Formula One was back in action for the first time in 2026 for the FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2026: A new season, new regulations, new cars, and new teams.
Although he should have seen 22 cars lined up on the starting grid, only 20 were present when the lights went out to start the formation lap. Oscar Piastri crashed into the barriers on the reconnaissance lap, losing control on the exit of turn four. Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi had a technical issue on the grid, and he was wheeled back to the garage before the formation lap.
When the race started, both Mercedes drivers had a slow start from the front row of the grid. Kimi Antonelli was the slowest, suffering significant wheel spin and dropping to P7. George Russell also had a slow start from pole position and was a sitting duck into the first corner. Isack Hadjar looked as though he would challenge for the race lead into the first corner, but it was Charles Leclerc who managed to thread his car through to the lead.
Although he lost the lead, Russell would cling on, producing a thrilling multi-lap battle for the lead. He managed to retake the lead on the second lap, but Leclerc got by again on the outside of turn nine the following lap. Russell was a little frustrated with Leclerc, who he felt squeezed him on the run to turn 11 on the seventh lap, but race control determined no investigation was necessary.
Russell found his way to the lead on the inside of the third corner on lap eight, but Leclerc fought back to leapfrog back to the lead at turn eight later in the lap. Although the duo had initially managed to build up a gap over Lewis Hamilton in third position, the seven-time World Champion had clawed his way back into contention in the battle. Russell attempted to overtake Leclerc into the first corner on the following lap, but locked up and could not keep the position.
The battle neutralized when the virtual safety car was deployed on lap 11. Isack Hadjar, who was having an impressive run in his first race with Red Bull, suffered an engine failure and came to a smoky stop.
The VSC was an opportunity for some teams to replace their medium tyres with hard tyres. Lando Norris was one of the drivers to take advantage of this chance, as did both Mercedes drivers. Critically, Ferrari did not pit either car.
There was a second opportunity to pit for tyres under the virtual safety car on lap 18 when Valtteri Bottas’ new Cadillac car ground to a halt at the pit entry. Many other cars dove into the pit lane, but the leaders had passed the pit entry when the VSC was deployed, and the pit entry was closed to allow marshals to clear the stranded car by the time they came back around.
Leclerc finally pitted for hard tyres on lap 25, unleashing his teammate into the lead. Hamilton held on until lap 28, when Russell overtook him at turn nine. He rejoined the race behind teammate Leclerc, who was in P3 some 15 seconds behind the leading Mercedes.
Aston Martin had a tough opening weekend, as expected, suffering a double retirement. Fernando Alonso disappeared into the garage on lap 15, but the car emerged from the pit lane roughly ten laps later to race some more laps, looking to get some additional testing data to make up for a rough pre-season test programme. The team had suggested they could not run more than 25 laps in the race due to a battery shortage and severe vibrations caused by the new Honda power unit. Lance Stroll parked in the garage on lap 39, but also returned to action after around 15 laps.
Rookie Arvid Lindblad had a strong debut with Racing Bulls. He looked racy on the opening lap, challenging Hamilton and Hadjar for P4. Although he dropped down the field as the race progressed, he impressed with some defensive driving against Max Verstappen and Oliver Bearman.
Verstappen managed to get up into the points positions quickly in the race, having started the race from the rear of the field after crashing early in qualifying on Saturday. In the second half of the race, he began to pressure Norris for P5. He was delayed slightly by a third virtual safety car for debris from Sergio Perez’s bargeboard, but it was only a brief neutralization.
Verstappen began to pressure Norris on lap 35, but Norris dove into the pit lane for a second pit stop, switching to the medium tyres to get to the end of the race. Verstappen pitted on lap 42 for another set of tyres, opting to take the hard tyres. Although he had the fresher rubber for the closing laps, there were not enough laps remaining for Verstappen to challenge Norris, forcing him to settle for P6. But it was a good recovery by the Dutchman, earning him driver of the day.
Mercedes started the season on a strong note, with a 1-2 finish led by Russell, despite a lacklustre start from their two cars. Leclerc stood alongside them on the bottom step of the podium in what was a 3-4 finish of the Italian team. It will be interesting to see how the championship battle will develop as the season progresses.
This is only the start of 2026, and 23 races still await between now and the season finale in Abu Dhabi in December. There will be little time to process this racing action in Australia, as the teams and drivers will now head to China for the Chinese Grand Prix on the weekend of March 15.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 58 | 1:23:06.801 | 25 | ||
| 2 | 58 | +2.974 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 58 | +15.519 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 58 | +16.144 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 58 | +51.741 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 58 | +54.617 | 8 |  | |
| 7 | 57 | +1 Lap | 6 | ||
| 8 | 57 | +1 Lap | 4 | ||
| 9 | 57 | +1 Lap | 2 | ||
| 10 | 57 | +1 Lap | 1 | ||
| 11 | 57 | +1 Lap | |||
| 12 | 57 | +1 Lap | |||
| 13 | 57 | +1 Lap | |||
| 14 | 56 | +2 Laps | |||
| 15 | 56 | +2 Laps | |||
| 16 | 55 | +3 Laps | |||
| DNF | 43 | ||||
| DNF | 21 | ||||
| DNF | 15 | ||||
| DNF | 10 |
| 1 | G. Russell | 25 |  | |
| 2 | K. Antonelli | 18 | -7 | |
| 3 | C. Leclerc | 15 | -10 | |
| 4 | L. Hamilton | 12 | -13 | |
| 5 | L. Norris | 10 | -15 | |
| 1 | Mercedes | 43 | | |
| 2 | Ferrari | 27 | -16 | |
| 3 | McLaren | 10 | -33 | |
| 4 | Red Bull | 8 | -35 | |
| 5 | Haas | 6 | -37 | |
