George Russell wins as F1 reacts to first race of 2026 season – round-up
It was the perfect start to the season for Mercedes.
The F1 2026 season is officially underway and George Russell is the first winner of the new campaign with victory at the Australian Grand Prix.
Here’s what you may have missed as the F1 2026 season began in earnest.
Your news from the first race of the F1 2026 season
Russell wins as Mercedes’ dominance comes real
There was a lot of talk pre-season that Mercedes were the team to beat and despite an early fight from Ferrari, that duly proved to be the case in Melbourne.
Russell took the lead in Lap 28 and never looked back, going on to win the sixth grand prix of his career and with Kimi Antonelli in second, it was a perfect day for Mercedes.
You can recap all the action from the race right here.
Ferrari deny missed opportunity over VSC call
If there was to be one team that was going to spoil Mercedes’ day, it was Ferrari who had an incredible start to put Charles Leclerc in the lead and Lewis Hamilton into third.
Ultimately though, Ferrari’s indecision when it came to pitting under a VSC cost them but everyone in red believes Mercedes was always going to win.
Read what Leclerc, who secured P3, had to say about his lightning start here.
Oscar Piastri crashes on the way to the grid
There was a crash before the lights even went out as home favourite Oscar Piastri put his car in the wall during the reconnaissance lap.
Piastri explained the issue as a sudden surge of power that delivered 100kw extra to his McLaren, sending him careering off the road into the barrier.
The Melbourne native explains all here.
Max Verstappen continues F1 2026 criticism
Driver of the day went to Max Verstappen who battled back from 20th on the grid to finish sixth come the chequered flag.
The Dutchman though continued his complaints about the new Formula 1 and suggested he believes it was not the way the sport should be.
Read what Verstappen had to say here.
Aston Martin’s nightmare day
Even before they woke up on Sunday, everyone wearing the British racing green of Aston Martin knew they were in for a rough one and that duly came true.
Both cars would end up retiring but it was a particularly odd day for Fernando Alonso who disappeared into the garage in Lap 15 only to reappear 11 laps later. He then retired for good.
Alonso explained that the second stint was simply to gather data for the team in the hope to fix their problems.
Plenty of complaints around the new rules
While Verstappen has led the criticism, he is not the only driver warning of the dangers of the new rules.
Carlos Sainz suggested F1’s new Straight Line Mode was “dangerous” and it was nothing more than a “plaster.”
Read what the Williams man had to say here.
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