Shaheen Passes Back with a Lap to Go and Retakes the Lead | ISL News

Shaheen Passes Back with a Lap to Go and Retakes the Lead

Season 1 · Round 5 · Australian Grand Prix · Albert Park Circuit · 19 September 2026 · Dry · 50%

Albert Park was a fight between two cars until late. Youssef Shaheen started from pole. Shaul Ezra got past him and led for a long stretch. On the penultimate lap Shaheen passed him back. Ezra had one attempt to answer, and he could not complete it. Shaheen won by 1.212 seconds, with fastest lap.

Shaheen is back in front of the championship on 92 points. Eden Azran retired and stays on 75. The gap is 17.

The lead, and the flag

They have done this before. At Spa, Shaheen finished ahead of Ezra by 1.691 seconds. Albert Park ended the same way. Both made one stop. The winning move was the pass on track.

Ezra still has a podium, his third in three starts, and he is fourth in the championship on 64. For Shaheen it is a third win in four starts.

Turjeman back on the podium

Idan Turjeman started fifth and finished third. He was not in the fight for the win. The podium is back, after seventh at Monza. He is third on 70, five points behind Azran.

Ben Harosh takes Driver of the Day

Harel Ben Harosh climbed from ninth to fifth, and that was Driver of the Day. He was eighth at Monza. He is back in the top five, still without a podium, and sixth in the championship on 52.

Nitzan Alon returned after Zandvoort and Monza and turned seventh on the grid into fourth. Fourteen points, and he is one behind Dan Radia.

Azran can set this one aside

Eden Azran started fourth, and a collision ended his race. It is his first retirement of the season. He had been at the front all year, with the win at Zandvoort and the championship lead after Monza. The season counts a driver's best 12 results from 13, so one round can be left out later. This can be the one. It does not put the points back. It does mean a single retirement does not have to decide his year, if he is back at the front.

Through the field

Kelly Aiche finished seventh from eighth. After the Zandvoort podium and fourth at Monza, this was a quieter night, and he still scored.
Guy Rapke started third and finished eighth. Dvir Badash, after retiring at Monza, climbed from 12th to ninth.
Gadi Roz went from 13th to tenth and scored.
Tal Cohen finished 11th. With Azran out, that was Aston Martin's score for the night.
Dan Radia held sixth. After a hard night at Monza, this was the finish he has had for most of the year, and with Shaheen's win it made McLaren the top-scoring team of the race, with 34 points.
Zakai Ehud dropped to 12th and could not follow his fifth at Monza.
Assaf Ben Lulu did not finish, from last on the grid.

Where the championship sits

Turjeman stays third. Ezra moves to fourth on 64 and goes past Aiche, who is fifth on 57. Ben Harosh is sixth on 52. Radia and Alon are a point apart, 41 to 40.

McLaren stay first on 133. Williams move ahead of Aston Martin into second, 94 to 86. Red Bull are fourth on 64, level with Racing Bulls.

Next is Singapore, on 10 October.

See you on the grid.