Australian GP winner: Who won your driver of the day vote? How are votes calculated?

George Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, managing to stay ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc

Updated on: Mar 8, 2026, 11:30:15 IST

By Yash Nitish Bajaj

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George Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, managing to stay ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. But who impressed fans the most? Well, that we'll find out only once the driver of the day votes are revealed. One strong candidate was Max Verstappen, who recovered from P20 to finish sixth.

Max Verstappen drives out of the pits during the Formula One Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit (AFP)

Having dominated qualifying, pole-sitter Russell's first win at Albert Park underlined Mercedes' promising pre-season form. The Briton finished nearly three seconds ahead of Antonelli, with Leclerc more than 15 seconds behind on a cloudy afternoon at the lakeside circuit on Sunday.

It was a tough day for McLaren, with home hero Oscar Piastri's race over before it begun with a crash during a reconnaissance lap some 40 minutes before the start.

His teammate and defending champion Lando Norris finished fifth, one place behind seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari.

Only 20 of the 22 cars started, with Audi's Nico Hulkenberg scratched just before the race due to a reliability problem.

Another three cars failed to finish, Red Bull's Isack Hadjar among them.

How to vote for the F1 driver of the day?

The Driver of the Day award in Formula 1 is a fan-voted honor introduced in 2016, recognizing the driver who delivered the most impressive performance during a Grand Prix weekend (not necessarily the winner). It is voted for exclusively by fans worldwide and announced at the end of each race.

Go to the official Formula 1 voting page: https://www.formula1.com/en/page/vote (or directly https://www.formula1.com/en/vote.html).

The voting window opens during the Grand Prix (usually after qualifying or during the race) and remains open until shortly after the race ends.

Select your choice from the drivers on the grid (you get one vote per race).

Submit—it's first-past-the-post (most votes wins).

You can vote early (before the race starts) on the same page. The winner is revealed on the broadcast during the cooldown lap or post-race, and the driver is informed live.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yash Nitish Bajaj
Yash Bajaj is a Chief Content Producer with a strong foundation in US coverage, digital strategy, and audience-focused storytelling. As part of the US Desk at Hindustan Times, he covers a wide range of topics - from American politics to sports (NFL, NBA, derbies, MLB and more). Before joining Hindustan Times, Yash served as Deputy News Editor at Times Now, where he oversaw international coverage and led a team of six. In this role, he significantly expanded global traffic through strategic planning, SEO-driven content execution, and meticulous trend tracking across platforms. He is experienced in managing high-pressure breaking-news shifts, coordinating live coverage, and building newsroom systems that improve speed, accuracy, and reach. Prior to Times Now, Yash held a position at Opoyi, where he headed the Sports and US news team. He developed broad editorial strategies, guided reporters across multiple beats, and played a key role in recruiting and training new talent. His responsibilities also extended to social media management and experimenting with innovative content formats. A passionate NFL fan, Yash is a die-hard supporter of the Cincinnati Bengals and has followed Joe Burrow closely since his college days at LSU. Whether breaking down top players' latest performance, analyzing team performances, or tracking roster moves, he brings the same dedication and sharp storytelling to his sports coverage as he does to American politics and breaking news. When he’s not writing, Yash can often be found watching games or debating the latest NFL storylines with fellow fans. Yash holds a Bachelor of Mass Media (Journalism) from HR College, Mumbai University. His interests extend well beyond the newsroom: he is an enthusiastic explorer of AI tools, a movie buff with an ever-growing watchlist, and someone who enjoys unraveling conspiracy theories for fun.Read More

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