Australian Grand Prix: The return of the 2026 season; A deep dive into the new regulations.

It was an intense weekend in Australia. Seeing the brand-new regulations out in force, with the excitement of a new season awaiting us all.

With hometown hero Oscar Piastri expected to make a comeback from last year’s unfortunate error. However, the Aussie hearts would break again after an issue with excessive power on the lap to the grid would result in Piastri hitting the barrier between turns 4 & 5, ending his weekend before it even started. The devastation was seen around the world for Piastri fans. Mclaren fans weren’t left out, with teammate Lando Norris still able to score points for the team ending up P5.

An unfortunate end to Oscar Piastris day, out before the race began.

Mercedes was the strongest out of the gates with a 1-2 finish in Australia, George Russell taking the top step and Kimi Antonelli in P2. They had the expected pace we all predicted they would but did struggle from the line given the race starts were better from other teams.

Ferrrari were another force to be reckoned with alongside the Mercedes duo. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both got brilliant starts in the race with Leclerc even making it to P1 by the first corner of lap 1. The race starts looked brilliant and brought real potential for the team. By the race completion, Charles Leclerc was P3 with Lewis Hamilton very close behind in P4.

The podium at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix

The race itself was full of unexpected dramas. Isack Hadjar out qualifying his teammate Max Verstappen wasn’t on the table, but another issue with power resulted in Verstappen starting P20, whilst Hadjar started P3, his first top 3 for the season. This wouldn’t last long with an engine issue forcing Hadjar to retire on lap 10, whilst Max Verstappen would have an impressive result ending up P6 and scoring vital points for the team.

The rookie Arvid Lindblad had a successful result in his first race out as an F1 driver, keeping himself within the top 10 and finishing P8, scoring essential points for Racing Bulls. Liam Lawson however stalling his car at the race start, could only manage P13, a disappointing result given the experience he has.

A close call between Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto after Lawson stalled his car.

A quiet weekend remained for Williams, who appear to be working out issues and may get there at some point, however only managing P12 with Alex Albon and P15 with Carlos Sainz.

Similarly, Haas driver Esteban Ocon and Alpine driver Franco Colapinto also had a tough but quiet weekend. Ocon would finish just outside the points in P11, whilst Colapinto would finish P14. Their teammates however had a great weekend, both receiving points for the team. Oliver Bearman finished in P7, and Pierre Gasly took out the 1 singular point in P10. This looks like promising ability from these two teams.

Aston Martin were able to complete more laps than they first predicted, with Fernando Alonso initially retiring, but coming back out for more data and would go to complete only 21 laps. Whilst Lance Stroll was able to successfully complete 43 laps, with some of that being laps for data.

Some of our unfortunate retirees from the race included Nico Hulkenberg who could not start the race and the Honorary Aussie Valtteri Bottas in the new Cadillac car. Their teammates however were able to complete the race. Audi was able to get into the top 10 with Gabriel Bortoleto in P9, whilst Cadillac’s Sergio Perez was 2 laps down on the field and could only manage P16.

A difficult first race for Valtteri Bottas at the Australian Grand Prix.

We move on this weekend to the Chinese Grand Prix, with a Sprint race inbound. New regulations, less practice sessions could mean chaos for the drivers.