Qualifying sessions in the 2026 season will see a slightly adjusted format. The traditional knockout system remained in place, but the grid expanded to 22 cars after the arrival of Cadillac. Because of this, six drivers were eliminated in both Q1 and Q2. Q1 now decided grid positions from 17th to 22nd, while Q2 determined places from 11th to 16th. The final part, Q3, still decided pole position and the top ten places on the grid, although the session itself was extended from 12 minutes to 13 minutes.

Q1

The first part of qualifying began with drivers setting their opening lap times. Oliver Bearman recorded the first representative lap with a 1:21.408. Oscar Piastri soon improved on that time and moved to the top with a lap of 1:20.522. Shortly afterwards, Gabriel Bortoleto briefly put his Audi in first place with a 1:20.495.

George Russell then produced the fastest lap at that stage, setting a 1:19.840 which was around six tenths quicker than the rest of the field. The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were further down the order early in the session as both drivers were using medium tyres, while most of their rivals were running the faster soft compound.

As the session continued, Hamilton improved to a 1:19.811 to move into first place. Piastri soon responded with a faster lap of 1:19.664 to return to the top of the timesheets. Russell also improved his time to 1:19.507, while Lando Norrismoved up the order and climbed to fourth place.

The session was then interrupted when Max Verstappen crashed at Turn 1. The rear of his car locked under braking, sending him through the gravel and bringing out the red flag. Verstappen was unable to set a lap time.

During the stoppage, Mercedes mechanics managed to repair the car of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, allowing him to return to the track once the session resumed. Some drivers were not able to run at all. Carlos Sainz did not take part after suffering a systems failure in the final practice session, while Lance Stroll also missed the session after sitting out FP3 earlier in the day.

In the final moments of Q1, the fight for the last place in Q2 was between Fernando Alonso and Franco Colapinto. Colapinto completed a faster lap near the end of the session and moved ahead, which meant Alonso was pushed out of the top 16.

The drivers eliminated in Q1 were Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll.

Q2

The second part of qualifying then decided the drivers who would fight for pole position in Q3. As in Q1, six drivers would be eliminated, setting the grid positions from 11th to 16th.

At the start of the session, Charles Leclerc set the first representative lap with a 1:20.088. Ferrari had an advantage at this stage because both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had used medium tyres in Q1, which meant they still had more fresh soft tyres available.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli then moved to the top with a lap of 1:19.604. Shortly afterwards, George Russell went even faster and set a 1:18.934, becoming the first driver to break the 1:19 barrier in the session.

Hamilton did not set a time on his first attempt. He was fastest in the first sector twice but returned to the pits without completing the lap. Later he set a lap that placed him sixth, although it was still slower than his Q1 time.

After the first runs, Russell led the session ahead of Oscar Piastri and Antonelli. Isack Hadjar, Lando Norris and Arvid Lindblad were also inside the top six, while Leclerc, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto and Esteban Ocon completed the top ten at that point.

In the final runs, several drivers tried to improve their lap times to reach Q3. Leclerc managed to climb to second place, finishing within half a second of Russell’s fastest lap. Gabriel Bortoleto also managed to secure a place in Q3, while his Audi teammate Nico Hulkenberg missed the cut.

The drivers eliminated in Q2 were Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon and Franco Colapinto.

Q3

The final part of qualifying then decided the top ten positions on the grid. Early in the session, the red flag was shown after an unusual incident involving Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Cooling fans were left in the sidepods of his Mercedes when he left the garage. One of the fans later fell onto the track and Lando Norris ran over it, scattering debris. The session was stopped while the track was cleared, and the incident was noted by the FIA for investigation.

When the session resumed, drivers began to set their first flying laps. George Russell set the early benchmark with a lap of 1:19.084 on used tyres. Norris briefly moved ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who was initially only fifth before dropping to sixth after Norris improved.

After the first runs, Russell led the session ahead of Norris, Isack Hadjar, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Antonelli, Arvid Lindblad, Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto had not yet set lap times at that stage.

At the end of the session, George Russell secured pole position with a dominant lap of 1:18.518, giving Mercedes a front-row lockout alongside Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who qualified second after a strong effort in the closing stages. Isack Hadjar produced an impressive lap to take third place on the grid, while Charles Leclerc managed to climb to 4th, just ahead of Oscar Piastri in 5th.

Lando Norris recovered from an earlier off-track moment to take 6th, with Lewis Hamilton only able to manage 7th after a slower lap. The remaining drivers completing the top ten were Liam Lawson in 8th, Arvid Lindblad in 9th, and Gabriel Bortoleto in 10th, rounding out a competitive grid for the start of the Australian Grand Prix.