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The 2026 Australian Grand Prix will be the first race of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship season. The race will take place on Sunday, March 8, at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne.
New power unit regulations are introduced for this championship. The power units continue to produce over 1000 horsepower, although the power comes from different sources. The engine regulations retain the 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 internal combustion configuration used since 2014. However, the MGU-H, also used since 2014, is removed, while the power of the MGU-K increases from 160 to 470 hp (from 117.7 to 345.6 kW). The power of the internal combustion part of the power unit decreases from 850 to 540 hp (from 625 to 397 kW). The power units use a fully sustainable fuel. During the F1 Commission meeting at the beginning of 2025, it is agreed to evaluate recovery options for the development of power units for manufacturers that may have fallen behind their competitors during the initial development phase. The meeting also suggests that a competent advisory committee should evaluate whether the energy deployment of the new power units should be reduced in race conditions compared to the expected 470 horsepower, after some teams express concerns about the possibility that their cars could run out of available energy during a race. The 2026 cars feature new active aerodynamics on both the front and rear wings. The cars have the drag reduction system (DRS) removed and replaced by a new overtaking mode. The wheelbase is reduced from 360 to 340 cm, the width from 200 to 190 cm, and the minimum mass by 30 kg. The tyre width is also reduced by 2.5 cm on the front pair and by 3 cm on the rear pair. The floor has a reduced ground effect to alleviate the problems that the cars have suffered regarding the aerodynamic phenomenon of vertical oscillation at high speed. Initially, the reduction in aerodynamic downforce of the 2026 cars compared with the 2022–2025 generation is expected to be lower than originally proposed for performance and safety reasons. The downforce reduction is about 15%, a figure significantly lower than the regulations originally drafted which, according to the Federation, would have given the 2026 cars a reduction of over 40% compared to their predecessors. The 2026 cars are around two seconds slower per lap than the 2022–2025 generation, rather than the four seconds originally predicted.
Lando Norris expresses confidence in himself and McLaren to defend the Driver and Teams’ Championships they secure last season, adding that he is aware of how his newfound status as reigning champion can affect his approach. The Briton has fond memories of the opening event in Australia, as Albert Park is where he begins his 2025 title challenge, pipping Max Verstappen to Grand Prix victory and paving the way for a season-long battle. McLaren are undoubtedly the team to beat as they seal the teams’ title in Round 18, but Norris faces tough competition from both his Red Bull rival and own team mate Oscar Piastri, eventually winning by just two points over Verstappen. Asked whether he has faith in himself and the Woking outfit to repeat the feat, Norris replies:
"Certainly. I’ve got good confidence in myself which is a nice way to start the season, and confidence in the team. I think we probably don’t have the same level of confidence in our outright speed compared to what we had at the beginning of last year, but we’re confident in our ability over the course of a season to get back to where we want to be. It’s not like we’re coming here and we’re confident we’re going to win. We know in past years, especially two or three years ago, the amount we’ve been able to turn things around in a season where it’s all about development, bringing upgrades, learning more about the car, being efficient - that was one of our biggest strengths over the last few years. We’ll just take it easy no matter where we finish here or China, or in the first few races of the season. We’re confident that through the year, we’ll be able to get back to where we really want to be, and that’s something we’ll look forward to".
With the competitive order still somewhat of an unknown ahead of on-track action in Australia, McLaren may not be able to dominate the Standings as much as they did last season, when they outscored their closest rival Mercedes by 364 points. Nevertheless, in relation to his own approach to the season opener, Norris admitted that he feels the same despite coming off the back of the high that was being crowned champion:
"I’m happy, I’m confident. I come into this season understanding and knowing I’m in a different position because of last year. I feel better about things and more confident in myself, but other than that, really nothing changes. It doesn’t give me any other advantage really. The rest of it is still down to hard work, good teamwork, developing a good car, and me performing every weekend. That’s got nothing to do with me having the number 1 on my car or not. I’ve still got to go out there and give it my all every single session, every lap, so that’s what I’m working to do".
Max Verstappen believes that Red Bull have quite a bit of work to do in order to consistently compete with their rivals at the front of the field, but praises the team for the foundation they build over pre-season testing. The Dutchman narrowly misses out on claiming his fifth title to McLaren’s Lando Norris last season, ending up just two points short after he launches a mighty comeback over the course of the year. Asked ahead of the opening event at the Albert Park Circuit about his hopes of Red Bull’s competitive level, Verstappen says:
"We had quite a decent pre-season. It’s been a big learning curve but we’ve been running well, been doing a lot of laps, so there’s not actually a lot we could’ve wished for that could’ve gone better. In terms of performance, I don’t know. I think we still have quite a bit of work to do to be up at the front but this is also something that I had already planned for it to be like that. I just try to do my best and, like I said before, we are positive and happy with what we have done so far, but we also know that if we really want to fight up front, we need to be faster. That’s what we will work on".
In regards to his approach for the first round, he add:
"I’m here to do my job and see how it is. I’m very relaxed. I just want to have a decent weekend and hopefully score a decent amount of points. That’s the target, and the rest, we’ll see how that evolves over time".
While every team must learn the intricacies of their new power units, Red Bull face the extra challenge of building their own for the first time under their Powertrains division, established after Honda announces their intentions to end their partnership:
"It’s been a really nice project to see how it came about and the development over the last four years".
Verstappen explain on Red Bull's powertrains project, alongside Ford:
"It was honestly a really proud moment when I jumped in the car. Things can always go better but things can also go a lot worse, and I think our starting point is very good and we can be very happy and satisfied with that. Of course, the racers inside of us and the team that is here to fight for wins always want more. We need to be better and that is always the target. That’s not me being critical, it’s just how we are as a team that we always want to be better. That’s what we are focusing on now".
Aside from the new regulations, another major change at the Milton Keynes outfit is the arrival of Isack Hadjar, who is promoted from sister team Racing Bulls to partner Verstappen. The 21-year-old impresses in his rookie season with a podium at the Dutch Grand Prix and regular points finishes, but his experience at the Australian track in his first F1 race is one to forget - in challenging weather conditions, he crashes on the formation lap and is forced to retire the car. Reflecting on what will hopefully be a better round this time, he says:
“I’m happy to be fighting for better results this year. It’s definitely exciting and it’s a brand new journey, so I’m honestly just looking forward to our improvement over the year. I can expect points normally, but that’s not really what we want. To be fair, if we finish the race, considering reliability might be tricky for every team, it’s still a very good start. I think we have a good race car so I’m obviously aiming for a podium but let’s see. I’m not sure where we stand".
George Russell cuts a very relaxed figure as he sits down on our interviewee chair on the terrace of the Mercedes AMG hospitality unit at Albert Park's Turn 10, ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. The Mercedes racer, competing in his eighth season in Formula 1 and fifth with the Silver Arrows, is labelled by many as favourite for the title. While the 28-year-old doesn't get involved in such chat, there's something about him that gives off a sense of confidence that he's in the fight this year. Why is that the case? Well, for one, after never getting on top of the previous regulation set, which focuses on ground-effect cars, Mercedes feel like they are back on track:
"I'm always really excited regardless because it's a new opportunity. I always believe - even when I knew after testing the car isn't probably where we wanted to be, I would always believe. I think the thing that's best after testing this year is the car’s working as we anticipate. There's no major scares. There's lots of challenges, but they're challenges that we were expecting, and the improvements we're bringing to the car are working as we hoped. That isn't something we can say for the last four years, so from that regard, we've already started off on a better foot".
There is an obvious sense of relief within the team that the pain of the last four years is in the rear-view mirror and, while they can't be certain they are the quickest this year, they are right in the thick of it. Russell gets that sense on the first day in the car. In testing in each of his previous four seasons with the team, he says he knows almost immediately that it is going to be a long year. This year, the feeling is very different:
"For me, every season, the most nerve wracking point is that day one of testing, because day one of testing sort of sets you up for the year. Even after a couple of laps, you know if the car is a stinker or if it's going to be okay. The previous years, after a couple of laps, you're like 'oh geez, this is not what I hoped'. However, this one felt good. Does that mean we're going to be the quickest when the stopwatch is out? No, not necessarily, but we feel that we're in the best place possible to build upon".
Russell is also loving driving the new-for-2026 cars, which have active aerodynamics and power units that feature a 50-50 power split between electric and petrol:
"I think for everyone though, the smaller cars are lighter and they're so much more enjoyable to drive. I never got to race the smaller cars or light cars, for that matter. I can't actually describe how much better this feels, and I hope we continue to go in a lighter direction over the years to come because you see the cars wiggling around more. They look more exciting from the outside. We've also got so much power under our right foot now - it almost feels like the olden days when you're sort of seeing cars drifting and moving around because you've kind of got more power than downforce, and that's cool".
Mercedes are widely believed to be the ones to beat, but they do have a few reliability niggles across two three-day tests in Bahrain, so it isn't all smooth sailing:
"I think from everything we know, I think we're in the best place possible. We’re going into a new race and there's going to be unforeseen issues and problems occurring. From the issues that have happened and the problems we've faced, we feel we've solved those, but every day you drive or every lap you drive, naturally there's something new that pops up so we're trying to solve these problems as quickly as possible. Fingers crossed they don't happen during a Qualifying or race session".
If Mercedes are indeed title challengers, Russell has done his time waiting for such machinery. The Briton arrives at Mercedes just as they enter a dip in form, after winning eight Teams' Championships in a row, so it's perhaps understandable he's so excited about this year. As he says, this is definitely the best chance I've had since I've entered Formula 1 to fight for a World Championship. But he adds:
"However, I'm still very realistic in the sense that even if we go out and win this weekend or even if we have a bad weekend, this race in Melbourne doesn't define the whole season. I like to think back to the 2022 season when Ferrari came out of the blocks really quick and they by far looked the Championship favourites after three or four races, and then they were nowhere to be seen at the end of the year. Also you look at McLaren in 2023, they were at the back and suddenly they were at the front. We've got to stay open minded and keep pushing on".
If Mercedes develop in-season in the way they did between 2014 and 2021, there is absolutely no doubt they will push on, and that puts Russell in a superb position to fight for his first World Championship crown.
Lewis Hamilton states that his goal is to win in 2026 as he enters his second campaign as a Ferrari driver, with the seven-time World Champion explaining that he focuses on cultivating a positive mental attitude during the off-season. Hamilton’s maiden year with the Scuderia is a challenging one, and marks the first season of the Briton’s 20-year F1 career in which he fails to stand on the podium. However, Ferrari looks to have enjoyed solid mileage during 2026 pre-season testing in Bahrain and finds themselves being touted as one of the favourites by their rivals. Asked ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix about how confident he and the team are feeling entering into the new season, Hamilton answers:
"I would say it’s not a confidence thing. We got great mileage done in winter testing - an amazing amount of work has been done from the team, back at the factory, and also delivering on those tests. We’ve learned a lot from last year - we’re leaving behind the bad and moving forwards with the good. We’re sharp, prepared, and we know what we need to do. We also know there are massive challenges for all of us with the new regulations".
On a personal level, Hamilton concedes that being more familiar with Ferrari now helps him massively in his sophomore campaign with the squad:
"It’s different to the first year, and it’s a much nicer feeling having spent a year with the team, understanding the culture, finding ways of working together. I think we’re in a good place now as a team, and I feel very gelled with team, so I’m much happier".
Pushed on what his goals are for the season ahead, Hamilton - who has gone without a Grand Prix victory since 2024 - responds:
"The goal is to win. That’s what of course everyone’s working towards, every team is, but that’s our goal - to maximise on every opportunity, to be hopefully fighting in the top group, hopefully in the first races. Mercedes look particularly quick, and I’m not really sure whether or not we’ve seen the full unleashed Red Bull yet, so it’s all really exciting but I do know that, whatever the case, I feel I’ve got a great group of people behind me who are head down, focused on bringing performance, maximising every weekend".
During the off-season, Hamilton shares a number of positive messages on social media, including one post in which he writes:
"For a moment, I forgot who I was, but thanks to you and your support you’re not going to see that mindset again. I know what needs to be done".
Reflecting on the factors that contribute to this outlook, the 41-year-old tells press during Thursday’s media day at the Albert Park Circuit:
"A combination of things. The break was really positive - it was my surroundings, it was the people I was with. It’s not my first rodeo, so it’s understanding how to flip things and it’s not that easy to do each time. I always talk about cultivating a positive mental attitude, and that’s what I focused on. A lot of it came from training, so I was training hard from Christmas Day. I believe in myself that I’ve put more work in than anyone around me, and rediscovering myself was really a big part of it as well. As I said in one of my posts, I lost sight for a second of who I was and that person’s gone - you won’t see that person again".
Valtteri Bottas concedes that he definitely appreciates everything about F1 even more after spending a year on the sidelines, with the Finn hoping that this better perspective helps during a season in which he aims for progress with the new Cadillac team. After losing his spot on the grid with Kick Sauber at the end of 2024, Bottas returns to Mercedes - who he previously races for between 2017 and 2021 - as a reserve driver, maintaining a presence in the paddock as he aims to make a full-time comeback to the sport. It is confirmed last summer that the 36-year-old’s goal is realised when he is announced as part of Cadillac’s line-up for the American outfit’s maiden campaign in 2026, partnering fellow returning driver Sergio Perez. Asked during Thursday’s media day ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix if he feels rusty when getting back behind the wheel, Bottas responds:
"I haven’t actually - I felt alright! I got plenty of testing, much more testing than normally you get before the season, and I think those few test days I had last year helped keep a bit of a feeling. But I have to say, actually, a few things are different. I never expected to be actually kind of happy to be in a press conference! After one year off, it’s like, it’s not bad. So yeah, I have a different perspective now".
Quizzed further on this altered attitude and whether he now appreciates Formula 1 more after being away from the grid, Bottas says:
"Absolutely. Having one year of not racing, you definitely appreciate everything about this sport more, and being on the grid is a different feeling. So yeah, like I said, even the press conference doesn’t feel that bad today, but ask me in Abu Dhabi! I definitely have a better perspective of the sport and will appreciate it much more than I did two years ago, so hopefully that will help me".
Bottas acknowledges that he is facing a very different challenge this time around as he prepares to race for Cadillac in the American squad’s first-ever F1 season:
"I think it’s quite unique to be in a situation that you’re starting with a new team in the sport. It doesn’t really happen every day, so yeah, very unique. It’s been hard work - lots of problem solving - but we’ve already made great progress and really hats off to the whole team being here ready for race one, which I think already is incredible. I’m looking forward to this journey - it’s only the start of it now".
Pushed on the objectives that he has set for himself and the team going into 2026, Bottas answers:
"Progress - that’s the number one thing. We need to get better from the start of the year to the end of the year, which I hope we will. Like I said, we’ve had hard work already, but the hard work continues going ahead. With the new power units, with the new cars, it’s the same kind of for everyone, but we have been building everything from scratch, so we need to keep going, keep getting better in all the areas".
Aston Martin's hospitality unit is a hive of activity on Thursday morning as Team Principal Adrian Newey and Honda Racing President Koji Watanabe face the media for the first time since the British team's 2026 car suffers significant vibrations that limit their running in pre-season testing. It's a tough start to the year for Aston Martin, who are heading into this season with a works power unit partner for the first time in their history in the shape of Honda. They are late to the Barcelona Shakedown, after delays early in the process push their production deadlines back and then achieve the least mileage of any of the 11 teams on this year's grid during two three-day tests in Bahrain. Troubles are to be expected when you bring on a new partner as significant as an engine supplier, especially when you are working to new rules and producing your own gearbox and rear suspension for the first time - but Aston Martin, who tempt design genius Newey away from Red Bull last March, don't expect it to be so tough. The chief problem in Bahrain is a big vibration from the power unit that damages Honda's battery to a point where they can't run it for very long before it breaks. The vibrations are also so severe, parts of the car are breaking and tough for the drivers to handle. Aston Martin are aware of the challenge they are facing - but they are not turning from a fight. They are working hard together with Honda to try and find a solution ahead of this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix. As we learn in the briefing, while Honda haven't found the root cause of the problem, they do have a countermeasure to try in Melbourne as an interim solution to get some longer life out of the battery. Says Watanabe:
“Based on the extensive dyno testing, we will introduce countermeasures we believe to be the most effective solution at this stage, starting this week. However, its effectiveness we cannot yet fully guarantee under the real track condition, so certain conditions will be applied to power unit operation this week. We are working together as one team and further measures are already under consideration but we are not able to share that technical detail, so we ask for your patience as we continue working toward unlocking full performance potential".
Newey add:
"The important thing to understand, though, is that the battery is the thing that we have been focusing on because that's the critical item. Without giving away any technical details, what we have achieved for this weekend, it tested on the dyno over the course of the weekend and got to the solution which we will be using here at Melbourne. That has successfully significantly reduced the vibration going into the battery but what is important to remember is, effectively the PU, the combination of the ICE and possibly the MGU as well, is the source of the vibration. It's the amplifier. The chassis is - in that scenario - the receiver. That vibration into the chassis is causing a few reliability problems, mirrors falling off, tail lights falling off, all that sort of thing, which we are having to address".
However, Newey says the much more significant problem is that the vibration is transmitted ultimately into the driver's fingers, which until this weekend limits the number of laps they can run:
"Fernando is of the feeling that he can't do more than 25 laps consecutively before he will risk permanent nerve damage to his hands,. Lance is of the opinion that he can't do more than 15 laps before that threshold. To me I think there's no point in not being open and honest on our expectations. We are going to have to be very heavily restricted on how many laps we do in the race until we get on top of the source of the vibration and improve the vibration at source".
Such is the quality of Aston Martin and Honda's facilities and personnel at Silverstone, UK, and Sakura, Japan, the squad retain hope they can get on top of their problems. Newey says:
"Do we believe in Honda's ability to bring that power up and to be competitive? Absolutely, they have a proven track record, and we have total faith".
Watanabe add:
"Of course, I want to hurry up, but at this moment, it's quite difficult to say when and how long it will take".
Intriguingly, Newey feels there's huge potential in the chassis, so much so that he reckons it's good enough to be top of the midfield currently with plenty of options to add performance through the season:
"On the chassis side, I think it is well known that we faced a very condensed period of development. We didn't get a model into the wind tunnel until mid-April - so quite a long way behind our competitors. What we tried to concentrate on was having a good, sound, architectural package. By architectural package, I mean the parts that we can't easily change in season. I think we've achieved that. I look at our package and I don't feel as if we've particularly missed anything so therefore I believe that the car has huge, tremendous development potential in it. It will take a few races to fully realise that potential. We've got quite an aggressive development plan underway. Here in Melbourne, we are a bit behind the leaders [and] maybe the fifth best team, so sort of potential Q3 qualifiers on the chassis side. Obviously it is not where we want to be but we have the potential to be up front at some point in the season".
For their part, the drivers were staying optimistic that things will improve in the future. Stroll says:
"We’re not happy for sure. We want to be more competitive but all we can do is put our heads down and just get on top of the issues we have and try to improve every weekend through the season. I have no doubts that on the chassis side, we can bring upgrades and get more competitive every week. On the engine side, the same - we just need to find more power and when all of the pieces come together, I’m sure we can be where we want to be. It’s just about getting there".
Alonso add:
"You have to keep united, you have to keep motivated. Sometimes it's difficult when you are not really fighting for top places but there is always a goal. There is always a challenge, always a target on the weekend and for us now it's just to get better, to improve the car, to understand more about these issues that we have. At the same time, because we had a very short winter and we didn't manage all the programmes that we wanted, there are a lot of set-up directions and tests that we want to do in these first races to understand the car and the new regulations. I think we have a long list to do and that's already motivating enough for the first couple of races".
The first opportunity to see how much progress the team have made is first practice, when Honda's countermeasures are put into action on track. If it works, in theory the battery should be able to run for longer, which in turn allows the team to gather more valuable data about the power unit and car, having missed out on so much running in Bahrain - and further understand what is causing the vibration to help them get to the root cause.
Amid the introduction of a technical regulations reset and plenty of anticipation, the brand-new cars are set to hit the Albert Park Circuit for their maiden practice outing at 1230 local time - and when the green light appears, the Audi of Nico Hulkenberg is at the head of a queue of cars in the pit lane as they head out on track. Most of the pack emerge on circuit in the opening moments, which also marks the debut practice session for Cadillac in the squad’s maiden F1 season. There is early trouble for Oscar Piastri, who reports having no power in his McLaren, sparking a brief yellow flag before the home favourite gets going again. A Virtual Safety Car then follows after Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad stops at the exit of the pit lane, leading to the rookie’s challenger being wheeled back into the pit lane. Elsewhere, while Lance Stroll is sent out onto the circuit early on, Aston Martin announces that the other AMR26 of Fernando Alonso will not participate in FP1 due to a suspected power unit issue. As the first timed laps go on the board - with the majority of the pack running the medium tyres - Verstappen initially puts himself at the top of the timesheets during the opening quarter of the session before his time is bettered by Leclerc, the Monegasque setting a time of 1m 22.080s. Lindblad, meanwhile, remains in the garage following his earlier issue as the times continue to tumble out on track, with Isack Hadjar briefly taking over the P1 slot in his maiden practice hour as a full-time Red Bull driver before Leclerc resumes the position. It is not all smooth-sailing on the circuit, with Verstappen experiencing a lock-up while Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas reports being blocked by his former Mercedes team mate Hamilton. As first practice reaches its halfway point, Leclerc remains fastest on a 1m 21.227s, with a margin of 0.176s from Verstappen, while Hadjar sits third from Hamilton and Piastri, the latter getting some more mileage under his belt after spending time in the garage following his earlier problem. Lindblad has also returned to the circuit as the pack continues to work through their run plans. Entering into the second half of the hour, George Russell is the first to bolt on the soft tyres, his first flying lap putting the Mercedes man in fifth place on the timesheets. Others soon start to follow suit by heading out on the C5 compound, leading to further changes on the board – but the session looks to be over for Lando Norris, with McLaren confirming that the World Champion is back in the garage while his MCL39 undergoes precautionary gearbox checks. Hadjar reports a big lock-up out on track, the new Red Bull racer taking a trip over the grass as a result, while team mate Verstappen returns to the top of the timesheets on a 1m 20.789s as FP1 enters its final 15 minutes. The yellow flags are waved when Alex Albon comes to a halt at Turn 10, leading to a Virtual Safety Car while the Williams is recovered. There seem to be no such problems for Hamilton, however, with the Ferrari going fastest at a track where he claims eight pole positions. Sergio Perez spins off track as the session reaches its last few minutes, the Cadillac driver reporting engine braking issues. And as the chequered flag falls to bring FP1 to a close, Leclerc pips team mate Hamilton to the P1 slot, the eight-time race winner pumping in a 1m 20.267s to beat Hamilton by 0.469s as well as ending the hour with the highest lap count of 32. Verstappen remains third from the other Red Bull of Hadjar, while rookie Lindblad catches the eye by going fifth quickest. Piastri claims sixth place, ahead of the Mercedes pair of Russell and Kimi Antonelli and the Audi duo of Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.
After FP1 sees some drivers face teething problems, a small group are ready to go at the pit lane exit for the day's second practice session, including reigning World Champion Lando Norris, who misses a sizable chunk of the opening session due to precautionary gearbox checks. In the opening minutes, Mercedes’ Russell clips the Racing Bulls car of rookie Arvid Lindblad in a pit lane tussle, before Franco Colapinto is seen slowing dramatically on track, forcing Lewis Hamilton into last-minute evasive action. Both clashes are noted by the stewards and will be investigated after the session. There are more issues to come in the pit lane as Max Verstappen finds himself stuck after stalling the RB22, leading to a rescue mission to wheel him back to the garage to reset ahead of any flying laps. In contrast to FP1, some drivers bolt on hard tyres to gather data ahead of Sunday’s 58-lap race, with the Mercedes pair of Antonelli and Russell sandwiching Hamilton after the first round of timed efforts. Following a suspected power unit issue earlier in the day, Fernando Alonso makes his way onto the circuit 15 minutes in to drive a slow out lap before returning to the pits without setting a time. His team mate Lance Stroll, meanwhile, is able to complete a lap but remains at the tail end of the order. Joining the Aston Martin pair on the red-walled soft tyres is Russell, who immediately blows leader Piastri’s time out of the water to set the quickest time of the day so far, beating Charles Leclerc’s FP1 effort by over two-tenths. Mercedes continue to impress after their low-key FP1 showing, with Antonelli becoming the first driver to breach the 1m 19s bracket just before the halfway point of the hour. It isn’t all smooth sailing, however, as Russell locks up and rattles over the gravel at Turn 3 - an error which Hamilton replicates later in the session. As home hero Piastri reclaims P1, the expected top four teams occupy the first eight slots in the timings, with the exception of Lindblad who makes it clear that his P5-worthy pace in FP1 is not a fluke. With 10 minutes remaining, Verstappen suffers a late snap of oversteer at high speed at Turn 10, damaging the floor as he takes a trip through the gravel. He isn’t the only one with a late problem as both Stroll and Williams’ Carlos Sainz return to the pits after limited running due to unknown issues. Joining in on the frustration is Sergio Perez, who brings out a Virtual Safety Car as he stops at the side of the circuit with a suspected hydraulic issue - the Cadillac driver has already missed the majority of the session due to a sensor fault, resulting in him failing to set a representative time. As the chequered flag falls, Piastri holds on to top spot with a time of 1m 19.729s, maintaining his two-tenths buffer over the lead Mercedes of Antonelli. Russell is close behind in third place, with Hamilton just 0.001s adrift of his former team mate, who is noted for a practice start infringement. Leclerc follows as the fifth fastest ahead of Verstappen, before a larger gap opens up to Norris in P7. Lindblad, Isack Hadjar and Esteban Ocon round out the top 10 of FP2, while the second Haas of Ollie Bearman takes P11.
Isack Hadjar admits that he feels the consistency is nowhere in his first sessions as a Red Bull driver, but insists that the issues he faces are expected and should not affect his performance in the Australian Grand Prix. The 21-year-old hits the ground running in FP1, briefly holding the top spot on his debut for the Milton Keynes outfit before he suffers a big lock-up that sees him take to the grass, ultimately ending the hour in fourth place behind team mate Max Verstappen. Another moment in FP2 - this time a massive snap at Turn 5 - sees Hadjar narrowly avoid the wall and he winds up as the only driver from the expected top four teams to place outside of the top eight, taking P9 on the timesheets:
"In FP1 everything went pretty well, and then FP2 I just had a few issues with the car. So yeah, consistency was nowhere really, and I’ve been struggling a bit more with the car balance. We made a few changes so let’s see what we understood. Inconsistency in the deployment - I had to adapt my braking points and it was just very messy. For sure it was expected. As long as we know why and we don’t make the same mistake again, then we’ll be fine".
With multiple teams seemingly in the fight for pole position, the adjustments they make overnight to optimise their one-lap pace for Qualifying are crucial in influencing the final order - something which Chief Engineer Paul Monaghan is acutely aware of:
"We’ve seen how easy it is to get it wrong; we’ve seen how difficult it is to get it to be perfect. We’ve got to take those lessons into tomorrow and make sure we’re ready for Qualifying and the race. Every time you run it, there’s a new way to get it wrong. It’s not in our control what the others do. All we can do is get the best out of our car tomorrow and see where we end up. If we do a better job than the others, we should be competitive. If we’re ill-prepared relative to our opposition, we won’t be looking quite so good. I don’t know that it matters what our opposition does - it’s more sensitive to what we do tomorrow, and that’s how I see it".
Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari are on the back foot heading into the first weekend of the 2026 F1 campaign, with the very, very strong Mercedes appearing to be a bit more in front than what I would want. Leclerc leads a 1-2 for the Scuderia Ferrari over team mate Lewis Hamilton during Friday’s opening practice session at Melbourne’s Albert Park, while the pair remain in the top-five positions across the second hour of running. However, speaking to the media at the end of the day, Leclerc shares mixed feelings about Ferrari’s start, arguing that rival teams - in particular the Silver Arrows - are starting to show their hands:
"FP1 looked positive, but then FP2 I think the teams are showing little by little a bit more. Unfortunately, we seem to be on the back foot, especially compared to Mercedes, who seem to be very, very strong. I don’t think they showed everything in low fuel, but on high fuel it was very impressive. That’s a bit of a… It’s the first time probably that we see how much of a gap there is to them, and it’s a bit more than I would have liked. It’s the way it is. On the other side, it’s been quite a positive start to the weekend, and we’ll keep working very hard in order to try and maximise everything for tomorrow. There are quite a few priorities and things that… I just need to put the car back to where it should be. I tried something in FP2 and it felt really, really strange and quite bad. It’s okay. We are still in the learning process of this car. I think we had very good testing, so we know more or less where to put it. For FP2 I went a bit too aggressive in one direction and it didn’t pay off, but it was a good test. Then for the rest of the weekend, it’s all about putting everything together. In Qualifying I have the feeling that it can be quite close, in the race it seems that Mercedes has quite a bit of performance coming, but we’ll see".
Asked how confident he is of being in the mix over the weekend, should he get the SF-26 in a better window, Leclerc again points to Mercedes’ early showing:
"I wouldn’t say confident, because I don’t know. I don’t know much margin Mercedes still has, so it’s a bit early to say. But I would say they are a bit more in front than what I would have wanted for now. We’ll work hard during the night. Again, I think this year is going to be about development throughout the year, so wherever we start on Sunday and wherever we finish on Sunday, it’s only a starting point, we’ll have to build on that to try and catch up. If we win on Sunday, then amazing".
The McLaren driver sets the fastest time of Friday’s running at his home event, edging out Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and George Russell to lead the field with a 1m 19.729s lap - a significant improvement on his effort in FP1, during which he reports having no power. Piastri manages to iron out the issues in the second session of the day, largely avoiding the errors that impact his competitors, but he nevertheless makes it clear that he still has plenty to learn ahead of the remainder of the weekend.
"I think FP2, certainly on my side, went a lot smoother than FP1. There are just so many things to get to grips with. It’s very different to what we had last year, but I think FP2 as a session was pretty smooth. I was able to build some consistency and start learning properly which was good. We’ll try and see what we’ve learned today - I think everyone’s going to find a big step overnight so I think we need to try and do the same".
Although he has an advantage of just over two-tenths to Antonelli, he is reluctant to predict whether he will be in the fight for pole position due to changes that McLaren and others could make before Qualifying. Quizzed on whether he can be a contender for pole, Piastri replies:
"I’m not sure it was as good as some others around us but I think we looked okay. I think the biggest thing at the moment is just trying to build consistency, make things operate the way they should, and in FP2 it felt like we were able to get closer to doing that".
Rob Marshall, McLaren Chief Designer, echoes Piastri’s sentiments around their progress throughout the sessions, and adds that the work done overnight is critical in determining the Qualifying order on Saturday:
"We didn't hit the ground running. It still looks pretty competitive out there - there are a lot of quick cars so I wouldn’t draw any conclusions just yet. There’s a long way to go this weekend. Getting these cars dialled in is difficult, and getting the energy management right is very tricky. I think everyone’s got a bit more work to do tonight on that topic in particular. As regards getting the car dialled in in a traditional manner, I think we’ve found a reasonable place where the car’s behaving itself".
Fernando Alonso feels that the Aston Martin team are embracing the challenge posed by their early-season struggles, with the Spaniard hopeful that the progress within the squad will be visible in lap time as soon as possible. The British outfit and engine partner Honda are open about the issues that limit their running so far in 2026, having experienced less mileage than their rivals during pre-season testing while the team’s lap count is also lower on Friday at the Australian Grand Prix. However, while Alonso is unable to participate in Free Practice 1, both he and team mate Lance Stroll gain time on track at the Albert Park Circuit during the second hour, with Alonso recording 18 laps in the latter. Reflecting on the day’s running later on, Alonso admits that the team still needs to catch up a little bit in the weekend programme, as he voices his hope of having a cleaner Free Practice 3 on Saturday. When asked if he can see light at the end of the tunnel with the issues, the two-time World Champion sounds a positive note as he responds:
"We know where we are. As I said yesterday, we have a big challenge in front of us but everyone in the team is embracing the challenge in a way and trying everything we can to go out of the situation. This is Formula 1 - unfortunately technology is very complex and things require a little bit of time. We are running every day in free practice and every week, Grand Prix to Grand Prix, and maybe we don’t see the progress that we all want to see. But there are things happening - smaller or bigger, but there is always progress in the team, so let’s hope that this is visible in lap time as soon as possible".
Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack also acknowledges that Friday is a difficult day for Aston Martin but that this is:
“to be expected after our difficulties that we had in winter testingIf that is the situation, you try to do the best out of the situation.
Krack feels that the squad can take learnings from the mileage they achieve during second practice, with all teams continuing to adapt to the new technical regulations introduced for 2026:
"Every lap that you do, you learn - you see what you could have done better in that lap or in your settings, and we are playing catch-up with that. And that is something that we need to be aware of, that when you don’t drive the others are learning lap-by-lap and you are in the garage watching them. It’s a difficult situation, but I think a small step was made between session one and session two, because we were on track so we could get a little bit of data that we’ll have to go through tonight, and then see what we can get out of it tomorrow".
Following a slightly delayed start due to barrier repair works after an earlier collision in the F3 Sprint Race, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto leads a group of cars out onto the track – including Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso – when the session begins at 1250 local time. A mixture of tyre compounds is at play as the initial laps go on the board amongst those out on the circuit, with several drivers remaining in the garage. There is early trouble, meanwhile, for Carlos Sainz, whose Williams comes to a halt near the pit entry, leading to the yellow flags being waved before a Virtual Safety Car is deployed. The session is subsequently red-flagged as the stricken FW48 is recovered, while Sainz is seen walking back down the pit lane. A queue forms in the pit lane ahead of the action resuming once the vehicle is safely removed, a stream of cars heading out as 38 minutes remain on the clock. This makes for a busy track as the majority of the field put some mileage in, with Lance Stroll the only driver yet to make an appearance in the hour due to a power unit issue causing a delay to the rebuild of his Aston Martin. As the disrupted FP3 reaches its halfway point, Charles Leclerc has gone fastest on a 1m 20.271s, the Ferrari man dislodging Mercedes’ Antonelli at the top by 0.053s, while Hamilton follows in third. The times continue to tumble as many cars complete soft tyre runs, with Hamilton going on to beat his team mate to top spot by just under one tenth. Elsewhere, the yellow flags are briefly waved as Alex Albon starts to run slowly before getting his Williams going again. While McLaren’s Oscar Piastri dislodges the Ferraris at the head of the timesheets, Leclerc goes on to return to P1, the lap times getting even quicker as the clock ticks down. Aston Martin, meanwhile, confirms that Stroll will not participate in the session due to a suspected ICE issue. A number of cars bolt on a fresh set of soft tyres during the final quarter of third practice, before the red flags are thrown when Antonelli suffers a heavy crash at Turn 2, the Mercedes driver taking slightly too much kerb and losing the rear of the W17. After fortunately reporting that he is okay, Antonelli gets out of the car as the clean-up operation begins on track, the marshals recovering the car and clearing the debris while the Italian returns to his team’s garage. With just under four minutes left on clock when the session resumes, a busy end to FP3 ensues as cars fight to secure a position in the pit lane queue before heading out for their final runs. Lando Norris is at the front of the pack, the McLaren man moving up to fifth - before Russell pushes him down a position by going fastest of all by a significant 0.774s from Leclerc. Russell’s effort of 1m 19.053s remains on top as the chequered flag falls, while Hamilton moves up into second place, albeit still 0.616s behind his former team mate. Leclerc places third, ahead of Piastri and the Red Bulls of Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen. Antonelli ends the hour in seventh – amid question marks over whether his car will be repaired in time for Qualifying – while Norris, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and the Haas of Ollie Bearman complete the top 10.
After the three eventful practice sessions force the drivers to get to grips with the new cars rapidly, attention switches to the Qualifying hour, with question marks remaining over whether Antonelli will take part following extensive damage to his car in FP3. With the addition of Cadillac on the grid, the updated Qualifying format sees six cars eliminated in Q1 and Q2 before the usual top-10 shootout in Q3. It is the second new name, Audi, who are first out on track, Hulkenberg seeking to escape Q1 for the opening round. The majority of the early runners elect to bolt on the soft tyres, and it is the second Audi of Bortoleto who initially shoots to the top of the timesheets ahead of Piastri, while Hamilton tucks into P3 on the alternative medium compound. As Russell joins the action - the Mercedes driver having topped FP3 earlier in the day - he eclipses Bortoleto’s time by a colossal six-tenths, becoming the first driver to break into the 1m 19s bracket to solidify his status as one of the favourites for pole. The battle to get close to the Briton’s benchmark comes to a head when Verstappen hits the brakes at Turn 1 and locks the rear axle, sending him rattling over the gravel before ending up in the barrier to bring his first Qualifying of 2026 to an unexpectedly premature end. With significant damage to his Red Bull, the session is halted and the pit exit is closed under red flag conditions. What is devastating for the Dutchman is a blessing for Antonelli as the additional time from the break helps Mercedes to finish their repairs with a handful of minutes remaining, but he is quickly noted for a pit lane infringement. Back at the front of the field, his team mate’s effort of 1m 19.840s is edged out by Hamilton, still on medium tyres, before Russell comes fighting back to reclaim P1. Piastri’s lap sees him slot between the pair while Norris and Hadjar complete the top five, with Antonelli progressing in sixth place. A frustrating weekend for Aston Martin culminates in Alonso being narrowly knocked out in 17th. He starts ahead of the Cadillac duo of Perez and Bottas, with the Finn being the last of those who set flying laps. Verstappen is unable to post a representative time, leaving him to bring up the rear alongside Sainz and Stroll, both of whom are stuck in their respective garages for the duration of Qualifying.
Qualifying has already proven itself to be unpredictable, so it is no surprise that everyone is eager to make the most of Q2 and head out early, with Russell’s opening effort of 1m 18.934s once again outshining those of his competitors. The opening round of flying laps is more of a challenge for Ferrari as Hamilton backs out of his first attempt to let Leclerc through. While the Briton returns to the pits, Leclerc is only able to take P7 and his team mate is left with just six minutes to post an improved time. He manages to jump up to sixth place as Russell’s lap time appears to be unassailable - Antonelli in second still finds himself five-tenths adrift, with Piastri marginally further behind. After his underwhelming first laps, Leclerc finds the time he needs and demotes Antonelli to P3. Eye-catching laps from Racing Bulls drivers Lindblad and Lawson see them both progress to Q3 with Bortoleto, who beats his team mate to make Hulkenberg the first one eliminated. He starts the Grand Prix ahead of Haas pair Bearman and Ocon, with both Alpine cars similarly knocked out in 14th and 16th, led by Gasly. Separating them is Albon, who can only manage 15th after a late error. Q3 gets underway with a bang as Lindblad suffers a near-miss at the pit entry, locking up and nearly colliding with those near him. That is followed by a technical issue for Bortoleto, who is ultimately unable to set a time in Q3 and causes a short delay to the session start as he is wheeled back to his garage. With the Audi ruled out, what is now a top-nine shootout is brought to another halt as Antonelli pulls out of the pits with the cooling fans still in his sidepods, which subsequently fall off on the track - Norris then ploughs over it, with a red flag needed to clear the debris. Once the circuit is deemed safe, the contest for pole position kicks off, with the Mercedes drivers leading the pack. While Antonelli locks up and goes off at Turn 3, Russell’s strong performance continues as he takes P1 with a 1m 19.084s, marginally slower than his best lap of the session. After an early deployment problem, Norris settles into P2 with his first flying lap, albeit over 0.5s adrift of the Mercedes and barely ahead of the sole remaining Red Bull of Hadjar. Neither Ferrari driver has set a representative lap in the opening part of Q3, leaving plenty still to be decided on the final laps. Antonelli’s error is forgotten as he leaps to top spot with a 1m 18.811s on soft tyres, but Russell storms through to go nearly three-tenths faster - a time that proves impossible to beat. Hadjar claims a spectacular P3 ahead of Leclerc and Piastri, with reigning champion Norris forced to settle for sixth place. Hamilton ends the session in P7 ahead of Lawson and Lindblad, with Bortoleto rounding out the top 10.
George Russell is left to celebrate a great day for Mercedes after claiming pole position for the 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix, with the Briton admitting that the car comes alive in Qualifying as he leads a 1-2 for the team ahead of Kimi Antonelli. Having displayed strong pace throughout both Q1 and Q2 on Saturday in Melbourne, Russell again looks quick during Q3 as he surges to the top spot on a lap of 1m 18.518s, giving him an advantage of 0.293s over Antonelli - the team having repaired the latter’s car in time following a heavy crash in final practice. While the Silver Arrows are touted by many as one of the favourites ahead of the campaign, Russell is pleased to see that promise realised on the track:
"It was a great day. We knew there was a lot of potential in the car, but until you get to this first Saturday of the season you never know. It really came alive this afternoon, especially when the track temp cooled - we know we sort of tend to favour those conditions. I’m also really happy to have Kimi here next to me as well because it’s been such a hard job from all the team to deliver this car and they did an amazing job in the garage as well today, so all in all a really good day. I’m excited for the race tomorrow and I think it can bring some quite exciting racing. Also for you guys in the crowd that’s always amazing every time we come to Melbourne, so thank you so much for all of that support for all of us, and hopefully we can deliver a good race. I think a lot of the simple things in the past, like race starts and pit stops, are a hell of a lot more challenging with these new cars. I said it to the team in the garage at the beginning of Q3 there, let’s just have a clean session because who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. Obviously we’ll all try and work hard tonight. Today was a really great day - we’re in the best place possible".
Kimi Antonelli feels that the mechanics are the heroes in his journey to claim P2 in Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, after the Mercedes youngster bounces back from a massive crash in FP3. The Italian is in the mix towards the front of the pack throughout the weekend, beating team mate George Russell to second place in FP2, but he faces a major setback when he dramatically hits the barriers in the final hour of Practice. With just a few hours before Qualifying, Mercedes has a significant repair job on their hands. Following a red flag for Max Verstappen’s Q1 crash, they gain a crucial couple of minutes and are able to send Antonelli out with less than 10 minutes to go:
"It’s been a very, very stressful day. Unfortunately in FP3 I went into the wall, but the guys, the mechanics today were the heroes, they put the car back on track. We couldn’t even set up the car, we just went out and managed to put it on the front row, so I’m really happy with that".
Antonelli continues to improve throughout Qualifying, progressing from sixth to third and finally second place in each segment, albeit with a concerning lock-up at the beginning of Q3. He recovers once again to claim provisional pole with an impressive effort of 1m 18.811s before Russell demotes him to P2 - the pair becoming the only drivers to breach the 1m 18s bracket. While he is still nearly three-tenths adrift of his team mate, his own nearest rival in Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar is half a second further behind, establishing Mercedes as the current strongest team on the grid for the opening round. Expanding on his final lap, Antonelli says:
"It was not easy, I had to dig deep, but I need to have a clean weekend next time because it definitely compromised Qualifying. But we have a race tomorrow to look ahead to and a good result is possible".
Isack Hadjar feels that his P3 result in Qualifying for the 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix is the perfect start to his Red Bull career, despite admitting that he also sees the day as damage limitation. After a crash for team mate Max Verstappen in Q1 leaves Hadjar as the team’s sole car for the remainder of Qualifying, the French driver appears in good form throughout Saturday’s session and ultimately proves the closest challenger to the Mercedes pair, qualifying in third behind George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
Reflecting on the outcome afterwards, Hadjar admits that he is pleased to begin his new chapter with Red Bull in a positive fashion, having made the step up to the squad following his rookie season with Racing Bulls:
"I’m very happy. When I crossed the line I knew it was a good lap, maybe top three, which it was, so very happy with a smooth session. It’s a perfect start to my Red Bull career".
However, when ask how the car was feeling out on track, Hadjar add:
"That’s the thing, it never feels good enough. But we know our weaknesses, and there’s a lot of work to be done. Today was more of a damage limitation, to be honest. It was a very good lap but I just feel like we need to improve at the moment. We’re eight-tenths away from pole. Last year this would have been out of Q1".
In terms of his expectations for Sunday’s Grand Prix, Hadjar is hoping to follow up on the maiden rostrum that he achieves in last year’s Dutch Grand Prix. Quizzed on whether he can catch the Mercedes cars off the line, the 21-year-old answers:
"The only thing I can do is take a better start, but they’re just too fast at the moment. I want to keep my position - a second podium would be good".
Max Verstappen admits that he has never experienced something like that before after a bizarre issue sees him end up in the barriers during Q1 for the Australian Grand Prix. In the lead-up to Qualifying, the Red Bull racer is consistently in the top six drivers as everyone works to optimise the new generation of cars for an unpredictable shootout, but the four-time World Champion also concedes earlier in the week that the team has work to do to fight for the top positions. Verstappen sets out to post his first flying lap in Q1 after Mercedes’ George Russell sets the benchmark, but his attempt is thwarted as the rear axle locks, sending him into a spin before rattling over the gravel to find the barrier. Quizzed on how the incident unfolds after the session, he says:
"I just hit the brakes and suddenly the rear axle just completely locked out of the blue. I don’t know why that happened or how that happened. I’ve never experienced something like that before in my career. The rear axle just completely locked on, then of course you can’t save that anymore at that speed. The barrier hit was not that bad – the wheel just snapped out of my hands and that’s why I had to go to the medical centre, but all good".
Although Verstappen is fortunately uninjured, the same cannot be said for his RB22, leaving the Milton Keynes squad with plenty of repairs to carry out ahead of the 58-lap race, which gets underway at 3:00 p.m. local time on Sunday:
"I think it already went wrong before the downshift because I hit the pedal. As soon as you hit the pedal, you quite quickly downshift, but it already immediately locked on the peak of the brake pressure. Something very weird, that’s for sure. There are so many unknowns of course at the moment that we still need to get on top of. We’ll see tomorrow what we can do".
Charles Leclerc admits that Ferrari are nowhere near Mercedes after finishing some eight-tenths behind the pole-sitting Silver Arrow of George Russell during Australian Grand Prix Qualifying. Leclerc heads into the weekend wary of Mercedes’ potential, and his fears are realised across final practice and Qualifying, where Russell and Kimi Antonelli unleash an impressive level of speed. Leclerc ultimately takes fourth, with teammate Lewis Hamilton back in seventh - the Ferraris sandwich the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and reigning World Champion Lando Norris. After Qualifying, Leclerc is asked if he feels surprised by the gap to Mercedes, and frustrated at not being able to secure P3 on the grid, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar slotting ahead at the end of Q3:
"Frustration about P3, for sure. I won’t go into the detail, because it’s a very complex car to explain, but in Q2 we had issues with our deployment. Then in Q3, because of the red flag, we had to re-optimise everything on that last lap, and we couldn’t quite make that. We were a bit sub-optimal for that last lap, and that definitely cost us P3. We were nowhere near Mercedes. Maybe optimising everything we would have a tenth-and-a-half, but I’m pretty sure that’s also the story of everybody. These are such complex cars that nobody, I would expect, was optimising absolutely everything out of the car today. On the other question, I am not so surprised. I was in front of the cameras yesterday, I don’t know if I said the number, but I thought they were maybe half a second ahead, and in the end they are eight-tenths in front. I think this morning I did not expect what they’ve shown, and I think they were a lot more turned down than what everybody thought in the paddock. At the same time it’s… We can only respect what they’ve done with the engine, and the amount of performance they found compared to others".
Pushed on whether he and Ferrari can make an impression on Mercedes in race trim, the Monegasque adds:
"I cannot do anything. Yesterday they were super, super strong. I don’t think they had the engine turned up the way they did this morning. I don’t even know if they were full power in Qualifying, maybe they kept a little bit, because this morning was just crazy. Tomorrow I don’t really know what to expect, but I think they will be in another world - probably a little bit less than a second [a lap] faster than everybody else. That’s what I would expect, but I hope I’m wrong".
On the other side of the Ferrari garage, Hamilton is a tenth-and-a-half slower than Leclerc as he rues engine trouble midway through Qualifying:
"The whole weekend was looking good up until Q2. Q1 on the medium tyre was feeling solid, and I was feeling great, then we went into Q2 and we had some problems with our engine. We ended up having to come in, and that put a lot of pressure on us to have to go out and try and execute with one lap, on a tyre that we hadn’t driven yet, at least in Qualifying, and that was tricky. Then we went into Q3 and it was just a mess for everybody, so it was a bit random. I think there’s a lot more performance in the car and we just didn’t execute it all perfectly. Honestly, I think if it had gone perfectly, we could have been third today".
Lando Norris enters 2026 as the reigning World Champion, but his early expectations for the season drop as he qualifies on the third row for the Australian Grand Prix, leading him to blame a long list of issues he encounters. The weekend starts less than ideally, as he is forced to sit out most of FP1 while McLaren prioritizes precautionary gearbox checks on his car. His return to the track in FP2 is smoother, but he finishes the day in P7 while his teammate Oscar Piastri leads the field. The Briton then drops to eighth place in the final hour of practice before resetting for Qualifying, where he faces deployment problems throughout. He nevertheless progresses to Q3, during which he runs over a duct cooling fan that has been left on Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes and deposited on track - the Silver Arrows are subsequently fined for releasing the car in an unsafe condition. However, Norris is unable to avoid it on track, shattering the fan on contact, and the McLaren driver believes the damage impacts his performance, leaving him unable to challenge for anything higher than P6.
"I had some damage on the front wing which certainly didn’t help, from that massive piece of debris that I hit. I don’t know how much it cost me but it certainly cost me a chance of P3. I think really where we lost out this weekend is the amount of issues we’ve had through FP1, FP2 and FP3. I just never got up to speed, never did enough laps. The more laps I do, the better it is for me to figure out how to drive this thing. The more laps you do, the better the engine works so the issues have really just hurt us a lot this weekend. Frustrating, but it’s the way it is and we’ve made the most of what we have I think".
Piastri, looking for a positive result at his home event, qualifies in P5 just ahead of Norris after featuring in the top three for much of the session. His final effort of 1m 19.380s is around eight-tenths off George Russell’s pole position lap, giving McLaren the mission of closing the gap:
"I think it’s about where we thought we would be. Obviously, behind the two Mercedes it’s pretty close so it’s not a huge surprise that we are where we are. I think it went reasonably smoothly out there today and I think we executed mostly pretty good so I can’t complain from that side, but obviously we need to find a bit of time because the sandbags well and truly got dropped out. Let’s wait and see how we can try and find some performance but we can build a solid base from there. After yesterday, we thought maybe it was an overly optimistic picture of where we were, but we looked like we were in the mix for pole. Then in FP3 we got blown out of the water. We’ve got some things to try and find but I’m sure we’ll get there".
After weeks and months of anticipation, a new era of Formula 1 is about to officially get underway with the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, the first race of a season in which a wave of new technical regulations comes into effect. While a different name tops each practice session, it is Russell who leads the way during Saturday’s Qualifying, the Briton securing pole position ahead of Mercedes team mate Antonelli - who bounces back after a hefty crash in third and final practice earlier in the day. There are also some dramas in the session, including the exit of Verstappen in Q1 following a spin into the barriers - and the shocks continue into the start of Sunday when Piastri also spins off the track on his out-lap to the grid after clipping the kerb into Turn 4, damaging his McLaren and putting him out of his home race. While the watching crowd is left to digest what has happened to the local favourite, the rest of the pack continues to assemble amid mild and dry conditions at the Albert Park Circuit, a race in which a one-stop strategy is expected to be the fastest way to the chequered flag. As the start time nears and the tyre blankets are removed, it is revealed that the majority of the pack is running the medium compound, with Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Bottas and Verstappen the exceptions on the hard rubber while Alonso and Sainz start on the soft tyres. But there are further dramas for Hulkenberg, who is wheeled off the grid and into the Audi garage prior to the action getting underway, leaving question marks over his participation. After the rest of the field completes the formation lap and lines up on the grid, the new starting procedure is completed - in which drivers receive a five-second warning via blue flashing panels - before Leclerc sweeps into the lead at Turn 1 from fourth place, storming ahead of Russell while Antonelli is pushed down the order to seventh in a thrilling start to the race. Hamilton has impressively climbed up to third from seventh, while rookie Lindblad runs in fifth behind the Red Bull of Hadjar.
Elsewhere, Alonso catches the eye by working his way up to 10th, while off the track Audi confirms that Hulkenberg will not be able to start and Colapinto finds himself under investigation for a starting procedure infringement. Having remained hot on the tail of Leclerc, Russell overtakes the Ferrari to move into the lead on Lap 2, before Leclerc uses the Overtake mode to retake the lead just one tour later. Hamilton, meanwhile, is very much in the picture, the seven-time World Champion chasing just over one second back from former team mate Russell. The battle for the lead is far from over, with Russell again trying to find a way past Leclerc which forces the Monegasque to go defensive against his rival - and prompts a complaint from Russell over the radio. One lap later, the fight takes another turn when Russell finds a way past at Turn 3 - only for Leclerc to surge ahead again at Turns 9 and 10. That drama escalates further on Lap 9 when Russell suffers a heavy lock-up into Turn 1 while trying to make another move, the Mercedes man somehow avoiding going off the track - but it allows Hamilton to catch up further in third. And while all of this is unfolding, Antonelli has worked his way back up to fourth. With 10 exciting laps complete, the order behind that close top-four battle consists of Hadjar, Lindblad, Norris, Ocon, Verstappen - still climbing forwards after lining up in 20th - and Gasly. Alonso has dropped backwards to 17th, while Colapinto is now in last place after being handed a stop-go penalty for that starting procedure infringement investigation. There is heartbreak for Hadjar on Lap 11 when smoke starts to billow from the back of his Red Bull, forcing the Frenchman to pull off the track onto the grass. A Virtual Safety Car is deployed, leading to several drivers diving into the pit lane - and while the Mercedes pair both opt to make a stop, the Ferraris stay out on track.
"At least one of us should have come in".
Hamilton radios in - and when the VSC period comes to an end, Leclerc is leading his team mate by 1.7s, with Russell around 10 seconds back in third with Antonelli 16 seconds off Leclerc in fourth. Behind them, Lindblad is being chased down by Verstappen, both cars yet to pit. After a promising start, Alonso is called into the pits to retire his Aston Martin, while back on the track the Cadillac of Perez - in the team’s maiden race - gets racy in a scrap with Lawson, the two banging wheels as they fight for position. Unfortunately for Cadillac there is bad news to come moments later, with Bottas stopping his car on the grass near the pit lane entry which triggers another Virtual Safety Car - and prompts another flurry of action in the pit lane, though Ferrari stays out on track.
When the action resumes on Lap 20, Verstappen looks feisty behind Lindblad, the Red Bull driver chasing hard before overtaking the youngster for P6. Meanwhile, Hamilton has Ferrari’s strategy on his mind when he radios:
"My tyres are still okay - do not box me at the same".
The Briton is still 1.7s behind Leclerc at the front, with Russell now 5.2s away from the leader. The stewards are being kept busy during the race, with that incident between Perez and Lawson under investigation - before it is decided that no action is required - while a clash involving former team mates Ocon and Gasly is also being looked at. Leclerc makes his pit stop on Lap 26, bringing the Ferrari driver out into fourth place on track after bolting on the hard tyres and promoting Hamilton to the race lead. Elsewhere, Alonso rejoins the race - while Hamilton is overtaken by Russell for P1 before heading into the pits for the hard tyres, making him the last driver in the race to make a stop. While Mercedes are expected to make another stop - and Ferrari are not - Russell reports that a one-stop is viable, leading to questions over how the plan could play out. With the race just past its halfway point, Russell is 6.5s ahead of Antonelli, with Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris, Verstappen, Lindblad, Bearman, Bortoleto and Gasly completing the top 10. Antonelli is informed of a potential plan to run until the end of the race on their current tyres - a suggestion that the Italian calls brave. Norris also dismisses the idea of not making another stop, the World Champion facing pressure on track from former title rival Verstappen. Another Virtual Safety Car is briefly called on Lap 34, allowing the marshals to collect some debris that has come off the Cadillac of Perez, while Norris decides to make his second pit stop before emerging back on track in P8 with the medium tyres on his McLaren. While Alonso again retires from the race, team mate Stroll also looks to be out of the running, the squad having seemingly collected further valuable data. Meanwhile questions remain at the front over whether Mercedes can make a one-stop strategy work, with Russell and Antonelli still clear of the Ferraris at the front.
In his first F1 race, Lindblad looks in fighting form as he battles Bearman for P7. The Haas keeps the place - but Lindblad voices his hope of trying again over the radio. Elsewhere, by Lap 42 Verstappen makes a second stop for the hard tyres, the Dutchman running in sixth. With just over 10 laps remaining, it appears as if Mercedes are running until the end of the race, the pair’s tyres now some 35 laps old. Leclerc is eight seconds behind Antonelli in third, the Ferraris having struggled to close in enough to pressure the Silver Arrows into another stop - though Hamilton seems to be catching up with his team mate in a potential fight for the final spot on the podium. Norris, meanwhile, again has Verstappen on his tail in the duel for fifth, but the Briton keeps the four-time World Champion at bay. And as the final laps tick down, Hamilton is still trying to close in further on Leclerc, the former receiving encouragement to keep pushing from his race engineer. As the final lap approaches, Antonelli is now only three seconds behind Russell, while Hamilton continues to chase Leclerc, moving to within one second of the Monegasque. But all of this cannot stop Russell, who takes the chequered flag by 2.974s from Antonelli to bring home the win. Leclerc seals third to claim the final position on the rostrum, with Hamilton following only 0.625s behind in fourth. Norris also holds out in the fight against Verstappen to cross the line in fifth, while the Red Bull driver takes sixth. Bearman, Lindblad - scoring points on his debut - Bortoleto and Gasly complete the top 10 in Melbourne, while Ocon, Albon, Lawson, Colapinto, Sainz and Perez round out the order. Six cars do not make the classification; like his team mate, Stroll rejoins the race following his earlier retirement but neither Aston Martin is classified at the finish. Bottas and Hadjar are also retirees, and Piastri and Hulkenberg both miss out on the race altogether. Fortunately all soon have the chance to go again, with the Chinese Grand Prix taking place in just one week’s time.
George Russell praised Mercedes’ hard work as he beat Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc to victory in the Australian Grand Prix, celebrating that their strong showing in the opening round has been a long time coming. The 28-year-old stormed to a dominant pole position in Saturday’s Qualifying hour, eking out an advantage of three-tenths over his team mate, with his next closest rival in Isack Hadjar another half a second adrift. But at lights out, Russell faced a challenge from Leclerc, who charged through from P4 to claim the lead of the race at Turn 1 and kick off a gripping battle between the pair. They exchanged first place multiple times over the first 10 laps, only easing off when Hadjar pulled onto the grass to prompt a Virtual Safety Car. Speaking after the race, Russell said: “I’m feeling incredible. It was a hell of a fight at the beginning. We knew it was going to be challenging:
"I got on the grid, saw my battery level had nothing in the tank, made a bad start and then obviously [had] some really tight battles with Charles, so I was really glad to cross the finish line".
Opting to pit both cars in the slower speed conditions, the Silver Arrows ultimately took the chequered flag ahead of both Ferrari drivers, with the Scuderia choosing to stay out and extend their first stint on the medium tyres. Russell reported over the radio that he felt comfortable attempting the one-stop strategy, which paid off - once he passed Lewis Hamilton on track, he faced little pressure in the lead and finished 2.9s ahead of Antonelli:
"Honestly, thank you so much to the whole team because it’s been a long time coming to have this car beneath us and we couldn’t start off in a better way. We had this suspicion that it was going to be a bit of a yo-yo effect, and as soon as one of us got in front, it just felt impossible to hold it. With this Straight Mode we lose a lot of the front end on the car so we’re sort of just understeering a lot around these corners. It was a bit sketchy, but I made it in one piece and I’m just glad to be 1-2".
Kimi Antonelli was delighted as Mercedes achieved the best start we could have wished for at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, rounding out a rollercoaster weekend with a hard-fought P2 behind winner George Russell. Antonelli faced two setbacks in the first round of the season as he suffered a major crash in FP3 before recovering to qualify in second place. His front row start was then jeopardised as he tumble down the order, before forcing his way back through the field. Over the course of the first stint, he caught up to the frontrunners at a rapid rate, clearing Arvid Lindblad and Isack Hadjar to improve to P4 before Mercedes executed a flawless strategy which helped them to finish ahead of Ferrari. Antonelli says after the race:
"It was the best start we could have wished for. Unfortunately the start was really bad and I lost a lot of places and found that I had to recover, but overall it was a good race. The pace was very strong, especially at the end, and I’m just looking forward to next week. The racing was incredible on the first few laps. With the overtake, it’s so powerful that it can give a lot of action, so it was really good fun at the beginning. Now a bit of rest and looking forward to China".
At one stage of the weekend, it looked like the Italian wouldn’t even be able to partake in Qualifying due to the extensive damage sustained in his FP3 crash, but Mercedes were able to repair the car just in time for him to progress from Q1. He ultimately maintained his Qualifying position of P2 to secure his fourth career podium, but it was far from a straightforward drive. Ask to elaborate on the problems he faced at lights out, when the grid tried a new start procedure for the first time, he responds:
"We had an issue at the start with the battery, then the procedure was very stressful. I had a lot of wheel spin and it was a pity - I couldn’t even do burn outs going to the grid, but the pace was very strong and I think it’s very promising. I think it’s going to be a fun year. Of course the team did incredible and today was possible because of yesterday. The team was able to fix the car yesterday and it allowed me to still perform. I’m super happy".
Charles Leclerc was encouraged that Ferrari delivered by enjoying a strong start at the Australian Grand Prix, with the Monegasque pleased that the squad performed better on race day than in Qualifying - while also suggesting that his P3 result was the best we could do. Having lined up in fourth on the grid, Leclerc had a lightning launch in Melbourne which saw him surge into the lead ahead of polesitter George Russell. A thrilling scrap then played out between the pair over the next few laps, continually swapping places as they fought for P1. While both Russell and Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli made a pit stop during an early Virtual Safety Car phase - called due to Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar pulling off the track - Ferrari kept Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton out, as they did during a second VSC phase later on when Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas retired near the pit entry. This meant that, when the Scuderia pair made their stops, they emerged behind the Silver Arrows cars - and while it initially seemed that Mercedes would pit again, the squad opted to run until the end, with Leclerc having to settle for third place behind Russell and Antonelli. Speaking after jumping out of the car, Leclerc commented that he had a fun first part of the race before adding that P3 is the best we could do today. The 28-year-old also says:
"It looked like Mercedes maybe had a bit more pace than us today, but maybe not as much as what we saw yesterday so that’s a good thing. I don’t think we would have won".
When asked later on if he felt that Ferrari were in the mix, the Monegasque elaborated further on his Grand Prix as he responded:
"Yeah, I don’t know. It looks like we are much better in the race than in Qualifying for sure, compared to Mercedes, but I don’t know if they’ve shown all their pace that they had. Today I was quite surprised that we were on as far as what we expected before, but on my side it’s been quite a poor race in terms of performance. I was quite slow all race long - we’ve got to look at that. The car felt very strange in general, so I don’t think I was in the right window of the set-up. This is something I will work for in order to be in a better place in Shanghai, but it was quite a crazy start. It was good to be first - there was lots of expectation on us, and we delivered so that was good".
Pushed on whether he felt that he and the team could be in contention should they get on top of those issues, Leclerc reiterated the importance of the development race during the season ahead:
"We’ve got a lot of work to do, but it’s only the first race and it’s going to be a championship won with development, as I’ve said many times. We’ve got plenty coming - I’m sure all the others do too, but hopefully we are on the better side of things. Lots of work ahead anyway".
Lewis Hamilton has been left excited for what is to come after enjoying a really fun Australian Grand Prix, with the seven-time World Champion admitting that he wished the race could have gone on longer - particularly after only just missing out on P3 to Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc. Starting from P7 on the grid, Hamilton made a strong start when the event got underway in Melbourne, climbing up to third place behind the similarly fast-launching Leclerc and the Mercedes of George Russell. With both of the Scuderia’s cars remaining out on track during two Virtual Safety Cars - while Mercedes pitted Russell and Kimi Antonelli in the first phase - the Silver Arrows made a one-stop strategy work, meaning that Leclerc and Hamilton slipped behind them when they eventually made their own stops. While it seemed that Mercedes had sealed a 1-2, Hamilton chased down Leclerc in the final stages of the race - but the seven-time World Champion narrowly lost out on the last spot on the podium, crossing the line a little over half a second behind his team mate. Despite this, Hamilton was left feeling positive about his afternoon in Melbourne, commenting afterwards:
"I feel great. I feel like I could have kept going - I wish the race was longer! Another five laps or so, I think I would have got third. There’s lots and lots of positives to take from today and the car’s feeling great. It was actually a really fun race".
Quizzed on whether he felt that Ferrari could get themselves into the fight at the front should they make further improvements over the next few races, the Briton responds:
"Yeah, I think we’ve got some work to do to try and catch up… We’ve got to work on improving our power, clearly, because Mercedes have just got more power than everyone, it seems, or more battery power, not really sure what it is. But I really think we maximised our result and our performance, and I felt great in the car so I’m really, really excited for the next races".
Lando Norris has suggested that McLaren need to improve the car quite a lot following his P5 finish in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, with the Briton admitting that he was struggling with a lot of things during the race. After team mate Oscar Piastri spun off the track on his way to the grid, Norris was the papaya squad’s sole runner in the race. Starting from P6 on the grid, the reigning World Champion kept himself within the top-10 battle but could not match the pace of the leading Mercedes and Ferrari cars. Despite facing pressure from a chasing Max Verstappen in the latter stages, Norris held onto fifth place at the chequered flag and later admitted that his afternoon in Melbourne had been challenging. The 26-year-old explain:
"It was tough, of course, trying to learn on the go and understand things - difficult, not an easy thing to try and understand and to maximise. But I think we learned through the race - we clearly did because at the beginning of the race we were pretty slow. At the end of the race we were, I think, a little bit better and a bit more competitive, but comparing to Max, comparing to the cars ahead, not even close. We have a lot of things to look into, to try and understand, and I think we have to understand the power unit more, but that’s what today was for and we’ll see what we can learn for next week. But it’s clear today that we also need to improve the car quite a lot - to be honest I would say it’s more about the car than just the power unit, but I need to go and look at the data and understand things a little bit more. It was difficult with the car and I was struggling with a lot of things. We’ll look at stuff and see what we can improve".
While there were difficulties for McLaren during the first race weekend of 2026, Norris acknowledged that there is still a chance for the squad to catch up with their rivals in the campaign ahead:
"There’s a lot of time. I guess after the last few years it just hurts a little bit more, but I’m happy for George - he’s done a good job. Also Mercedes and Ferrari, they’re doing a good job, they’re doing better than we have. We need to learn, we need to understand quickly, but it does take time sadly - even though things are quick, it takes time and we’ll do the best we can".
Oscar Piastri cut a dejected figure as he began to process his shock pre-race accident at the Australian Grand Prix - a moment he put down to a combination of bad factors. Piastri, who had qualified fifth, was working through the reconnaissance laps at Melbourne’s Albert Park when he lost control of his McLaren machine at the exit of Turn 4 and slid helplessly into the concrete wall. Significant car damage ruled Piastri out on the spot, meaning he had to make his way back to the paddock and watch Sunday’s action from the sidelines. Says Piastri as he tour the media pen and open up on the incident:
"We need to review fully what happened. I think using… I got on the kerb a little bit… From what we’ve seen as well, I think everything kind of reacted the way it should within the rules, but essentially I had 100 kW more power than I’ve had the whole weekend, at the point that I shifted. When I shifted, it went into wheelspin, and given that I was on the kerb already, it was a combination of bad factors… Obviously it’s just very disappointing".
Ask how much it hurt him not to be able to race in front of his home crowd, Piastri adds:
"A lot. It’s a shame. Things like that shouldn’t be happening anywhere, especially at my home race. It’s obviously even more disappointing".
Max Verstappen has admitted that worrying about the competitive gap to Mercedes is not going to change anything after he charged to P6 from a P20 start in the Australian Grand Prix. On the rare occasion that the Red Bull driver qualifies towards the back of the grid, he typically manages to return to the points as the bare minimum, something which he repeated at Albert Park as he gained 14 positions through the race. He was knocked out in Q1 following a massive crash that saw him end up in the barriers before he could set a flying lap, prompting Red Bull to put him on hard tyres and elongate his first race stint. Taking eight points in the action-packed race could be considered an achievement, but Verstappen crossed the line 54.617s behind winner George Russell, demonstrating a significant gap to Mercedes. Ask whether he is worried about how large the Silver Arrows’ early advantage is, he responds:
"I can be concerned about it but it’s not going to change anything, right? I’m not concerned about it. We just work as a team to try and close that gap and step by step, hopefully we can be more competitive".
Verstappen added that the race felt okay as he became Red Bull’s sole finisher - after starting in an impressive P3, his team mate Isack Hadjar was forced to retire from the race with smoke billowing from the car. While a larger haul of points could have been on the table for the team, the Dutchman searched for the positives after learning plenty about the behaviour of the new cars, including how to pass those in front:
"Of course, we have quite a bit more pace than the midfield so I just needed to clear that cleanly, which I did. I learned a lot also in the battles and how to use the battery and stuff so that was quite a positive thing. At one point I was quite by myself, just settling in. I think the two hard compounds today didn’t really work for us so a lot of degradation, a lot of graining, and that made me then of course do a two-stop".