George Russell storms to Australian GP pole after Max Verstappen crashes

George Russell threw down the gauntlet in final practice before qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, going six tenths quicker than anyone else. But a spectacular crash involving his team-mate Kimi Antonelli made it a bittersweet session for Mercedes.

Antonelli looks set to miss qualifying entirely after he lost control at turn two with just over 10 minutes of FP3 remaining, spinning backwards into the barriers and sending debris and wheels flying. Fortunately, the Italian teenager emerged from the shunt unhurt but it was not the start to the weekend he would have wanted after a topsy-turvy rookie season.

When the session resumed, with four minutes remaining, Russell immediately went eight tenths quicker than the next quickest car, drawing gasps from the fans at Albert Park. “That’s a mighty lap from George Russell,” agreed Martin Brundle on Sky Sports F1. “They [Mercedes] have been sandbagging!”

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton also went for a flying lap at the end, and while he managed to go second quickest, he was a full six tenths slower than Russell despite being on a brand new soft tyres. Russell’s effort came on the same tyres he had been using when Antonelli crashed.

Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerc was third quickest, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen. World champion Lando Norris was eighth, a full 1.390sec slower than Russell.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll did not make it out of the pits due to yet another Honda power unit related issue.

Earlier, in a bizarre chain of events, the FIA announced that it was axing the “straight line mode” activation zone between Turns 8 and 9 at Albert Park following concerns raised in the drivers’ briefing on Friday evening, only to reinstate it hours later following significant push-back from teams.