2026 Formula 1 Season

Chinese Grand Prix

Track Info

• Shanghai International Circuit
• 3.39 miles

Tire Info

• C4, C3, C2
• Middle of the range

Sprint

Sprint Qualifying

SQ1

• All cars have to go out on medium tires
• Cold air temperature means cars drivers will have to do extra work to ensure their tires are up to temperature
• Shanghai is fun looking track
• Majority of the field head out early, but Mercedes and Aston Martin hold back
• Sergio Perez is not taking part in sprint qualifying because of mechanical issues with his car
• Ferrari are having issues with rear traction — LeClerc is having to fight to keep the car on the racing line around the long corners
• Mercedes are fast, with Russell and Antonelli going 1-2 after the first set of fast laps
• Verstappen is only 7th
• Red Bull, in general, aren't doing too well, with Verstappen in 7th and Hadjar in 11th
• Lewis Hamilton improves in his Ferrari, moving ahead of Antonelli for 2nd
• LeClerc then also pips Antonelli for 3rd
• Bortoleto goes into the gravel off turn 16 but is able to recover and return to the track
• Oliver Bearman also skids and almost goes into the gravel on the same turn
• Eliminated in SQ1
  • Carlos Sainz — Williams
  • Alex Albon — Williams
  • Fernando Alonso — Aston Martin
  • Lance Stroll — Aston Martin
  • Valteri Bottas — Cadillac
  • Sergio Perez — Cadillac

SQ2

• All cars will go out on medium tires once again
• Cars aren't as limited on battery deployment in Shanghai as they were in Melbourne, because Shanghai has more opportunities for regenerative braking to recharge the battery
• McLarens are taking an extra prep lap to build tire temperature and battery charge
• Russell and Antonelli go fastest once again after the first set of fast laps
• Mercedes are looking quite dominant in qualifying, if less so during races
• Antonelli might have been blocking Norris by being on the racing line in turn 1 during one of his preparation laps
• Verstappen has an excursion into the gravel on one of his laps
• Racing Bulls were initially looking like they might outqualify the main Red Bull team, who were near the elimination zone, but both cars had poor final sectors and were not able to make it into SQ3
• Eliminated in SQ2
  • Nico Hulkenberg — Audi
  • Esteban Ocon — Haas
  • Liam Lawson — Racing Bulls
  • Gabriel Bortoleto — Audi
  • Arvid Lindblad — Racing Bulls
  • Franco Colapinto — Alpine

SQ3

• All cars will go out on soft tires
• Hadjar's car stalls after it's called over for a random weigh-in, but Red Bull mechanics are able to push it back into their garage
• Mercedes are 1-2 once again with Russell ahead of Antonelli
• Hamilton is in 3rd for Ferrari with LeClerc 4th
• It's no surprise to see Mercedes 1-2, but it is impressive to Lando Norris pip the Ferraris for 3rd
• The Red Bulls are uncharacteristically bad — they shouldn't be behind Alpine, or Haas
• Top 10 sprint qualifying order
  1. George Russell — Mercedes
  2. Kimi Antonelli — Mercedes
  3. Lando Norris — McLaren
  4. Lewis Hamilton — Ferrari
  5. Oscar Piastri — McLaren
  6. Charles LeClerc — Ferrari
  7. Pierre Gasly — Alpine
  8. Max Verstappen — Red Bull
  9. Oliver Bearman — Haas
  10. Isack Hadjar — Red Bull

Sprint Race

Starting Grid

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

• 19 laps
• No mandatory pit stops
• Cars are taking extra care to build tire temperature while attempting to maintain battery charge
• Most cars are starting on medium tires, although Isack Hadjar has started with softs
• Wind is gusty, and might catch some drivers out
• Lap 1
  • Russell maintains his lead at the start
  • Kimi Antonelli has a poor start as Norris and both Ferraris pass him off the line
  • Norris moves up into 2nd, with Hamilton and LeClerc chasing him
  • Hamilton passes Norris for 2nd
  • Contact between Antonelli and Hadjar forces Hadjar wide
  • LeClerc passes Norris for 3rd
  • Hamilton passes Russell for the lead
  • Arvid Lindblad spins and drops into last place
  • Russell retakes the lead momentarily at the end of the first lap
• Lap 2
  • Hamilton immediately re-passes Russell for the lead
  • Antonelli passes Bearman for 7th and Gasly for 6th
• Lap 3
  • Russell is simultaneously attacking Hamilton as he seeks to defend against LeClerc
  • Verstappen has had a poor start, and is down in 14th
  • Russell passes Hamilton for the lead
• Lap 4 — Hamilton attacks Russell at the end of lap 3 and retakes the lead at the beginning of lap 4
• Lap 5
  • Antonelli passes Piastri for 5th
  • Antonelli had a poor start but he's doing a really good job of recovering
  • Russell goes side-by-side with Hamilton, but Hamilton manages to hold onto the lead
  • Russell retakes the lead later in the lap
• Lap 6
  • Antonelli passes Piastri for 5th
  • LeClerc challenges Hamilton for 2nd, but Hamilton manages to hold his position
• Lap 7 — Antonelli gets a 10s penalty for causing a collision on the first lap
• Lap 8
  • LeClerc passes Hamilton for 2nd
  • Antonelli passes Norris for 4th
• Lap 9
  • Good fight between Hamilton and LeClerc for 2nd
  • However, battling LeClerc for 2nd may have compromised Hamilton as Antonelli closes on him
• Lap 11
  • Liam Lawson, who started on the hard tire, is up into 7th
  • Antonelli passes Hamilton for 3rd
• Lap 12
  • Lindblad told to come into the pits and retire the car
  • Lindlbad had a spin on the opening lap and was running in last place anyway
  • Pierre Gasly passes Isack Hadjar for 9th
  • Hadjar started on soft tires, which wasn't the right choice
• Lap 13
  • Nico Hulkenberg pulls over to the side and stops with a car issue
  • Antonelli passes LeClerc for 2nd
  • Safety car declared
  • This screws Antonelli, because the field will bunch up, so he will drop much farther in the rankings as a result of his 10 second penalty
  • Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren pit and switch to soft tires
  • After the pit stops, Russell retains his lead
  • Antonelli serves his 10 second penalty and comes out in 7th
  • Lawson doesn't pit and moves up into 5th
• Lap 14 — Verstappen and Hadjar pit and change tires as well, with Verstappen switching to softs and Hadjar changing to a new set of soft tires
• Lap 16 — Safety car ends
• Lap 17
  • Racing resumes
  • LeClerc gets a bit sideways as he accelerates to keep with Russell at the restart
  • Antonelli was passed by Piastri on the restart, and Piastri is now in 7th
• Lap 18
  • Hamilton passes Norris for 3rd
  • Antonelli claims that Piastri passed him before the start-finish line
  • Antonelli passes Bearman and Lawson to take 6th
  • Piastri is asked to move aside and let Antonelli past; he does so and Antonelli takes 5th
• Lap 19 — Verstappen has battled his way back up to 9th, but is too far behind Bearman to take points
• Bearman was screwed a bit by the decision to not pit under the safety car — he was running on worn-out medium tires while everyone around him was running on soft tires
• Antonelli was saved by the decision to pit — got the 10 second time penalty out of the way and allowed him to regain places for a respectable finish in 5th
• Russell in that Mercedes is still dominant
• That was a fun sprint, though, with Russell, Hamilton and LeClerc trading blows in the opening laps

Sprint Results

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

Qualifying

Q1

• Qualifying takes place immediately after the sprint race, but cars come out of parc ferme conditions and teams are allowed to make changes to their cars for qualifying
• This will be important for e.g. Red Bull, who underperformed during the sprint race
• Hamilton is out on medium tires once again, like in Australia
• Verstappen is also out on medium tires
• Lots of cars are out on tires that they'd used during sprint qualifying
• Wind and low track temperatures are reducing grip
• Franco Colapinto goes into 4th with his first fast lap (quite a good lap for Alpine)
• Hamilton's first lap on the medium tires wasn't very good so he went into the pits and switched to soft tires
• Arvid Lindlbad is told to bring the car into the pits as he has a mechanical issue
• Hamilton's second lap is much better, and he goes third
• Russell and Antonelli are 1-2 as usual
• LeClerc goes into the lead with his first fast lap
• Lindblad manages to get back out onto the track
• Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindlbad had some very good final laps to ensure their advancement into Q2
• Williams' machinery continues to disappoint their drivers
• Eliminated in Q1
  • Carlos Sainz — Williams
  • Alex Albon — Williams
  • Fernando Alonso — Aston Martin
  • Valteri Bottas — Cadillac
  • Lance Stroll — Aston Martin
  • Sergio Perez — Cadillac

Q2

• The Mercedes are fast as usual, with Russell and Antonelli going 1-2 initially
• However, Ferrari split the Mercedes, with Hamilton going 2nd and LeClerc 3rd
• Verstappen can only manage 5th on his first attempt
• Gasly gets into the top 10 with his first Q2 attempt, managing 8th
• Piastri is in 10th, but he hasn't run on new tires
• Piastri's second attempt, on new tires, is good enough for 5th, pushing Verstappen into 6th
• LeClerc improves on his second attempt, going into the lead
• Norris beats Piastri on his second lap, going into 5th
• Bortoleto spins out on the final corner in his second lap, causing a yellow flag
• Verstappen improves a bit on his second attempt and regains 6th after Norris and Piastri's times had pushed him down into 7th
• This will be really bad news for a lot of drivers who were waiting until the end of Q2 to improve, as there isn't enough time for his car to be cleared before Q2 ends
• Bortoleto manages to get his car going and returns to the pits
• Eliminated in Q2
  • Nico Hulkenberg — Audi
  • Franco Colapinto — Alpine
  • Esteban Ocon — Haas
  • Liam Lawson — Racing Bulls
  • Arvid Lindblad — Racing Bulls
  • Gabriel Bortoleto — Audi

Q3

• Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren all have 2 new sets of soft tires
• Red Bull, on the other hand, only have 1 new set
• George Russell has stopped on track, saying something's not right with his car
• He does manage to get the car restarted, but has to return to the pits in order to get the car looked at
• This is an opportunity for Kimi Antonelli to become the youngest driver to take a pole position
• Both Ferrari drivers are having to fight oversteer on their cars
• Norris goes second with his first flying lap, but is immediately pipped by his teammate, Piastri
• Mercedes to manage to effect repairs to Russell's car, but it's coming out late enough in the session that his preparation lap may be compromised by him having to cross the start-finish line for his fast lap before the timer expires
• Russell does set a fast time, but does not get pole position, making Kimi Antonelli the youngest polesitter in Formula 1 history
• Hamilton outqualifies LeClerc
• Final top 10 qualifying order
  1. Kimi Antonelli — Mercedes
  2. George Russell — Mercedes
  3. Lewis Hamilton — Ferrari
  4. Charles LeClerc — Ferrari
  5. Oscar Piastri — McLaren
  6. Lando Norris — McLaren
  7. Pierre Gasly — Alpine
  8. Max Verstappen — Red Bull
  9. Isack Hadjar — Red Bull
  10. Oliver Bearman — Haas

Race

Starting Grid

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

• 56 laps
• Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were pushed back into the pits with mechanical issues just before the race started, and neither started the race
• Most cars are starting on medium tires, but the Red Bulls are starting on soft tires to try to get an advantage early
• Drivers and teams are still figuring out how to optimize the balance between the internal combustion side and the electric side of the hybrid engines
• Alex Albon does not start the race
• Lap 1
  • Both Ferraris pass both Mercedes for the lead from the start, with Lewis Hamilton going into the lead
  • Antonelli fights back against LeClerc and retakes second
  • Isack Hadjar spins as he defends 9th against Oliver Bearman, Bearman goes off the track to evade, but manages to get 9th
  • Liam Lawson is up to 7th
  • Verstappen has dropped to 13th (another poor start for the Red Bull)
  • Hadjar goes into the pits as his spin has badly damaged his tires
• Lap 2 — Antonelli retakes the lead from Hamilton
• Lap 3
  • Russell passes LeClerc for 3rd
  • Verstappen has moved back up to 10th
• Lap 4 — Russell passes Hamilton for 2nd
• The Mercedes are showing their long-term power advantage over the Ferraris
• Lap 5 — Verstappen attempts to pass Lindblad for 9th, but has some oversteer and goes wide
• Lap 8
  • Verstappen's front-left tire is showing signs of serious deterioration
  • Lewis Hamilton reports issues with energy deployment as LeClerc begins to close in on him
• Lap 9 — Lawson and Lindblad battle for 8th
• Lap 10
  • Verstappen, Hadjar and Lawson all pit
  • Lance Stroll goes off the track and stops
  • Full safety car is deployed
  • This is awful timing for Red Bull & Liam Lawson, as they did their pit stops just before the safety car was deployed and their competitors will be making comparatively much shorter pit stops
• Lap 11
  • Russell, Antonelli both pit as well as the both Ferraris
  • Gasly pits as well
  • All go onto hard tires from the medium tires they started the race with
  • Colapinto and Ocon stay out and jump into 2nd and 3rd respectively
• Lap 13
  • Russell reports that a 1-stop strategy will be difficult
  • Safety car ends
• Lap 14
  • Racing resumes
  • Hamilton pushes past Russell for 4th
  • Hamilton passes Ocon for 3rd
  • LeClerc passes Lindblad for 6th and is on the tail of Russell
• Lap 15
  • LeClerc passes Russell for 5th and Ocon for 4th
  • Hamilton is on the tail of Antonelli
• Lap 16
  • LeClerc passes Colapinto for 3rd
  • Russell passes Ocon for 5th
  • Russell passes Colapinto for 4th
• Lap 18
  • Yellow flag — not clear why — possible debris on track
  • Flags are cleared before the end of the lap
  • Verstappen passes Lindblad for 9th
• Lap 19
  • Big fight for 5th & 6th as Gasly, Bearman and Verstappen, who've all made their pit stops challenge Colapinto and Ocon, who haven't
  • Russell is closing in on LeClerc, in 3rd
• Lap 20 — Verstappen passes Gasly for 8th
• Lap 22
  • Verstappen passes Ocon for 7th
  • Bearman passes Colapinto for 5th
  • Gasly has dropped back, and is running in 10th
• Lap 23 — The Mercedes and Ferraris have pulled away from the rest of the pack, with Russell, in 4th, having a 17 second gap over the rest of the field
• Lap 24 — LeClerc makes a bold pass on Hamilton and moves up into 2nd
• Lap 25
  • Russell is now on the back of Hamilton after the Ferraris' scrap last lap
  • Both Ferraris look a little squirrelly through the curves
• Lap 26-27 — Really intense battle between LeClerc and Hamilton, with LeClerc passing Hamilton, Hamilton re-passing LeClerc, and LeClerc eventually retaking 2nd
• Lap 27
  • Russell passes Hamilton for 3rd
  • Hamilton's pace was compromised by his battle with LeClerc, leaving the door open for Russell
• Lap 28
  • Arvid Lindblad spins out
  • Russell begins challenging LeClerc for 2nd
• Lap 29
  • Ocon fights Colapinto for 8th
  • Russell passes LeClerc for 2nd
• Lap 30 — Ocon finally pits
• Lap 31 — Antonelli has built up an 8 second gap over 2nd place, which is serving him well as Russell is not able to close the distance
• Lap 33
  • Colapinto also pits, and as he rejoins the track he has contact with Ocon, who spins
  • This looks like it was Ocon's fault — Colapinto was too far ahead for him to make the pass, but he dove for the apex anyway
• Lap 35 — Alonso brings his car in and retires
• Lap 36
  • LeClerc has a big lock-up and Hamilton passes him
  • LeClerc immediately fights back, however
• Lap 37 — Ocon gets a 10 second time penalty for causing a collision
• Lap 39
  • Hamilton and LeClerc resume their battle for 3rd
  • The intra-Ferrari battle has been the most entertaining aspect of this race so far
• Lap 46 — Verstappen limps back to the pits and retires
• Lap 53 — Antonelli has a lock-up and goes off track a bit but manages to retain the lead
• Lap 56 — Antonelli wins, Russell 2nd, Hamilton 3rd
• Happy to see Antonelli win
• Bearman is in 5th — really impressive drive from him as well

Results

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

Australian Grand Prix (2026-03-08)

Track Info

• Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia
• 3.28 miles
• Not very many overtaking opportunities

Tire Info

• C5, C4, C3
• Softest in the range

Qualifying

• Cadillac has joined the grid — 22 cars now
• Cars now have active aerodynamics instead of DRS
• New turbo rules — No more MGUH, and the MGUK is now much bigger, and more battery capacity has been added
• Cars have less grip than they did last year
• Because there are now 22 cars, the bottom six will be dropped in Q1 and Q2 respectively
• Williams' car is overweight, and Williams admits they're almost a full second down in terms of performance as a result

Q1

• Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll are unable to start due to mechanical issues with their cars
• Mercedes are working hard to put Kimi Antonelli's car back together after he had a big crash at the end of FP3
• Audi go out first, with Nico Hulkenberg taking the lead
• New car are more reliant on battery power, so warm-up and cool-down laps are slower to allow the cars to recharge
• Lando Norris is struggling with the grip on his McLaren
• Track evolution is likely to be a factor, as Albert Park is a temporary facility
• Hamilton does his first push lap with medium tires
• George Russell sets the fastest time of the initial laps
• Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) goes into second after setting a good lap
• Hamilton goes third, still on medium tires
• Verstappen crashes on his first qualifying lap — red flag
  • This is good news for Kimi Antonelli, whose mechanics now have more time to work on his car
  • Looks like it might have been a mechanical (electromechanical?) issue with the Red Bull — the rear axle locked up the moment Verstappen put his foot on the brake
• Mercedes managed to fix Kimi Antonelli's car thanks to the red flag delay due to Verstappen's crash
• Even after the red flag, the Ferraris go out with medium tires
• Hamilton, on medium tires, manages to post the fastest time
• Kimi Antonelli's first lap is good enough for 3rd
• Russel and Piastri go P1 and P2 respectively
• LeClerc has a big lockup and ruins his fast lap (and also possibly his tires)
• Norris' time is good enough only for fourth
• Haas aren't in last place
• Looks like the Ferraris did their Q1 on medium tires
• Eliminated in Q1
  • Fernando Alonso — Aston Martin
  • Sergio Perez — Cadillac
  • Valteri Bottas — Cadillac
  • Max Verstappen — Red Bull
  • Carlos Sainz — Williams
  • Lance Stroll — Aston Martin

Q2

• Ferraris are on soft tires now
• Russell goes fastest once again
• Norris is considerably slower, .9 sec behind Russell
• Hamilton has bailed out on two fast laps
• LeClerc, in the other Ferrari is 7th, after the first couple of laps
• Hulkenberg does well, pushing himself up into 9th, with a chance at a Q3 spot
• Hamilton's first full lap is only good for 6th
• Pierre Gasly's
• Eliminated in Q2
  • Nico Hulkenberg — Audi
  • Ollie Bearman — Haas
  • Esteban Ocon — Haas
  • Pierre Gasly — Alpine
  • Alex Albon — Williams
  • Franco Colapinto — Alpine

Q3

• Gabriel Bortoleto's Audi broke down in the entrace to pit lane at the end of Q2, delaying the start of Q3
• Mercedes' engine looks really good
• Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes was released onto the racetrack with a piece of the blower in the garage, which then fell off onto the track — will probably result in a penalty for send the car out onto the track in an unsafe condition
• The piece on the racetrack was hit by Lando Norris and exploded into a shower of debris
• Triggers a red flag while the errant pieces are picked up
• Norris's front wing is being fixed with tape
• Kimi Antonelli goes into the gravel on his first lap after the red flag delay
• Russell goes into the lead, while Isaac Hadjar, of Red Bull, does a great job and goes into second place
• Norris has an even better lap and goes into P2 behind Russell
• Kimi Antonelli has a great second lap, takes first for a bit but is dropped down into second after Russell has an even better lap
• Final top 10 qualifying order
  1. George Russell — Mercedes
  2. Kimi Antonelli — Mercedes
  3. Isaac Hadjar — Red Bull
  4. Charles LeClerc — Ferrari
  5. Oscar Piastri — McLaren
  6. Lando Norris — McLaren
  7. Lewis Hamilton — Ferrari
  8. Liam Lawson — Racing Bulls
  9. Arvid Lindblad — Racing Bulls
  10. Gabriel Bortoleto — Audi

Race

Starting Grid

1. George Russell — Mercedes
2. Kimi Antonelli — Mercedes
3. Isak Hadjar — Red Bull
4. Charles LeClerc — Ferrari
5. Oscar Piastri — McLaren (not starting due to pre-race crash)
6. Lando Norris — McLaren
7. Lewis Hamilton — Ferrari
8. Liam Lawson — Racing Bulls
9. Arvid Lindblad — Racing Bulls
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. Valteri Bottas — Cadillac
20. Max Verstappen — Red Bull
21. Carlos Sainz — Williams
22. Lance Stroll — Aston Martin

• 58 laps
• Oscar Piastri not starting will be disappointing for the crowd in Australia
• Drivers are unfamiliar with the new cars, and the new specification could result in reliability issues
• Most drivers are starting on medium tires, with some going for hard tires to have a longer first stint
• Both one-stop and two-stop strategies are viable
• Unlike last year, weather conditions are good
• This year DRS is no longer present; instead cars can alter their aerodynamics into a low-drag mode at specific zones along the racetrack
• The new specification places a greater emphasis on battery power, so drivers will have to manage charging and deploying energy from their batteries strategically throughout the race
• Lap 1
  • I really don't like the new start procedure forced by the larger batteries
  • Instead of revving the engines conventionally, the drivers put the car in neutral and floor the accelerator, redlining the engines in order to charge the battery
  • This sounds horrible
  • Russell is slow off the line and LeClerc jumps into the lead
  • Hadjar jumps up into 3rd
  • Lindblad makes it into 4th
  • Antonelli has a poor launch, and falls back into 7th
  • Later in the lap, Lindblad and Hamilton pass Hadjar, with Hamilton going into 3rd and Lindblad going into 4th
  • Verstappen also improves 4 places, to 16th
• Lap 2 — George Russell passes Charles LeClerc for the lead
• Lap 3
  • LeClerc has an easy pass on Russell to retake the lead
  • Possible difference in battery deployment strategy?
• Lap 4 — Verstappen is up into 13th place, after passing Alex Albon
• Lap 6
  • Kimi Antonelli has retaken 4th
  • Russell is increasingly pressuring LeClerc for the lead
• Lap 8 — Russell passes LeClerc for the lead, but LeClerc retakes the lead later in the lap with the advantage of greater battery power
• Lap 9
  • Russell attempts to pass LeClerc for the lead and has a big lockup
  • LeClerc retains the lead and now Hamilton is just behind Russell
• Lap 10 — Verstappen has moved up into 10th
• Lap 11
  • Isak Hadjar's Red Bull is blowing smoke and he is running slowly
  • Hadjar pulls over off the racetrack and stops
  • Sucks for him — he had a really good start
  • Potential reliability issue for Red Bull?
  • Virtual safety car declared
• Lap 12
  • Norris, Ocon, Gasly and Lawson all pit under the VS
  • All switch from medium tires to hard tires
• Lap 13
  • Russell and Antonelli pit and go from medium to hard tires
  • Come out in 3rd and 5th respectively
  • Ferrari have stayed out with both their drivers
  • Hamilton is frustrated that one of them wasn't pit
• Lap 14
  • VSC ends
  • Verstappen, starting on hard tires, took advantage of others' pit stops during the VSC to move up into 6th
  • The question is whether he can build enough of a lead to hold that position against other people on fresher tires behind him
  • Fernando Alonso pulls into the pits and stops with a mechanical issue — won't result in yellow flag
• Lap 15 — Norris passes Ocon for 9th
• Lap 16 — Antonelli passes Lindblad for 4th
• Lap 18
  • Valteri Bottas pulls over and stops; yellow flag shown
  • A second virtual safety car is declared
  • Lindblad, Verstappen and Bearman pit under the VSC
  • Verstappen comes out ahead of Bearman, but behind Lindblad
  • Lindblad, Verstappen and Bearman come out in 6th, 7th and 8th, respectively
  • Verstappen only lost one place in the pit stop and doesn't have much of a gap to Lindblad so he should be able to retake 6th quite easily
  • However, Norris is now ahead of this group, having pit during the previous VSC
  • The pit entry is closed under the VSC in order to allow race staff to recover Bottas' stricken Cadillac
• Lap 20
  • VSC ends after Bottas' car is cleared
  • Lindblad holds off Verstappen after the VSC start
• Lap 21 — Verstappen passes Lindblad for 6th
• Lap 25
  • LeClerc pits from the lead and comes out in 4th
  • This is confusing from Ferrari, because they had the opportunity to make pit stops under VSC earlier, but they chose to stay out
• Lap 28
  • Russell passes Hamilton for the lead
  • Hamilton pits from 2nd and comes out in 4th, behind LeClerc
• Lap 29 — Russell reports that he's comfortable with a 1-stop strategy
• Lap 33 — Norris reports higher than expected tire wear on the medium tires for his McLaren
• Lap 34
  • VSC deployed because of debris on the track; some bits fell off Sergio Perez's car
  • Marshals do a good job of recovering the debris correctly and the VSC ends on the same lap
• Lap 35
  • Norris pulls into the pits and allows Verstappen to pass him for 5th, comes back out in 8th
• Lap 40 — Bearman passes Lindblad for 7th
• Lap 42 — Verstappen pits again from 5th and comes out in 6th behind Norris
• Lap 45 — Verstappen is catching up to Norris for 5th
• Lap 48 — Russell and Antonelli have pulled well clear of the rest of the pack
• Lap 50 — Norris is defending hard against Verstappen
• Lap 58
  • Russell wins
  • Mercedes get the 1-2
  • LeClerc is 3rd and Hamilton is 4th
  • I think Ferrari were somewhat betrayed by their strategy — maybe they couldn't have won if they'd pit during the VSC, but I think they could have made it closer
  • Arvid Lindblad gets points on his debut race
  • Norris stays ahead of Verstappen for 5th
  • Lots of DNFs, but that's to be expected for the debut race of a new car specification

Results

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

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