MELBOURNE - George Russell claimed pole position at the Australian Grand Prix, leading a dominant one-two finish for Mercedes in qualifying. Russell's teammate, Kimi Antonelli, secured the second spot on the front row.
Russell set a blistering lap time of one minute, 18.518 seconds around Albert Park's street circuit. This marks Mercedes' first pole position since 2019. Despite a significant crash during final practice, Antonelli managed to secure second, lapping nearly three-tenths of a second slower than Russell.
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar qualified third, significantly behind the Mercedes duo. The session was marred by an incident involving Antonelli's car, which dropped cooling fans onto the track, leading to a red flag. Mercedes was fined for releasing the car in an unsafe condition.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc qualified fourth, ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri in fifth. The session saw a dramatic early exit for Red Bull's four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who crashed into a barrier without setting a lap time in the first qualifying session (Q1).
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will start seventh on the grid for Ferrari. Other notable drivers eliminated early included Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and both Cadillac drivers, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.