The 2026 season starts in Albert Park, Melbourne, marking the 40th Australian Grand Prix. It’s also PIA’s home race, and he’s hoping to be the first Aussie to win this event. (See my 2026 season intro if you’re not familiar with the drivers’ abbreviations.)
The addition of Cadillac as the 11th team sees the return of Perez & Bottas; what might have escaped some people’s notice is that BOT still has to serve a five-place grid penalty that he received back in 2024! He was penalised for causing a collision with Magnussen on lap 30 of the Abu Dhabi GP.
Free Practice
- FP1: LEC (1:20.267), HAM, VER, HAD, LIN
PIA’s first run hit a problem, losing power in his McLaren
NOR had gearbox issues
VER locked up into Turn 3 but avoided the wall
COL wasn’t so lucky – he ran through the gravel in T3
LIN rolled to a stop at pit exit; he had to be pushed back to the Racing Bulls garage
BOT complained of being blocked by ex-teammate HAM
PER locked up and spun but didn’t damage anything other than his tyres
HAD locked up into Turn 1, cutting across the gravel and grass to rejoin the track
ALB had to park his Williams after a hydraulics failure
STR only completed three laps, but his Aston Martin teammate didn’t even leave the garage - FP2: PIA (1:19.729), ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC
RUS tried to cut in front of LIN and damaged his front wing; he had to be pushed back into the Mercedes garage to fix it
VER lost power at the end of the pit lane and had to be pushed back to the Red Bull garage
VER ran wide in Turn 10, kicking up gravel and grass; was there some bodywork in that debris?
COL’s Alpine lost power coming out of the final turn, causing HAM to take evasive action
HAM ran wide in T3, across the gravel; teammate LEC then did the same thing
RUS also went through the gravel at T3 after locking up - FP3: RUS (1:19.053), HAM, LEC, PIA, HAD
ANT took too much kerb in Turn 2, slamming into the wall both the right and left side walls, destroying his Mercedes and bringing out the red flags
Big lockup from ALO
SAI lost power just as he started to enter the pits, causing another red flag
Williams teammate ALB also lost power; he stopped on the side of the track but managed to restart the Mercedes engine
VER complained about steering issues
HUL reported his headrest was loose
No time from SAI or STR
Qualifying
With 22 cars competing this season, it’s the bottom six that will be eliminated at the end of Q1 and Q2
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
RUS 1:19.507
VER lost the Red Bull under braking into Turn 1, spun, bounced backwards through the gravel and slammed into the tyre wall, bringing out the red flag
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are COL, PER, BOT, VER, SAI, STR
COL P15, relegating ALO to P16
Back of the grid: ALO, PER, BOT, VER, SAI, STR
Qualifying session 2
RUS 1:18.934
HAD fighting the Red Bull through the final turn
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are HUL, BEA, OCO, GAS, ALB, COL
HUL P11
GAS P14
BOR has stopped in the pit entry – he’ll be pushed away by the marshals, but that means he won’t run in Q3
Middle of the grid: HUL, BEA, OCO, GAS, ALB, COL
Qualifying session 3
There’s a piece of a cooling system on track – replay shows ANT leaving the Mercedes garage with cooling pieces in both side pods!
NOR ran over the cooling piece, shattering it into tiny pieces; red flag so the marshals can clean up
Looks like the other cooling piece ended up in the gravel at Turn 1
RUS 1:19.084
HAD P2
ANT has a lockup, runs wide in T3
NOR P2
ANT 1:18.811
RUS 1:18.518
Chequered flag; order is RUS, ANT, LEC, PIA, NOR, HAD, HAM, LIN, LAW, BOR
HAD P3
NOR P6
HAM P7
LIN P8
Front of the grid: RUS, ANT, HAD, LEC, PIA, NOR, HAM, LIN, LAW, BOR
Provisional grid: RUS, ANT, HAD, LEC, PIA, NOR, HAM, LIN, LAW, BOR, HUL, BEA, OCO, GAS, ALB, COL, ALO, PER, BOT, VER, SAI, STR
Race
This will be Berndt Maylander’s 500th race – given the issues and incidents in FP and Quali, we may well see the Safety Car during the race
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
PIA is in the wall!
He took too much kerb out of Turn 3, spun into the wall, destroying the front-right
Radio from NOR asking what happened; he’s told PIA lost it shifting (changing gear) into Turn 4
PIA’s out of the McLaren, so he won’t take part in the race
Replay shows he was struggling with low battery and going through the gearbox syncs, on cold tyres
The rest of the cars make their way to the grid
Grid: RUS, ANT, HAD, LEC, (PIA), NOR, HAM, LAW, LIN, BOR, HUL, BEA, OCO, GAS, ALB, COL, ALO, PER, BOT, VER, SAI, STR
HUL’s has been removed from the grid; it’s in the Audi garage – will he be able to start from the pit lane?
Apparently they lost communication with the car when it was on the grid
There’s a whine of turbos spinning up before RUS leads everyone away on the formation lap
Everyone starting on medium compound tyres except HUL, COL, BOT and VER on hards; ALO and SAI on softs
COL has been noted for a starting procedure infringement
Radio from RUS concerned that his battery isn’t charged up enough
01/58: LEC takes the lead into Turn 1
HAM takes P3 from LIN
02: LEC, RUS, HAM, HAD, LIN, NOR, ANT, OCO, GAS, ALO, BOR, ALB, BEA, SAI, BOT, VER, COL, LAW, PER, STR; HUL still in the pits
RUS reclaims P1
Apparently ANT had no battery at the start
03: LEC blasts past RUS for P1
05/58: LEC, RUS, HAM, HAD, ANT, LIN, NOR, OCO, GAS, BOR, BEA, VER, ALO, ALB, SAI, COL, LAW, PER, BOT, STR; out: PIA, HUL
06: HAM had been closing on RUS but now he’s 2secs behind
Radio from RUS complaining LEC moving was “dangerous”
08: RUS inside LEC into Turn 3, takes P1
LEC around the outside of RUS into T9
COL given stop-and-go penalty for the start procedure infringement
09: RUS attacks into Turn 1 but locks up
10/58: LEC, RUS, HAM, ANT, HAD, LIN, NOR, OCO, GAS, VER
COL pits; serves his penalty
11: HAD slowing; smoke from the Red Bull
Virtual Safety Car deployed
12[VSC]: NOR pits; rejoins P9
13[VSC]: RUS and ANT pit; good work by Mercedes pit crew
Why didn’t Ferrari pit LEC or HAM? – HAM asks the same question
14[VSC]: Ferrari mechanics in the pit lane but neither car stops
VSC ends
Radio for ALO telling him to stop the car
15/58: LEC, HAM, RUS, LIN, ANT, VER, BEA, BOR, NOR, OCO
Radio for HAM telling him RUS is 10secs behind (after pitting); HAM is surprised
16: ANT takes P4 from LIN
PER and LAW bang wheels – not a surprise given they both drive by Braille
18: BOT has parked his Cadillac just to the side of pit entrance
VSC deployed
19[VSC]: LIN, VER, BEA, BOR all pit
Pit lane entry closed
20/58[VSC]: LEC, HAM, RUS, ANT, NOR, LIN, VER, BEA, OCO, BOR; out: BOT, ALO, HAD, PIA, HUL
VSC ended
VER all over the rear of newbie LIN
21: VER takes P6
Radio from HAM, “My tyres are OK; do not box me at the same time”
22: RUS sets a new fastest lap (not that there’s a point for that anymore)
24: ANT f/lap
25/58: LEC pits; rejoins P4
ALO had rejoined the race, he’s 12 laps down
27: PER noted for ignoring blue flags; he’s already been noted for a couple of incidents
28: RUS takes P1 from HAM
29 = half-distance: HAM pits from P2; rejoins P4
Radio from RUS, “I think 1-stop is viable”
30/58: RUS, ANT, LEC, HAM, NOR, VER, LIN, BEA, BOR, GAS, OCO, SAI, ALB, LAW, COL, PER, STR, ALO; out: BOT, HAD, PIA, HUL
32: VER closing on NOR
34: VSC deployed – debris on the track at Turn 8 – replay shows it came from PER’s Cadillac
Two marshals on track to pick up the bodywork
VSC ended
35/58: RUS, ANT, LEC, HAM, NOR, VER…
NOR pits from P5; mediums; rejoins P8
ALO pits again; is that to retire the Aston Martin? (It looks like it)
37: STR pits; he’s retiring too
40/58: RUS, ANT, LEC, HAM, VER, NOR, LIN, BEA, GAS, BOR, OCO, ALB, LAW, COL, SAI, PER; out: STR, ALO, BOT, HAD, PIA, HUL
BEA dives past LIN for P7, but LIN fights back; the Haas comes out ahead
41: LIN tries to reclaim P7 but BEA defends
GAS takes P9 from OCO but then BOR passes both of them
42: VER pits from P5; hards go on; rejoins P6
45/58: RUS, ANT, LEC, HAM, NOR, VER, BEA, IN, BOR, GAS, OCO, ALB, LAW, COL, SAI, PER
Radio for NOR warning him that VER is closing
47: SAI pits from P15; new front wing
48: VER under 1sec behind NOR
49: NOR defends P5
STR has rejoined the race, 12 laps behind PER
50/58: RUS, ANT, LEC, HAM, NOR, VER, BEA, LIN, BOR, GAS, OCO, ALB, LAW, COL, SAI, PER, STR
51: Radio for HAM telling him “Keep pushing – you never know”
55/58: RUS, ANT, LEC, HAM, NOR, VER, BEA, LIN, BOR, GAS, OCO, ALB, LAW, COL, SAI, PER, STR
STR is in the pits again
57: VER is 2secs back from NOR, but is that because he’s been charging his battery for a final lap attack?
58/58: HAM under 1sec behind teammate LEC
RUS takes the chequered flag
Provisional result: RUS, ANT, LEC, HAM, NOR, VER, BEA, LIN, BOR, GAS; OCO, ALB, LAW, COL, SAI, PER, STR
Post-race penalties: none
Result: RUS, ANT, LEC, HAM, NOR, VER, BEA, LIN, BOR, GAS; OCO, ALB, LAW, COL, SAI, PER
Not classified: STR, ALO, BOT, HAD, PIA, HUL