The Formula 1 edit

Article by Finley Ever

G’day mates and welcome to the first Grand Prix of the 2026 Formula 1 season! George Russell starts on Pole with his 19-year-old teammate, Kimi Antonelli in second. Isack Hadjar, the French driver who got promoted to Red Bull after an outstanding rookie season at VCARB, starts behind Kimi.

The starting grid

1. George Russell (Mercedes)
2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
3. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
6. Lando Norris (McLaren)
7. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
8. Liam Lawson (VCARB)
9. Arvid Lindblad (VCARB)
10. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
12. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
13. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
15. Alex Albon (Williams)
16. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
17. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
18. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
19. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
20. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
21. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
22. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

a devastating home race

Oscar Piastri, the McLaren driver and hometown hero, crashed in an out-lap. While making his way to the starting grid, Oscar lost control of the car and hit the barrier, causing significant damage to his Papaya colored car. The man who just got his first Grandstand in Albert Park, unable to even start the race. The ultimate betrayal for both Oscar and all his fans that spent thousands of dollars for a chance to see him win. To Oscar and his Aussie fans, I’m deeply sorry.

The ultimate game of cat and mouse

When the five red lights went out in Albert Park, Charles Leclerc wasted no time. He quickly passed the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar who didn’t get the best launch. Then the Man from Monaco made quick work of passing Kimi Antonelli, and then his teammate!

All within the first turn of the track, Charles Leclerc overtook three times to take the lead! What a good start from the Ferrari man!

In lap two, George retook the lead from Charles as Lewis Hamilton took third from the rookie with a wonderful start to his first Grand Prix, Arvid Lindblad! Arvid started ninth but worked his way up to 3rd all within 1 lap! Lewis Hamilton quickly passed him, but what an effort from the only rookie on the grid this year.

1 lap later, here comes Charles to once again retake the role as lead car. Charles to first!

In lap six, George rode right on the back Charles’ Ferrari! Leaving no breathing air, George Russell attempted to overtake again, but Charles held on to the position he was previously fighting so hard for.

It’s lap 8, and George was still not backing down without a fight. The dirty air is not George’s cup of tea, so he decided to overtake Charles AGAIN. The back and forth was enough to make fans scream at the pressure and speed seeping off of the two cars. Later in the same lap, George’s red lights off the back of his car flashed, showing us that his car was no longer in full deployment. This gave Charles an advantage over George, and once again, he took the lead off of George’s hands.

1 lap later, George went to overtake Charles again, but his brakes were in Charles’ favor. The Mercedes brakes locked up as George attempted to overtake, since George now had to think about recovering from the lockup instead of the overtake, it gave Charles the perfect opportunity to slip right by and continue on his merry way in first. As George and Charles battled it out, 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton snuck up from behind to join the fight for first.

In lap 13, Isack Hadjar had a problem with his car. After qualifying higher than he’s ever qualified before, the Frenchmen was out of the race, deploying the Virtual Safety Car. George Russell, now in third behind Lewis Hamilton, headed into the pit lane for a fresh set of tires. Kimi Antonelli in 4th followed suit. Ferrari, with their not-so-excellent strategies, chose to keep both drivers out on the track in first and second. Since the race could have easily been a 1 stop, this gave Mercedes the advantage over Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton could be heard on his team radio saying, “At least one of us should have come in.” They just need to put Lewis in charge and everything will turn out okay for the Italian team!

In lap 26, Charles Leclerc pitted from the lead. He came out in 4th behind Kimi Antonelli.

In lap 28, Lewis Hamilton led after his teammate pitted. But now on 28 lap old tires, George Russell had the advantage! He took the lead yet again, and surely this time he wouldn’t let it go!

a first race to remember

Arvid Lindblad, the 18-year-old rookie from England, started the race in ninth. Only in the first lap, he managed to pass defending World Champion Lando Norris and the man on the grid with the most WDC wins, Lewis Hamilton, in one big swoop! Not even a full lap done in his first ever F1 Grand Prix, and he already bumped up to 4th from ninth on the grid!

Isack dropped a position and Arvid grabbed 3rd quickly, unfortunately it didn’t last when Lewis came in, but he defended well!

Arvid Lindblad finished P8 in his first ever F1 Grand Prix, making him one of the top five youngest point scorers in F1! Incredibly defensive and not scared to try and take a position, Arvid, who doesn’t even have his driver’s license yet, is pure champion material.

retirements

Quite a few drivers didn’t make it to the finish line. With new power units and completely new cars in general, the first Grand Prix of the year is the place where kinks get worked out.

Oscar Piastri: Crashed on the way to starting grid, DNS issued

Isack Hadjar: Power Unit Failure

Nico Hulkenberg: Technical Issue, DNS issued

Fernando Alonso: Adrian Newey built an electric chair. The power unit was vibrating way too much, which would result in nerve damage to the drivers’ hands.

Lance Stroll: Seriously, Adrian, I would consider taking your book on ‘How to Build a Car’ out of publication. Lance retired from the race but then miraculously rejoined a few laps later to finish the campaign.

Valtteri Bottas: Technical Failure

results

George Russell wins the Australian Grand Prix! His teammate, Kimi Antonelli follows in second and the other half to the battle pairing at the start of the race, Charles Leclerc, completes the podium. George celebrated with his iconic T-pose on the podium, and right behind him, Kimi dropped his new signature move, the hang 10, after debuting it in this year’s F1 intro.

Race Results

1. George Russell (Mercedes) (#63)
2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) (#12)
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) (#16)
4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) (#44)
5. Lando Norris (McLaren) (#1)
6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) (#3)
7. Oliver Bearman (Haas) (#87)
8. Arvid Lindblad (VCARB) (#41)
9. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) (#5)
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) (#10)
11. Esteban Ocon (Haas) (#31)
12. Alexander Albon (Williams) (#23)
13. Liam Lawson (VCARB) (#30)
14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) (#43)
15. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams) (#55)
16. Sergio Perez (Cadillac) (#11)
17. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) (#18)
18. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) (#14) (DNF)
19. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) (#77) (DNF)
20. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) (#6) (DNF)
21. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) (#81) (DNS)
22. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) (#27) (DNS)

What a weekend for Mercedes! At the time I’m finishing this article, they just got a 1-2 for Practice 1 in Shanghai! Toto Wolff’s grins towards the cameras seem well deserved so far! George Russell leads the WDC with 25 points and Mercedes leads the Constructors with 43 points. I’ll catch you guys in China!

xx