George Russell got his 2026 Championship charge off to the perfect possible start with victory in Melbourne, but Kimi Antonelli ran him close and Ferrari were also in the mix.<\/p>\n
The Australian Grand Prix was the first time the fans got to see the new regulations play out in race conditions, with Russell<\/a> and Charles Leclerc<\/a> thrilling the crowd by exchanging the lead a handful of times in the opening 10 laps.<\/p>\n The pecking order was also firmed up, with Mercedes and Ferrari battling for the podium, while McLaren and Red Bull were half a step behind.<\/p>\n Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer and Channel 10\u2019s Richard Craill join Tom Clarkson in the paddock to discuss all the events from a thrilling season-opener.<\/p>\n Oscar Piastri<\/a> endured a miserable Sunday in his home city, the Australian crashing out on his way to the grid before the race had even started. That left all eyes on Lando Norris<\/a> for McLaren, but the World Champion could only come home fifth.<\/p>\n Max Verstappen put in one of his usual impressive recovery drives to make it from 20th on the grid to sixth at the flag, while Ollie Bearman<\/a> wound up topping the midfield for Haas.<\/p>\n But there were reliability concerns out on track too, with Isack Hadjar parking up for Red Bull, while Valtteri Bottas did not see the chequered flag for Cadillac.<\/p>\n As for Aston Martin, Lance Stroll<\/a> did complete the race, but he was a number of laps down having briefly retired midway through. His team mate did not see the flag, Fernando Alonso<\/a> retiring from the opening race after making a blistering start.<\/p>\n To hear the latest on all the biggest talking points from the race weekend, hit go on the audio player above or click here<\/a> to listen to the latest episode on your preferred podcasting platform.<\/p>\n