Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Olympics
Football
Netball
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Full Noise by SN
Live sport on SN this weekendMercedes lock out front-row, Lawson qualifies eighth for Australian GP
Scott Bailey, AAP • March 7th, 2026 7:35 pm
Liam Lawson at Albert Park | Photo: Getty images/Red Bull Content Pool
Kiwi driver Liam Lawson and his rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad have impressed Racing Bulls in the first qualifier of the 2026 Formula 1 season, claiming 8th and 9th on the grid respectively for the Australian Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, hometown hero Oscar Piastri must defy more than a decade of history to claim victory at the Albert Park circuit, qualifying fifth fastest behind pole sitter George Russell.
In an at-times chaotic qualifying session, Russell's lap time of 1:18.518 led a front-row lockout for Mercedes, with young teammate Kimi Antonelli 0.293 seconds behind.
Isack Hadjar was third in the Red Bull and Charles Leclerc fourth in the Ferrari, before Piastri edged out his world-champion McLaren teammate Lando Norris for fifth.
Lawson's time of 1:19.994 was 1.4 seconds off the pace, while Lindblad's best in Q3 was 1:21.247. Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top ten but failed to set a time in the third session.
Piastri has been among the quickest at Albert Park this weekend, but Mercedes ultimately proved to have too much power when it counted on Saturday.
No driver has won the Australian Grand Prix in the past 12 years from outside the top three on the grid, with Kimi Raikkonen the last to do so for Ferrari in 2013, when he started in seventh spot.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen had earlier crashed out in the first part of qualifying on Saturday, leaving him towards the rear of the grid.
The Red Bull star spun under braking before he even began to turn into the first corner of his opening qualifying lap, sending him nose-first into the barriers.
- additional reporting by Sport Nation
