Thrilling Action Unfolds at the Australian Grand Prix’s Final Day

Formula 1

George Russell of Mercedes delivered a remarkable one-two finish for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, securing victory at the FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2026, comfortably ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli on the Albert Park circuit.

Charles Leclerc took advantage of Ferrari’s impressive start capabilities, moving up from fourth on the grid to overtake Russell as they exchanged places during the race’s opening laps.

A Virtual Safety Car was deployed shortly after Isack Hadjar retired his Red Bull. This prompted Mercedes to pit both drivers, while Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton chose to remain on track.

A second Virtual Safety Car was introduced when Valtteri Bottas came to a halt in his Cadillac, yet Ferrari opted to stay out once again.

When Leclerc and Hamilton finally made their pit stops, the Mercedes duo retook the lead and maintained a considerable gap for the remainder of the race.

Ferrari looked poised to finish strongly with fresher tyres, but doubts loomed for Mercedes about the need for an additional pit stop due to their earlier strategy.

Ultimately, Russell and Antonelli skilfully managed their tyres all the way to the finish, with Russell claiming victory by 2.9 seconds, marking his sixth career win and first at the Australian Grand Prix.

Leclerc and Hamilton crossed the line in third and fourth positions, respectively, while reigning champion Lando Norris began his title defence for McLaren in fifth place.

Max Verstappen showcased an impressive comeback, moving from 20th on the grid to finish sixth, ahead of Oliver Bearman.

Rookie Arvid Lindblad made an excellent debut, finishing eighth for Racing Bulls, while Gabriel Bortoleto and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten.

Local favourite Oscar Piastri did not start the race after spinning out on the formation lap. Nico Hülkenberg also failed to take part due to a technical malfunction.

Piastri will have the opportunity to redeem himself in a week’s time at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, scheduled for 13-15 March.

Formula 2

Nikola Tsolov achieved his first victory in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, making history as the first Bulgarian to triumph in this category.

Rookie Rafael Câmara snatched second place for Invicta Racing, while Laurens van Hoepen secured a podium finish in third for TRIDENT.

Martinius Stenshorne got off to a fantastic start, leading from second on the grid during the opening lap, closely pursued by teammate Alexander Dunne.

Tsolov moved up to third for Campos Racing, while his teammate Noel León fell back after a clash with Oliver Goethe.

On Lap 3, a collision between Rodin teammates Stenshorne and Dunne led to their retirement, leaving Tsolov in front when the Safety Car was deployed.

Dino Beganovic completed a pit stop before retiring on Lap 17, which brought out another Safety Car. Upon the restart on Lap 22, Tsolov skillfully defended his lead as Câmara reclaimed second position.

Tsolov proved unbeatable, crossing the line first and securing a milestone victory for Campos Racing. Câmara followed in second, with van Hoepen completing the podium.

The second round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship heads to Sakhir on 10-12 April.

Formula 3

Ugo Ugochukwu celebrated his first FIA Formula 3 victory with a standout performance in the Melbourne Feature Race.

Although he had a slow start and briefly fell to third place, the American driver quickly fought back, taking the lead and maintaining control until the end for Campos Racing.

Freddie Slater from TRIDENT finished in second, while Taito Kato from ART Grand Prix inherited third place after post-race penalties were applied to Théophile Nael and Noah Stromsted.

Nael, who started on pole, led into Turn 1 before Slater passed Ugochukwu for second place.

On Lap 2, Ugochukwu reclaimed second from Slater at Turn 9 and swiftly caught up to Nael. He executed a decisive move at the same corner to take the lead. The trio quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the pack as battles raged behind.

A Safety Car was called on Lap 9 due to a crash involving Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi at Turn 12. Ugochukwu began to establish a gap, while Nael began to feel the pressure from Slater.

The race was complicated by penalties: Nael received a five-second penalty for a false start, and Stromsted was awarded a 10-second penalty for causing a collision.

Slater managed to overtake Nael for second position using DRS on Lap 20.

Any hopes of a late change in the lead were dashed by a late Safety Car, and the race concluded under yellow flags, confirming Ugochukwu’s maiden F3 victory.

The next round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship will head to Bahrain for Round 2 on 10-12 April.

Supercars

Brodie Kostecki’s impressive form at this year’s Melbourne SuperSprint culminated in a jubilant finale after executing a perfectly timed overtake on Will Brown.

This exciting manoeuvre contrasted sharply with the chaos of a massive opening-lap crash that eliminated Broc Feeney from contention.

The incident unfolded when Kai Allen made contact with Ryan Wood on the main straight, triggering a multi-car collision at Turn 1.

Macauley Jones clipped Allen, causing Feeney’s #88 Mustang to spin across the track, leading to a crash involving Cooper Murray. Feeney, Murray, and Zach Bates were all forced to retire from the race, though thankfully, all drivers emerged unharmed.

Brown led the field back to green on lap five, followed closely by Thomas Randle, as Kostecki quickly moved into third position and clawed back the gap.

Kostecki soon passed Randle to secure second and set his sights on Brown in the closing laps.

The two ran bumper-to-bumper until Brown made a mistake late in the race, allowing Kostecki to execute a brilliant dummy move that caused Brown to lock up.

Kostecki went on to take the chequered flag, finishing with three victories from four races, and securing a second Larry Perkins Trophy.

Randle achieved his first podium of the season with a third-place finish, while Le Brocq and Golding completed the top five.

Kostecki now leads the Supercars Championship as the series heads towards two rounds in New Zealand. The Taupō Super 440 is set to take place in a month’s time on 10-12 April.