Russell storms to pole as Mercedes lock-out front row in Melbourne

George Russell took an imposing pole position as Mercedes dominated the first qualifying session of a new era of Formula 1 at the Australian Grand Prix. The Briton led team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 0.363 seconds and was 0.785secs clear of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar in third place. Max Verstappen crashed on his first lap to leave a degree of doubt as to the extent of Mercedes’ superiority, but it was an impressive start to a new period of regulations by the former champions. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth fastest, with the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris separating him from his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

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Cadillac to join Formula 1 grid in 2026

US car giant General Motors has had its Formula 1 entry for the 2026 season formally approved. It will name the new team after its luxury Cadillac brand. The decision to approve GM’s bid comes just over two months after the company reached an agreement in principle with F1 to enter the sport next year. F1 had previously rejected a bid from the US team Andretti, which was linked to Cadillac.

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