Lights off and away we go
The 2026 F1 season kicks off in Melbourne
Just over a week ago, Formula One fans rejoiced after the three month off season came to a close, making way for the opening race of the 2026 season in Melbourne.
In terms of numbers, this was the biggest opening weekend yet for Australia as a record 483,934 people came through the gates across the four day F1 event at Albert Park in Melbourne.
With this current season being a notable one in terms of a change of rules and regulations, let us first take a look into what’s different.
New Teams and New Cars
It is not every season you see a new team in Formula 1, but 2026 is more than exceptional in this regard as fans were greeted by 2 new teams, Audi and Cadillac, during the opening weekend. Furthermore, fans also got to see the debut of 18 year old Arvid Lindblad of Indian descent drive for Racing Bulls. The last time Formula 1 saw a driver of Indian origin was back in 2012 with Narain Karthikeyan.
It’s not just new teams and drivers but also new cars. This season saw a big regulation shakeup in the ways the cars are to be built. The cars have a 200 mm shorter wheelbase and are 100mm narrower whilst being 30 kg lighter. The famed DRS or drag reduction system from previous seasons will be replaced with active aerodynamics. However, the biggest shakeup will probably be with the new power units.
The new power units/engines will see a 50-50 split between electric and combustion power share. Drivers can now control when they want to deploy extra power from their batteries. This should ultimately lead to an increased likelihood of overtakes in races, given how strategies will vary.
Practice and Qualifying
The practice session of the Melbourne Gran Prix (GP) was one of the first times drivers could truly test these new machines and see what they are capable of. Between the practice sessions, the pecking order became clear. Ferrari, Mercedes, Mclaren and Red Bull exchanged places for top spots. Drama unfolded in the third practice session when 19-year-old Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli crashed at turn two, leaving behind a tall order for his mechanics to get things fixed before Qualifying.
The Qualifying session started with a bang, quite literally as four time Formula 1 world Champion Max Verstappen crashed at the start of Q1 putting him towards the back of the grid for race day.
As Q3 ended, George Russel secured pole position with Kimi Antonelli setting the second fastest time thanks to the wizardry performed by his mechanics, making it a Mercedes 1-2 at the top. Third position went to Red Bull’s Isaac Hadjar with Ferrari and McLaren following suit.
Race Day
As if there was not enough drama with unfortunate crashes, lady luck played a cruel trick yet again as Australian Oscar Piastri managed to spin out of control before the race began during a warm up drive around the circuit. The damage was significant enough to exclude him from the race causing heartbreak for hometown fans and his team McLaren who are defending constructor champions.
The race got off to an electrifying start with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc utilizing the new battery power unit, to launch himself all the way into first from a fourth position on the grid. 18 year old Lindblad also made some bold moves, as he moved up to 4th on the first lap and battled seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton for position.
As the race progressed, Charles Leclerc and George Russel traded blows for first position with the lead changing a total of seven times over the course of nine laps. In terms of overtakes, this race was awash with position changes totalling up to 120 overtakes taking place; an exponential increase from 2025 where the Melbourne GP saw only 25 overtakes.
Another theme of the race was reliability issues as six drivers did not finish the race including Isaac Hadjar who was having a stellar race weekend. His teammate Max Verstappen made up for his unfortunate qualifying incident as he clawed up the grid to eventually finish in 6th Position.
Due to some poor pit stop strategies, Ferrari lost their chance at the lead with Mercedes completing a 1-2 finish with George Russel as the winner. Charles Leclerc finished 3rd ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton whilst defending Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris Finished 5th.
A Long Season Ahead
With the Melbourne GP concluded, we still have 23 races to go which includes an additional 6 sprint races. At the time of this writing, the Chinese Sprint race has just begun with Mercedes showing dominance once again. It is still anyone’s game. However, if the Melbourne GP is any indication of how things will go, fans can expect thrills, heartbreak and twists at any given turn.
