2026 Australian Grand Prix Day 2

Saturday was at least as eventful as Friday, with red flags and crashes prominent in both Free Practice 3 and Qualifying. Mercedes ultimately came out as the team to beat, but not without plenty of drama.

Kimi Antonelli crashed pretty badly in FP3, and his car was not ready in time for Qualifying. However, a Verstappen crash brought out the red flag and bought Mercedes enough time to get Antonelli's car cobbled together enough to drive it and get through Qualifying. Verstappen's crash meant he failed to qualify so he will start at the back, and his grief bought his rival opportunity to participate and start Sunday's race at the opposite end of the grid. Antonelli's car was not completely rebuilt, but had all the stuff he absolutely needed to hit the track.

This was far from the limit of Mercedes' and Antonelli's troubles, though. They were investigated for a pit lane incident, where it was suspected that the car was serviced in the fast lane, but upon video review no further action was taken. Unfortunately, there was another incident involving Antonelli's car leaving the pit in an unsafe condition. His car left the pits with two duct cooling fans still in place, both of which fell off at different times, one of which was run over by a McLaren, though miraculously no noteworthy damage was done. Antonelli was not punished, but Mercedes was fined €7,500.

The Max Verstappen crash was unusual because it did not appear to result from driver error. He was going roughly straight when his car suddenly and violently snapped around. During the live broadcast there was a touch of commentary about the cause perhaps being the rear axle locking up under braking, and it did happen going into the braking zone for Turn 1, but since then we have been given an official verdict.

It was, indeed, a complete and sudden lockup of the rears the instant Verstappen applied the brakes. He demonstrated impressive, superhuman reflexes in response, counter steering before viewers could even see that anything happened, but it wasn't enough to salvage such a dramatic spin. Verstappen had not even downshifted yet when it completely locked up without warning. It has been likened to applying a hand brake, going from zero brake pressure to full braking in an instant. This situation seems to stem from the new 2026 regulations, that shift power unit performance to 50/50 between the combustion engine and electricity. To satisfy such high electricity demands, much power is harvested through the rear brakes. This has so far made the cars incredibly unpredictable under heavy braking.

Not only has Verstappen been cleared of any fault in the spin and subsequent crash, but he has been medically examined and cleared of any bodily injury.

The starting grid for the Australian Grand Prix looks like this:

1) George Russell, Mercedes

2) Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

3) Isack Hadjar, Red Bull

4) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

5) Oscar Piastri, McLaren

6) Lando Norris, McLaren

7) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

8) Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

9) Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls

10) Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi

11) Nico Hulkenburg, Audi

12) Oliver Bearman, Haas

13) Esteban Ocon, Haas

14) Pierre Gasly, Alpine

15) Alex Albon, Williams

16) Franco Colapinto, Alpine

17) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin

18) Sergio Perez, Cadillac

18) Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac

20) Max Verstappen, Red Bull

21) Carlos Sainz, Williams

22) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin