Max to start Australian Grand Prix from P20: 'Nothing's broken'

Published on 07 March 2026 by Florence Cobben

Max Verstappen will start the Australian Grand Prix from the back of the pack. During Q1, the Dutchman lost control of his RB22 while entering the first corner, shot through the gravel, and slid to a stop against the wall. A short check at the medical center showed no visible abnormalities, and fortunately Max is okay.

At the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, it was George Russell who drove his Mercedes to pole position, ahead of his young teammate Kimi Antonelli in P2. Meanwhile, Max’s Oracle Red Bull Racing-teammate, Isack Hadjar, surprised everyone by driving his Red Bull to P3, ahead of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, who rounded out the top five.

“Nothing broken, so everything’s okay,” Max told the Viaplay press after qualifying. “The steering struck out of my hands.”

Max explained further: “I was braking, and suddenly the rear just locked up, and you can’t correct that. I haven’t looked yet to see what went wrong there. Something like that has never happened to me before. I was just braking, and suddenly the entire rear axle locked up, and you can’t fix that at that speed. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

Before the start of qualifying, it’s unclear whether Kimi Antonelli will take part in the session after his crash in the third free practice earlier today. The Mercedes mechanics are in a race against the clock to get the car ready in time. At Williams and Aston Martin, work is also being done on Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll’s cars.

At the start of Q1, the air temperature is 20°C while the track temperature is 37°C. Nico Hülkenberg is the first to appear on track, followed by Fernando Alonso. Ferrari deviates from the norm by sending Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc out on medium tyres. The Red Bull Racing-team chooses to keep both drivers in the garage during the opening phase.

After about four minutes, Hadjar takes to the track and promptly jumps to P2 after his first flying lap, putting him just behind Russell. Eight minutes after the start of the session, Max heads out for his first qualifying of the season. But it’s a short-lived run. Max crashes while entering the first corner, and a red flag is waved. “The car just locked up on the rear axle. Fantastic,” the Dutchman sarcastically reports. With no time on the board to his name, Max will be starting from the back of the grid on race day.

Meanwhile, the red flag is an unexpected blessing for Antonelli. It brings the session to a standstill and gives the Mercedes team crucial time to get the young Italian’s car in working shape. They succeed, and as the red flag period draws to a close, Antonelli is seen leaving the garage and lining up in the pit lane for the restart.

With seven and a half minutes to go, the session resumes. Hamilton impresses by setting the fastest time on medium tyres. Shortly afterward, Russell goes P1, and Piastri follows in P2. Antonelli manages P6.

When the flag falls for Q1, the top three are Russell, Piastri, and Hamilton, while Alonso, both Cadillacs, Max, Sainz, and Stroll are eliminated.

At the start of Q2, Ferrari aligns with the rest of the grid and switches both cars to soft tyres. Halfway through the session, the top three are Russell, Piastri, and Antonelli, while both Alpines, Oliver Bearman, Alex Albon, and Lewis Hamilton are in the danger zone.

When the flag is waved at the end of Q2, the top three are Russell, Leclerc, and Antonelli, while both Alpines, Alex Albon, both Haas drivers, and Nico Hülkenberg can hit the showers.

Q3, however, doesn’t start right away – it is delayed because Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi has stalled to a standstill at the entrance to the pit lane. The marshals manage to push the car away, but that means that only nine cars will take part in the battle for pole position.

At the start of Q3, everyone except Hadjar and Norris immediately head out onto the track. The two missing drivers don’t wait long, and follow shortly afterward. But even before any drivers begin a flying lap, there is another red flag. A cooler from Antonelli’s sidepod has tumbled onto the track, and Norris drove over it. Antonelli is to be investigated and the session is paused once again.

When the session restarts, both Mercedes cars are at the front of the queue, with Norris heading out, not with a new wing, but with a front wing repaired with duct tape. After the first run, Russell’s Mercedes is once again the fastest, this time followed by Norris and Hadjar. Antonelli took a trip through the gravel and, like both Racing Bulls drivers, still has no time on the board.

During the decisive second (and last) run, everyone is on track and Russell is the one to put his Mercedes on pole, ahead of his teammate Antonelli. Hadjar is a pleasantly surprising third, ahead of Leclerc’s Ferrari. That marks the end of qualifying.

Results qualifying Australia: