Max voted Driver of the Day in Melbourne season opener

Published on 08 March 2026 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen has been voted Driver of the Day for the first time this season following the season opener in Australia. The Dutch Oracle Red Bull Racing driver started twentieth on hard tyres after a crash in qualifying and quickly worked his way up to settle inside the top ten.

In a race where Ferrari seemed to be the only team capable of challenging Mercedes, the German marque ultimately secured an unthreatened one–two finish, with George Russell ahead of Kimi Antonelli. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished third and fourth, ahead of Lando Norris (McLaren) and Verstappen, who therefore drove a recovery race from P20 to P6. Max finished 54 seconds behind Russell, but still recorded the fastest lap of the race.