F1 Australian GP live commentary and updates - race day

Round 1: Australian Grand Prix

Hello everyone, and welcome to our live feed of updates from the Australian Grand Prix. Wherever you are: still in bed, watching the race, or working overnight, we'll keep you updated with everything that happens across the first race of the year.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

Qualifying recap

While the final result met expectations, as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli locked out the front row for Mercedes, there were plenty of surprises to be had. Let's review yesterday's qualifying session...

Q1

Max Verstappen was the biggest scalp claimed in the opening part of qualifying, as he crashed out at Turn 1 - his rear axle locked, sending him into the gravel. 

Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz had technical issues and didn't make it on-track, while Fernando Alonso was eliminated with the two Cadillacs.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing crash

Photo by: Paul Crock / AFP via Getty Images

Q2

Both Alpines and both Haases missed out on the top 10 shootout, as did Alex Albon. Nico Hulkenberg was also eliminated, having fallen just the wrong side of the cut-off as Audi was nonetheless impressive.

Gabriel Bortoleto made it through into Q3, but ground to a halt in the pitlane at the end of the session.

Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images

Q3

Russell surged to pole by three tenths over team-mate Antonelli, as Mercedes rescued his car in the nick of time after a monster FP3 crash.

Isack Hadjar qualified third, albeit 0.8s behind the polesitter, beating the Ferraris and McLarens - who seemed to struggle as the circuit temperatures began to drop through the day.

Arvid Lindblad made Q3 at the first time of asking, albeit outqualified by team-mate Liam Lawson.

George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Starting grid for the Australian GP

Grid

All Stats

 

Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Time	Tyres	km/h
1	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	1'18.518		241.992
2	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12		Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.293 1'18.811		241.093
3	I. Hadjar Red Bull Racing	6		Red Bull	Red Bull	+0.785 1'19.303		239.597
4	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.809 1'19.327		239.525
5	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	+0.862 1'19.380		239.365
6	L. Norris McLaren	1		McLaren	Mercedes	+0.957 1'19.475		239.078
7	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.960 1'19.478		239.069
8	L. Lawson Racing Bulls	30		RB	Red Bull	+1.476 1'19.994		237.527
9	A. Lindblad Racing Bulls	41		RB	Red Bull	+2.729 1'21.247		233.864
10	G. Bortoleto Audi	5		Audi	Audi
11	N. Hulkenberg Audi	27		Audi	Audi	+1.785 1'20.303		236.613
12	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87		Haas	Ferrari	+1.793 1'20.311		236.590
13	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31		Haas	Ferrari	+1.973 1'20.491		236.061
14	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Mercedes	+1.983 1'20.501		236.031
15	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	+2.423 1'20.941		234.748
16	F. Colapinto Alpine	43		Alpine	Mercedes	+2.752 1'21.270		233.798
17	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Honda	+3.451 1'21.969		231.804
18	S. Perez Cadillac-Ferrari	11		Cadillac	Ferrari	+4.087 1'22.605		230.019
19	V. Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari	77		Cadillac	Ferrari	+4.726 1'23.244		228.254
20	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	3		Red Bull	Red Bull
21	C. Sainz Williams	55		Williams	Mercedes
22	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Honda
View full results

Piastri crashes on outlap - won't start

Another dose of brutal home-race luck: Oscar Piastri has crashed on the outlap and thus will not start the Australian Grand Prix.

A snap at Turn 4 over the kerb put him into the wall - and that's his day over.

Piastri 'post-mortem' after the race

Zak Brown told Sky that there hasn't been anything untoward on Piastri's data, and McLaren will review the incident after the race. 

Heartbreaking for the Australian fans, many of whom have turned up in their droves in McLaren gear and Piastri caps.

What can we expect?

I don't think this is going to be dull. We've already lost one car, and I imagine there's going to be a couple of mechanical issues, a few drivers losing it, and the usual sort of teething problems one can associate with new cars.

The national anthem begins, and the camera pans to the trophy: who's going to win that big shiny plate at the end of the day?

Our own Stuart Codling has suggested that, following a bit of info from folk in other teams, Piastri's off might link to a spike in battery power.

This is something that a few folks have had to contend with on-throttle. The torque in these cars is so huge that the extra turning force can unsettle the driver - something that they also had to get used to back in 2014.

Hulkenberg gets pitlane start

Hulkenberg is being told to start from the pitlane, so that's another empty grid slot - we're told it's because he was pushed through the access gate onto the grid, instead of making it there under his own steam.

That leaves the P11 box open, then, in addition to Piastri's vacant P5 slot (which Hamilton's going to find as free real estate to accelerate that Ferrari into). 

Are we ready? Then let's begin...

Formation lap and tyre watch

The formation lap is away - and here's the tyre allocations: 

Mediums: Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton, Lawson, Lindblad, Bortoleto, Bearman, Ocon, Gasly, Albon, Perez, Stroll.

Hards: Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Bottas, Verstappen

Softs: Alonso, Sainz

Electrical communication issues for Hulkenberg, that's why he's got the pitlane start. 

Russell brings the field around to the grid - don't forget we'll get a five-second wait once everyone's lined up before the lights go out. 

Race starts in Australia!

Here we go! Russell has a slightly slow getaway - and Leclerc fires his way into the lead! Hadjar is jockeying for second, followed by a very fast-starting Lindblad! Then it's Norris, then Antonelli, then Ocon - Antonelli didn't have much in the way of battery at the start.

Lindblad's up to third now!

Lap 2/58

Hamilton passed Lindblad at the end of that opening lap, and moves up to third - and Hadjar follows through. Norris is next to look at putting Lindblad down a place.

Alonso's fired his way up to 10th, amazingly!

Russell is now stalking Leclerc, gets the deployment out of Turn 9, and now clears Leclerc to reclaim the lead! 

Lap 3/58

Leclerc is still right behind Russell at the start of this one, with Hamilton trying to close in.

And Leclerc comes back at Russell into Turn 9 and reclaims the lead now! What a battle this is - Russell gets one move done, Leclerc gets another one done, and Hamilton is now in the mix here. 

He needs Antonelli with him, quicksmart.

Lap 4/58

Alonso's lost places again to Bortoleto and Bearman, so that rapid start has tailed off a bit. Verstappen is up to 14th, and forces his way past Albon to go 13th into Turn 9.

Hulkenberg hasn't made it onto the track.

Lap 5/58

Antonelli clears Lindblad and moves back up to fifth - Hadjar's looking a bit sluggish at this stage, so he'll be next up. 

Russell remains in Leclerc's wheeltracks, and continues to try to find an opening.

Verstappen's up to 12th now, as he and Albon now clear Alonso.

Lap 6/58

Replay of Leclerc's start, everything just opened up for him nicely, and he could exploit that Ferrari turbo.

But Russell's right behind, and takes a look into Turn 11 - but Leclerc holds the position! "That was very dangerous by Leclerc," Russell says, feeling that the Ferrari slowed down a bit too much.

Antonelli has cleared Hadjar now, so he's got a bit of catching up to do. 

Lap 7/58

Verstappen is now ahead of Bortoleto and sits 11th - Bearman is another second up the road.

Norris has now caught Lindblad and will attempt to move back up to sixth.

Lap 8/58

Russell gets back ahead into Turn 3! He sits down the inside, and while Leclerc tries to hold, Russell reclaims the lead...

...for a few corners, at least! Leclerc then gets the drive out of Turn 8, and cruises back past! This is wheel to wheel stuff! 

Lap 9/58

Russell makes the play for the lead once again into Turn 1, but locks up! He keeps it on the track, but there'll be a flat-spot and it almost brings Hamilton into play! 

Antonelli's now catching this group at a vast rate of knots.

Lap 10/58

Leclerc was noted for that braking manoeuvre by the stewards, but no investigation is deemed necessary.

We've got Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, and Antonelli all within four seconds of each other - what a battle this is.

Norris is still stuck behind Lindblad, and then has a 2.8s gap to Ocon behind him. 

Lap 12/58

Russell and Antonelli both came in at the end of that lap, taking the hard tyre. The two Ferraris now lead, and the Mercs have a Racing Bulls between them. 

Verstappen didn't pit and he's up to sixth - Bearman and Bortoleto are also among the non-stoppers.

"At least one of us should have come in," Hamilton rued. 

Lap 13/58

Neither Ferrari stopped there either, even though the team were in wait with a set of tyres.

Interesting call, will it pay off?

Lap 15/58

Russell's looking quick now and he's cutting down what was a 10-second gap to Hamilton. 

"How are they only 10 seconds?" Hamilton queries, as he's told he's on a one-stopper. 

Antonelli clears Lindblad and gets back up to fourth.

Lap 16/58

Ferrari is going "Plan A" - which is a one-stopper. Russell is now 8.7s behind Hamilton, as Leclerc is 1.5 up the road from Hamilton.

Phwoar, Perez and Lawson had a great battle there - and Perez gives the Racing Bulls driver very short shrift there. 

Lap 17/58

Verstappen's reeling in Lindblad and is aiming to take fifth - neither driver has stopped. Bearman is keeping a vigil on both of them.

Bortoleto, Norris, and Ocon remain in the top 10. 

Lap 19/58

The Ferraris haven't stopped yet, it might have come a bit too late. And the pitlane entry is closed, so they won't be doing so this time...

Lap 21/58

"My tyres are okay, do not box me at the same time," Hamilton says. 

Ocon and Gasly make contact at Turn 3! Gasly dives down the inside, puts a wheel on Ocon's sidepod, and makes the bump-and-run work to get into 10th. Alpine looks much better in race trim than it did in qualifying.

Lap 22/58

Leclerc is 1.6s clear of Hamilton, who is 5.1s clear of Hamilton. Antonelli is a further 6.4s behind. 

Norris is a further 15s adrift. 

Lap 23/58

Russell continues to close in on the Ferraris now. If everyone has to stop one more time, he'll hope to make the move within the next few laps so he can shake out from the pit phase ahead.

Bearman's putting Lindblad under some scrutiny as he looks to claim seventh.

The Turn 3 incident with Ocon and Gasly will be looked at, as will Perez's battle with Lawson.

Lap 25/58

Leclerc gets the call to pit. Ferrari will pop the hard tyre on, and aim to go to the end. Russell and Antonelli go past.

Alonso has gone back on-track to effectively use this race as an extended test. 

Lap 26/58

No further action on the Perez/Lawson skirmish - I thought it was just hard, fair racing, and the stewards agree. 

Russell is now just 1.4s behind Hamilton, so he'll be ahead come what may. 

Norris is matching Verstappen's pace, so the gap between fifth and sixth remains a static 4.5s. 

Lap 28/58

Russell gets within a second of Hamilton now and starts to get a bit of overtake mode going. Antonelli is 8s behind this pair.

Hamilton tries to close off Russell down the inside at Turn 9, but the Mercedes driver gets back ahead into the lead. Thus, Hamilton duly pits and comes out behind Leclerc.

Perez gets noted for ignoring blue flags.

Lap 29/58

"I think the one-stop is viable," Russell says - so he might not be two-stopping after all.

Bearman's closing in on Lindblad again, with Bortoleto a further 5s behind. 

Norris has lost a second to Verstappen over the past three laps - but the Red Bull driver isn't finding his medium tyres easy to work with.

Lap 30/58

Ocon's going to be investigated after the race for driving unnecessarily slowly.

Meanwhile, Antonelli's started to close in on Russell a bit, with the gap now at 6.4s. After the VSCs and pit strategies, the field has spaced out a little bit.