Mercedes driver George Russell won the opening Australian Grand Prix Circuit of the Formula 1 2026 season as local hero Oscar Piastri suffered a disastrous start, crashing during the warm-up lap. Piastri sent the home fans into a shock as the 24-year-old, who finished third in the 2025 F1 drivers’ standings, lost control of his McLaren car while coming out of Turn 4 at the circuit in Melbourne.

Turn 4 at the Albert Park is one of the fastest parts of the track. And this is where Piastri lost control of his car as it spun and hit the barriers, suffering severe impact and ruling the driver out of the race.

Russell wins Melbourne GP, Piastri crashes 

Thankfully, Piastri did not suffer any physical damage, but he would certainly have been bitterly disappointed at not finishing the home race.

His partner and 2025 world champion, Lando Norris, finished the Melbourne Grand Prix in fifth position, missing out on the podium in the first race of the season.

Oscar Piastri has crashed and is OUT of the Australian Grand Prix before it begins 😮#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/5prGby7dNC

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 8, 2026

It was double delight for Mercedes as youngster Kimi Antonelli came second on Sunday, while Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was third. Lewis Hamilton would be somewhat happy that he finished fourth.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen finished sixth in the Red Bull.

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were also at the top in the qualifying as they made it a Mercedes 1-2.

F1 live streaming: The F1 2026 races in India are being streamed live on the FanCode app and website.

More to follow…

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen crashed out in Q1 in the Australian Grand Prix Qualifying on Saturday, March 7 to start his season on a shaky note. The four-time F1 world champion forced the red flags to come up early as his dramatic crash left down at the last position for the Sunday’s race.

The Dutchman joined the action with eight minutes still left on the clock in Q1. Before he could register a banker lap, his car span off the track and slammed into the barriers at Turn 1. Without a timed lap to his name, Verstappen was left at P20 for the final race.

Max Verstappen is OUT of Qualifying, with no time set! 😳

This is the moment where the Red Bull driver spins into the wall at Turn 1 👇#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/M2XKoapEMl

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 7, 2026

“The car just locked on the rear axles,” Verstappen said over the radio following his crash. The then walked away from his stricken car with disappointment. Red flags came up and the session was stopped for 15 minutes.

Russell grabs pole for Australian GP

With Verstappen out of the way, his competitors rode away in the season opener which sees multiple new rules being introduced.

George Russell stormed to the pole position for Sunday’s race as the Mercedes star led throughout each segment of Qualifying before posting a stunning final lap of 1m 18.518s to clinch top spot. He beat his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli who will start from P2.

Antonelli who had dramatically crashed out of Saturday’s final practice session with a violent double impact bounced back strongly in the Qualifying to help Mercedes lock out the front row.

Isack Hadjar had a good outing on his Red Bull debut as he claimed the third place ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and home hero McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Lando Norris of McLaren who ended Verstappen’s four-year reign as world champion last season, finished at P6. Lewis Hamilton ended seventh.

The escalation in conflict in the Gulf region has led to disruption in travel plans and sports events too are witnessing impact. As many as 16 Indian wrestlers are currently stranded in Albania due to the closure of airspace in the Middle East.

The United World Wrestling Ranking Series took place in Tirana in Albania where the wrestling contingent is currently staying put due to effects of the conflict between US-Israel and Iran.

Wrestlers safe in Albania

India won seven medals at the series, but the return of the team is now awaited. The team has informed that the wrestlers are safe.

“We had come to Tirana for the senior ranking series. But because of the strikes in Dubai, our flights were cancelled (connecting flights). As a result, we stayed back in Tirana, close to the airport. We currently have no issues here,” Manjeet Rani, the women’s team coach, said in a video message.

Also, Indian basketball team is stuck in Doha, Qatar after its FIBA World Cup 2027 qualifier match against Lebanon was postponed due to the unfolding scenario in the region.

Star Indian shuttler
PV Sindhu too was stranded in Dubai on her way to Birmingham. She returned to India on Tuesday but will miss the All England Championships.

The departure of West Indies and Zimbabwe cricket teams from India is also delayed due to the same reason.

F1 forced to change travel plans

The conflict between US-Israel and Iran is having ripple effects on Formula 1’s planning. The first race of the season takes place this weekend in Australia and F1 has put in emergency plans to bring the staff members.

According to a report in the BBC, close to 1,000 members of staff have been forced to rearrange flights, with almost 500 of them set to be flown to Australia on chartered planes from Europe.

Australian Formula 1 chief Travis Auld has said that “everyone will be here (in Australia) ready for the race.”

The fourth and fifth races of the season are scheduled to take place in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia next month and F1 said that it was currently ‘monitoring the situation’.