2026 Australian Grand Prix Preview

A new-era begins for Formula One Racing, new cars, new drivers, new teams, and even a new track, and it begins down-under at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia.

Having won his maiden World Championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, McLaren’s Lando Norris comes into this season with a massive weight off his shoulders now that he has won the most coveted prize in motorsport. Can the British driver be the first McLaren driver to win back-to-back championships since Mika Häkkinen did in 1998 and 1999?

Contenders for the World Championship

If we go off the basis of testing in Bahrain, then 2026 could be an absolute mega season for Formula One, with how close it is between the top four teams. Looking at the contenders for the big prize, George Russell is the bookies' favourite to take his first world championship, just like Norris was last season. Mercedes is expected to be extremely competitive this season, and we have seen in the past how Russell is able to get the best out of a car that might not be the quickest overall, as shown by his wins in both Canada and Singapore last season.

However, both the McLaren drivers will be hot on his tail. Norris will be confident in his own abilities that he can defend his crown, while Oscar Piastri will also believe that now is his moment, having led the World Championship for such a long time in 2025, before a scrappy end to the season saw him miss out at the final race.

You can never count out Max Verstappen in a fight for the world title either; the Dutchman nearly overturned a 100+ point gap after the Dutch Grand Prix, missing out on a fifth consecutive triumph by just two points. It will be interesting to see how competitive the Red Bull is with the all-new Ford backed Red Bull Powertrains engine.

Based on testing, Ferrari should not be discounted either, with their true competitiveness yet to be known. Charles Leclerc did set the quickest lap of the entire test, over eight-tenths quicker than anyone else, but no one knows how much either the Scuderia had turned their engine up, or how much sandbagging was going on from the others. If it does seem to be a true reflection, then both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will be poised with a car ready to fight it out for the championship. Hamilton, of course, is still looking for that record-breaking eighth Drivers' Championship trophy.

Having both had brilliant rookie debut seasons, plenty of eyes will be looking to see how Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar do in the second seats at Mercedes and Red Bull. Hadjar made the jump up from Racing Bulls to the senior team like so many others have done. Both will be expected to compete for podiums and even a victory, but it would be a huge story if either managed to get themselves in the fight to win the championship.

All new Straight Mode

At the end of 2025, Formula One said goodbye to DRS (Drag Reduction System), which allowed the rear wing of a car to open for increased speed when within a second of another car, after a 14-year stint in the sport. Under the new set of regulations, it has been replaced by 'active aero'.

Like DRS, the rear wing will still open when on straights, but now, the front wing also opens at the same time. This joint movement helps both to reduce drag (the air resistance slowing the car) and to increase speed down the straights. For the first race in Melbourne, the new “straight mode” sections of the track essentially replace where the DRS sections used to be, so Turn 6, Turn 10, and then a double dose all the way from the main straight to Turn 3.

Race start dilemma

The race starts are going to look slightly different in 2026, due to the new regulations. There was a lot of debate during pre-season testing about the race starts, as previously, the MGU-H (Motor Generator Unit-Heat, a component that recovered energy from exhaust heat to power the turbocharger) helped to get the Turbo up to speed, allowing drivers to rev the car up for a race start. The MGU-H has now been removed, which means the turbocharger (a device that increases engine power by forcing extra air into the combustion chamber) now relies only on energy from the exhaust gases to reach optimal speed.

The higher the revs, the quicker the exhaust flows, which allows the turbo to spin quicker, but when it is not running at the maximum boost pressure, there will be a short delay between the pressing of the throttle from the driver and the power that they get; this is turbo lag.

During testing, Ferrari’s race starts were phenomenal because they had purposely focused on trying to improve in that area of the car. McLaren was also quick with their starts towards the end of the second test.

The new procedure, which was tried during the second pre-season test at the Sakhir International Circuit, is that after the formation lap, the drivers will all be given a pre-start warning with the grid panels flashing blue for five seconds, then the traditional five red lights will show. It’s hoped that it will allow the drivers enough time to rev the car up.

Stats

Circuit Length: 5.278 km

Number of Laps: 58

Fastest Lap Time: Charles Leclerc - 1:19:183 (2024)

Race Distance: 308.124 km