Max Verstappen sixth after recovery drive in Melbourne: 'Not bad'

Published on 08 March 2026 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen finished sixth in the Australian Grand Prix after a recovery drive. The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver had to start the season opener in Melbourne from twentieth on the grid following a crash in qualifying. In the race, Max quickly fought his way into the points, and after a two-stop strategy, Verstappen finished in sixth place. Polesitter George Russell crowned a very strong weekend with a dominant victory, followed by team-mate Kimi Antonelli in P2. Charles Leclerc joined the fight for the lead after a rocket start in the opening phase but ultimately had to concede to the Mercedes cars ahead. The Ferrari driver finished third, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton behind him in fourth. Reigning champion Lando Norris managed to keep Verstappen behind and finished fifth.

Max said after the race: “At the beginning we stayed out of trouble, but of course we are also quite a bit quicker than the entire midfield, so we had to get through that without any issues. Once I was running on my own, I had graining on the tyres. We also had some problems with braking because the car was pulling to one side. On top of that, the steering did not feel quite right.”

Verstappen was fairly positive about the pace of the RB22 and the new Red Bull Ford power unit: “It is not bad, of course. For the very first time racing with our own engine, we cannot complain. I managed to overtake quite a few people, so that means there is power in it. Fighting right at the front is not possible yet at the moment, but that is not our only issue. I think we still need to make a step forward with the car as well.”

As expected, the start and the opening laps were spectacular, something Max confirmed: “It was chaos and things went a bit up and down. You overtake on one straight and then you might get overtaken again. Luckily, we have better cornering speed, so the people I passed could not attack me back.”

Mercedes dominated the weekend and, according to the Dutchman, looks like the team to beat: “They will probably be quick everywhere. McLaren looked quicker again in Bahrain, but we have to look at it circuit by circuit. In the end it does not matter whether you are the third or fourth team, we are aiming for the top. We are working steadily towards that and I hope we can close the gap during the season.”

For the first time since 2016, 22 drivers were expected to start a Grand Prix. However, disaster struck for home driver Oscar Piastri during the lap to the grid. The McLaren driver lost control of his car exiting Turn 4 and crashed heavily into the wall. The Australian was unharmed but could not start the season opener from his fifth place on the grid. Shortly afterwards, Nico Hülkenberg’s Audi was also removed from the grid due to technical problems. This meant that 20 drivers started the first race of the season, with George Russell on pole and Max Verstappen starting from eighteenth after his qualifying crash.

As already became clear during the winter tests, cars powered by Ferrari engines had an advantage at the start thanks to a smaller turbo. That advantage was fully used at the start, as Charles Leclerc stormed into the lead from P4 on the grid after a rocket launch, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton moved up to P3. Polesitter Russell slotted between them in second place. Rookie Arvid Lindblad ran an impressive fourth in his debut race after the first lap, but he was soon passed by Isack Hadjar. Verstappen was in sixteenth after lap one.

Russell took the lead from Leclerc on lap two, but a lap later Leclerc struck back to retake first place. On lap eight Russell reclaimed the lead under braking for Turn 3, but once again Leclerc countered on the long straight to Turn 9. Another passing attempt from Russell followed at Turn 1 on the next lap, but the Brit locked up slightly and Leclerc was able to respond again. Meanwhile, Max had already worked his way up to P10, putting him back into the points.

Verstappen continued his progress by passing Pierre Gasly on lap eleven. One lap later, the Red Bull Ford power unit in Isack Hadjar’s car began to smoke and the Frenchman retired from fourth place in his first race for the Red Bull team. A Virtual Safety Car was deployed, giving many drivers the chance to pit. Both Mercedes drivers, Russell and Antonelli, came in, while the Ferraris stayed out, putting Leclerc and Hamilton into first and second. After his stop Russell rejoined in third, with Lindblad in P4, Antonelli in fifth and Verstappen, who had also not stopped, in sixth when racing resumed.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Fernando Alonso parked his troubled Aston Martin in the pit box with technical issues on lap fourteen. Valtteri Bottas became the next retirement on lap eighteen, parking his Cadillac in the grass just before the pit entry during the new team’s first race. Another Virtual Safety Car followed, which Verstappen used to make his first stop. He switched from the hard tyres to the medium compound and rejoined just behind Lindblad in seventh place.

Verstappen overtook Lindblad for P6 on lap 21. On lap 26 race leader Leclerc made his pit stop and the Monegasque returned to the track in fourth. Russell passed Hamilton on lap 28 to reclaim the lead before the Ferrari driver headed into the pits. Antonelli then moved up to second place, with Leclerc third, Hamilton fourth and Verstappen fifth.

On lap 42 Verstappen made his second stop to switch to a new set of hard tyres. Max dropped back to sixth behind reigning champion Lando Norris. On his fresh rubber Verstappen began chasing Norris. Although he ran within a second of Norris for several laps, he was unable to launch an attack. In the end Max had to settle for sixth place, finishing the race with the fastest lap to his name.

At the front, Russell won in dominant fashion. Mercedes team-mate Antonelli finished second, giving Mercedes the perfect start to the season. Charles Leclerc finished fifteen seconds behind Russell in third, while Lewis Hamilton came home just behind in fourth. Lando Norris finished fifth, with Verstappen 2.8 seconds behind him in sixth place. Oliver Bearman was ‘best of the rest’ in seventh for Haas, with rookie Arvid Lindblad in an impressive eighth, scoring points for Racing Bulls in his debut race. Gabriel Bortoleto finished ninth, giving Audi points in its first race, while Pierre Gasly claimed the final point in tenth.

The debuting Cadillac team saw one of its cars reach the finish, with Sergio Pérez classified sixteenth and last, three laps down.

Results Grand Prix Australia: