Ferrari’s incredible starts meant they led almost half the Australian Grand Prix.

Jump to: Lap chart – Gaps chart – Lap times – Tyre strategies

But did the team’s decision not to pit during the first Virtual Safety Car period cost them a chance to win?

George Russell, who was pursuing leader Charles Leclerc closely at this point, took the opportunity to pit while losing less time. Leclerc said Ferrari gambled on the high chance another Virtual Safety Car period would occur later in the race. Sure enough, one did, but unluckily for Ferrari the pit lane entrance was closed when their cars arrived at the last corner so they couldn’t take advantage of it.

Others were more fortunate. Haas and Racing Bulls made exactly the same calls as Ferrari for Oliver Bearman and Arvid Lindblad respectively, who had also started on the medium tyre compound. However when they arrived at the pits during the second VSC period the entrance was open, so they were able to pit.

Ferrari appeared to be concerned about the tyre life implications of a long second stint on hard tyres. Mercedes pulled it off, but Lando Norris was unable to do the same in his McLaren and had to resort to a second pit stop.

The upshot was the reigning champion finished over 50 seconds behind Russell. That’s a huge loss, nearly a second per lap on average, though it is exacerbated by that second pit stop. How much closer he would have been making just one stop is a matter of conjecture, though Norris’s estimate that McLaren were around half a second per lap off the race pace of the leaders seems reasonable.

2026 Australian Grand Prix lap chart

The positions of each driver on every lap. Click name to highlight, right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:

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2026 Australian Grand Prix race chart

The gaps between each driver on every lap compared to the leader’s average lap time. Very large gaps omitted. Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:

2026 Australian Grand Prix lap times

All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded). Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and toggle drivers using the control below:

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2026 Australian Grand Prix fastest laps

Each driver’s fastest lap:

Rank # Driver Car Lap time Gap Avg. speed (kph) Lap no.
1 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford 1’22.091 231.46 43
2 1 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1’22.358 0.267 230.71 53
3 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1’22.417 0.326 230.54 57
4 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1’22.423 0.332 230.53 55
5 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1’22.579 0.488 230.09 38
6 63 George Russell Mercedes 1’22.670 0.579 229.84 Multiple laps
7 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes 1’22.926 0.835 229.13 48
8 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1’23.257 1.166 228.22 45
9 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams-Mercedes 1’23.590 1.499 227.31 52
10 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford 1’23.783 1.692 226.79 47
11 87 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari 1’24.020 1.929 226.15 22
12 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford 1’24.182 2.091 225.71 21
13 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 1’24.375 2.284 225.19 36
14 31 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari 1’24.424 2.333 225.06 25
15 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes 1’24.486 2.395 224.9 56
16 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford 1’25.239 3.148 222.91 9
17 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Honda 1’25.410 3.319 222.47 36
18 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Honda 1’25.713 3.622 221.68 15
19 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac-Ferrari 1’26.070 3.979 220.76 47
20 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari 1’27.364 5.273 217.49 8

2026 Australian Grand Prix tyre strategies

The tyre strategies for each driver:

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2026 Australian Grand Prix pit stop times

How long each driver’s pit stops took:

Rank # Driver Team Complete stop time (s) Gap to best (s) Stop no. Lap no.
1 1 Lando Norris McLaren 17.649 2 34
2 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 17.664 0.015 1 25
3 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 17.741 0.092 1 28
4 63 George Russell Mercedes 17.794 0.145 1 12
5 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull 18.078 0.429 2 41
6 23 Alexander Albon Williams 18.118 0.469 1 12
7 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 18.19 0.541 2 33
8 1 Lando Norris McLaren 18.266 0.617 1 11
9 23 Alexander Albon Williams 18.404 0.755 2 33
10 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 18.506 0.857 1 18
11 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 18.561 0.912 1 46
12 31 Esteban Ocon Haas 18.57 0.921 1 11
13 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 18.672 1.023 1 11
14 87 Oliver Bearman Haas 18.774 1.125 1 18
15 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 18.916 1.267 1 18
16 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 18.951 1.302 2 43
17 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull 19.07 1.421 1 18
18 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 19.112 1.463 1 11
19 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams 19.859 2.21 1 11
20 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 20.985 3.336 1 12
21 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 21.371 3.722 1 18
22 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 22.469 4.82 4 39
23 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 22.619 4.97 2 33
24 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 25.895 8.246 1 11
25 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams 25.939 8.29 2 33
26 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 33.182 15.533 2 26
27 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams 34.615 16.966 3 45
28 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 36.686 19.037 1 11

2026 Australian Grand Prix

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Published by

Keith Collantine

Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 – when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring journalist, Keith began running the site full-time in 2010, achieving a long-held ambition to dedicate his full attention to his passion for motor racing. View all posts by Keith Collantine