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Verstappen: “The car is completely undriveable”
The four-time world champion sounds almost a bit desperate after P8 and explains: “We changed a lot on the car [after the sprint], but it makes no difference at all.”
“We haven’t been up to speed all weekend, the car is completely undriveable,” says Verstappen, who can’t find a reference. “Every lap is like a struggle for survival,” he reports.
The balance doesn’t fit at all, he explains, and emphasizes that the gap doesn’t just come from the engine. The car doesn’t let him push, he has oversteer at times and understeer at others, he says.
“This won’t be a fun race,” he announces.
Read more Start chaos in Melbourne: F1 politics blocks a quick solution
Leclerc: China just doesn’t suit me
Much more than fourth place wasn’t possible for him today, the Monegasque admits. “For some reason, I struggle quite a bit on this track. It’s always been that way,” he muses.
“It’s not that I’m not trying, because I’m really trying hard. But I just have difficulties in qualifying. On top of that, of course, you have to drive these cars a bit differently in qualifying,” he recalls.
“We are working on optimizing everything, which will ultimately bring us closer to Mercedes,” he hopes and emphasizes after P4: “I’m quite happy on a track where I usually struggle.”
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Wolff: “Luck of the diligent”
“Now he’s getting into gear,” Toto Wolff praises Antonelli on Sky, emphasizing: “We knew the first year is a learning year, […] and it won’t always be easy this year either.”
“But now he’s nailed a [pole], also with the luck of the diligent, because George had a problem,” says Wolff, who emphasizes, however, that you still have to achieve that first.
Meanwhile, Russell’s car had to be restarted several times in the garage. “And then it worked on the third attempt,” says Wolff, who expects another battle against Ferrari in tomorrow’s race.
“I think they are quite close,” he warns and recalls: “In the first laps they were really strong today in the sprint, and they were also really strong in Melbourne. So you have to fight at the beginning.”
Read more The qualifying, sprint and race duels of the 2026 Formula 1 season
Villeneuve: Antonelli had some luck
Although Russell’s only Q3 lap was anything but optimal, Antonelli ended up “only” a good two-tenths ahead. “He was a bit lucky that George only had one run,” says expert Jacques Villeneuve on Sky.
“But he managed to take the opportunity, and that’s what matters,” he also emphasizes. Antonelli himself explains: “George had a problem in Q3, and it would have been great to see him with two sets of tires.”
So we will never know if Antonelli would have left Russell behind under “normal” circumstances.
“Damage limitation” for Russell
The Briton was only able to complete one fast lap in Q3 and explains that P2 was “definitely damage limitation.” “In Q2, the front wing broke,” Russell reports.
“Then we went out in Q3, the car stopped on the track, wouldn’t start anymore, and you couldn’t shift gears,” he explains. And even the only fast lap after that was just a compromise.
“When I went into the last lap, I had no battery, no tire temperature, just nothing at all,” says Russell. Nevertheless, it was still enough for second place.
New record
Kimi Antonelli is now the youngest pole sitter in Formula 1 history – and by a significant margin. At 19 years, 6 months, and 17 days, he has beaten the old record of Sebastian Vettel (21 years, 2 months, and 11 days) by more than 1.5 years!
Read more Formula 1 Live Ticker: Mercedes Pole & Antonelli Investigation
Qualifying overview
Report
Result
Starting grid
