

Sargeant’s team-mate Alex Albon did exceptionally well to make it into Q2, but could not put a lap time on the board after suffering with understeer.

Norris almost made it into the top 10, but was pipped by Lance Stroll, as Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu and Yuki Tsunoda also missed out on the top 10 shootout.

Verstappen’s pole in Bahrain was his 21^st in Formula 1.

4th March 2023
Verstappen takes pole in Suzuka

Max Verstappen took his first Japanese Grand Prix pole position on Saturday after a tremendously close battle between Red Bull and Ferrari.

We started the day off with the news that Pierre Gasly will be joining Esteban Ocon at Alpine next season, while Yuki Tsunoda is set to be partnered by Nyck de Vries, who was so impressive in his appearance at the Italian Grand Prix with Williams.

Despite brake issues, Yuki Tsunoda made it into the second phase of qualifying 12^th time this season at his home race, while Kevin Magnussen, who shone during Friday practice, was disappointingly eliminated in Q1.

Alex Albon almost squeezed out of the bottom five, but he was denied by a good lap from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.

The Thai-Briton was joined in the drop zone by Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi, whose five-place grid penalty picked up in Singapore is now immaterial.

Max Verstappen had set the early pace for Red Bull, and he led Charles Leclerc at the end of Q2, as Lando Norris faced a battle to make it into the top 10.

The Briton climbed up to fifth as team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo, failed to make the final session having been pushed out by George Russell’s late heroics.

Sebastian Vettel’s exceptional effort saw him make it through, maintaining his record of starting in the top 10 every time he has raced at Suzuka.

Home hero Tsunoda was eliminated too, along with Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu and Mick Schumacher.

Sergio Perez snatched the fastest lap time, while a fine run by Fernando Alonso lifted him to second, setting up an intriguing top 10 shootout.

Verstappen set the early pace in Q3, with three tenths separating him and Carlos Sainz in third, either side of Leclerc.

The reigning champion got caught up in a slight incident with Norris on the out-lap ahead of the first run. The McLaren driver sent it through 130R while Verstappen was crawling, and Norris had to take to the grass to avoid him following a kick of oversteer.

The Dutchman found Norris on his way back to the pits, and appeared to offer a hand of apology. The stewards are now investigating the precarious moment.

Try as they might, neither Leclerc nor Sainz could improve, so Verstappen kept pole despite setting a slower second run, before Esteban Ocon climbed to a brilliant fifth.

Hamilton split the two Alpines as Fernando Alonso took seventh, ahead of George Russell, Vettel and Norris.

With half a tenth separating the top three, we are set for an incredible race on Sunday.

Verstappen’s pole is still pending the stewards’ investigation.

8th October 2022
Ricciardo to leave McLaren

McLaren have confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo will leave the team at the end of the season by mutual consent.

The Australian joined from Renault in 2021 to replace Carlos Sainz, who headed to Ferrari while Sebastian Vettel joined Aston Martin.

The Australian struggled to find form last season though, scoring points on 13 occasions while team-mate Lando Norris finished in the top ten 20 times.

The 22-year-old also achieved four podium finishes, although Ricciardo did get the team’s first win since 2012 at the Italian Grand Prix in September.

All in all however, it was a disappointing opening campaign for the eight-time race winner, who was in search better fortunes in 2022.

Ricciardo has managed a best finish of sixth this year – Courtesy of LAT Images

But this has not really materialised, and solid performances in Baku and Canada have been outweighed by nightmares in Imola, Miami, Silverstone and Budapest.

Norris leads the qualifying battle 11-2 this year, so there has been little reprieve for Ricciardo, who has often not quite been at one with a very tricky McLaren car.

He has added four more points finishes to his tally this year, and his frustrating afternoon in Hungary before the summer break summed up what has been, sadly, a tough time of it for Ricciardo at McLaren.

The results from the Aussie have led to public criticism from CEO Zak Brown, who is now reported to have signed Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri, with the Formula 2 champion having turned down the French side for next year.

There is a possibility that the former Red Bull and Renault driver could return to Enstone to replace the departing Fernando Alonso, but this would partly depend on Renault CEO Luca de Meo, who was not pleased by Ricciardo’s decision to leave after just two seasons together in 2020.

Ricciardo scored two podiums in 2020 before leaving Renault – Courtesy of Renault Sport

Ricciardo’s time at McLaren has been unfortunate, and it can largely be put down to a lack of suitability with the car.

However, Formula 1, like many sports, is a results business, and the results were not good enough for the two parties to continue together.

Team principal Andreas Seidl thanked Ricciardo for his commitment, and praised him for keeping his head high when things were tough.

“I would like to thank Daniel for his dedication and contribution over the last two seasons so far,” said team principal Andreas Seidl.

“Despite the shared challenges, he has always turned up with a fighting spirit and positivity and helped the entire team to always keep pushing forward.

“We will never forget that memorable race win in Monza which was a great boost for the whole team.

“We still have an important battle in the Constructors’ Championship ahead of us for the remainder of the season and we look forward to battle this out with Daniel and Lando.”

Brown acknowledged that his driver’s time with the team was not as big a success as anyone wanted, but he is proud of last year’s victory.

“Daniel has been a great addition to McLaren, and it’s been a pleasure working with him,” said the American.

“I’d like to thank him for all of his efforts over the last two seasons both trackside and back at base.

“It’s no secret that we hoped we could achieve more together but seeing him stand on the top step of the podium as a McLaren driver was a highlight.

“We wish him well for the future and let’s go enjoy the rest of the season together.”

As for Ricciardo’s future, it might not be long until he has news on that front.

“It’s been a privilege to be a part of the McLaren Racing family for the last two seasons but following several months of discussions with Zak & Andreas we have decided to terminate my contract with the team early and agree to mutually part ways at the end of this season,” he explained.

“I’ll be announcing my own future plans in due course but regardless of what this next chapter brings, I have no regrets and am proud of the effort and work I gave McLaren, especially the win in Monza, last season.

“I’ve enjoyed working with everyone at McLaren both trackside and back in Woking and will be giving my all on and off track as we enjoy the remainder of the season together.

“I’ve never been more motivated to compete and be a part of a sport that I love so much and look forward to what comes next.”

Ricciardo had previously affirmed that he would be seeing out the rest of his contract with McLaren, but the mutual termination now all but confirms the arrival of Piastri next year.

24th August 2022