George Russell has now won a race in 5 different continents.
Every previous driver who has done that is a world champion. 👀
10.03.2026 17:51
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George Russell has now won a race in 5 different continents.
Every previous driver who has done that is a world champion. 👀
2007: A rookie driver passes the reigning F1 champion in Australia on the first lap of his career
2026: A rookie driver born in 2007 passes the reigning F1 champion & aforementioned ‘07 rookie in Australia on the first lap of his career
Coincidence or passing the baton?
The only drivers to qualify inside the top 3 on their Red Bull Racing debut:
• Daniel Ricciardo - P2 (Australia 2014)
• Sebastian Vettel - P3 (Australia 2009)
• Isack Hadjar - P3 (Australia 2026)
Destined for big things 👀
🚨 The Stat Pack For The 2026 Chinese GP Is Live 🚨
Think there are some really neat stats in there. No Jinx Poll this week (🙌) but there is a poll to voice your opinion about the new regs.
Check it all out 👇
f1guydan.substack.com/p/2026-china...
One driver has dominated the Chinese GP 🇨🇳
Most wins: Lewis Hamilton (6)
Most poles: Lewis Hamilton (6)
Most podiums: Lewis Hamilton (9)
Most points: Lewis Hamilton (221)
Most laps led: Lewis Hamilton (306)
Most fastest laps: Lewis Hamilton (4)
Mercedes vs. Ferrari in 2026
Lando Norris finished 51.741s off the lead in Australia.
Here’s what’s crazy … That’s the furthest the lead McLaren has finished off the race winner since the 2023 Belgian GP when they were using the MCL60 🤯
The top 5 at the end of Lap 1 of last year's season-opening race ended up being the final championship standings.
If that coincidence repeats, this is how the 2026 championship standings would end after Abu Dhabi.
Only 21 of 22 drivers are ranked on F1's official 2026 standings as Lance Stroll is not included.
Stroll was not classified in qualifying or the race in Australia. He finished 15 laps down from the winner.
Updated map of the Shanghai circuit for the Chinese GP 🇨🇳
• 4 Straight Mode zones
• Overtake Mode detection at T16
That back straight looks daunting
In his F1 debut, Arvid Lindblad became the youngest British driver ever to score points.
Did the new F1 cars actually deliver in their first race? 🤔
Here are my early impressions of the regulations & much more from the Australian GP 👇
www.thescore.com/formula1/new...
Charles Leclerc is still the only driver on the grid to have a grand slam at Albert Park.
For the first time since the 2024 Las Vegas GP, we had a race that didn't finish with Max Verstappen or Lando Norris on the podium.
Max Verstappen's last 5 races have either been wins or crazy comeback drives.
2026 Australia 🇦🇺: P20 to P6 (+14) 🍿
2025 Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪: P1 to P1 🥇
2025 Qatar 🇶🇦: P3 to P1 🥇
2025 Vegas 🇺🇸: P2 to P1 🥇
2025 Brazil 🇧🇷: PL to P3 (+16) 🍿
Guaranteed to put on a show.
The driver who wins the first race has won the championship in each of the last 3 seasons
2023 - Max Verstappen ✅
2024 - Max Verstappen ✅
2025 - Lando Norris ✅
2026 - George Russell ❓
First race of the 2022 ground-effect regs:
• Ferrari 1-2 with a Mercedes driver in 3rd
First race of the 2026 electrification regs:
• Mercedes 1-2 with a Ferrari driver in 3rd
Scriptwriters copied their old work & thought we wouldn't notice if they changed a few details.
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli are responsible for Mercedes' first 1-2 finish that didn't involve Lewis Hamilton since the 1955 Italian GP 🤯
Lewis Hamilton has now led a race in 20 consecutive seasons, extending his own F1 record.
1. Lewis Hamilton - 20 (2007-2026)
2. Michael Schumacher - 15 (1992-2006)
3. Sebastian Vettel - 13 (2007-2019)
🐐
First race of the new F1 regulations:
• Mercedes 1-2
• Gap of 51.7 seconds from P1 to P5
• Everyone lapped from P7 and below
Lando Norris finished the race & ended the Australian GP race winner jinx 🔮
2022: Charles Leclerc wins
2023: Charles Leclerc DNFs, Max Verstappen wins
2024: Max Verstappen DNFs, Carlos Sainz wins
2025: Carlos Sainz DNFs, Lando Norris wins
2026: Lando Norris finishes 5th
Gabriel Bortoleto scored Audi's first ever F1 points in the team's debut race 👏
Arvid Lindblad is now the third youngest points scorer in Formula 1 history 👏
1. Max Verstappen - 17y 5m 29d
2. Kimi Antonelli - 18y 6m 19d
3. Arvid Lindblad - 18y 7m 1d
WHAT A DEBUT.
🚨 For the first time in his F1 career, George Russell is leading the drivers' championship.
This is also the first time a Mercedes driver leads the standings since Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Russian GP.
First race of the turbo-hybrid era in 2014:
• Australian driver DSQ at home race (Daniel Ricciardo)
First race of the energy era in 2026:
• Australian driver DNS at home race (Oscar Piastri)
Scriptwriters have it out for Australia.
Oscar Piastri at his home race 🇦🇺
2023 - 8th
2024 - 4th
2025 - 9th
2026 - DNS (Crashed on laps to the grid)
Charles Leclerc is on track today to become the only F1 driver in history to do more than 150 races with a single team without delivering them a drivers' championship.
The Formula 1 class of 2026
Drivers who have used the #1 since 2000:
• Lando Norris ('26)
• Max Verstappen ('22-'25)
• Sebastian Vettel ('11-'14)
• Jenson Button ('10)
• Lewis Hamilton ('09)
• Kimi Raikkonen ('08)
• Fernando Alonso ('06-'07)
• Michael Schumacher ('01-'05)
• Mika Hakkinen ('00)
What is your bold prediction for the first race of the 2026 F1 season?
I'll start: We will see 4 red flags in the race, beating the previous F1 record of 3 from the 2023 Australian GP.