George Russell starts on pole for the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday as drivers battle for the opening race win of the season, and you can follow it all live on ESPN […]

Carlos Sainz’s troubled Melbourne weekend has triggered early concerns about potential grid penalties in 2026 […]

Jenson Button believes Ferrari’s explosive starts could launch Charles Leclerc from fourth to the lead in Melbourne […]

Also in Sunday's edition of the RaceFans round-up, IndyCar team Ganassi mocks Formula 1's new regulations […]

Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has spoken about why it is so important for Lewis Hamilton to outperform his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.After struggling in his first season with the Maranello outfit in 2025, Hamilton is eager to return to his championship-winning form after having a personal reset over the winter break.While it may seem obvious that drivers will always […]

It's time to round up a busy Saturday from Albert Park, with Mercedes having dominated the first qualifying session of the season […]

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard is confident that Honda and Aston Martin will bounce back from the difficult start to the 2026 season, but warned they will likely incur "massive penalties".The former Red Bull driver pointed to the cost cap as a big hurdle for the Silverstone outfit and its power unit supplier."Well, the last time we had this sort of difficulty was when Honda […]

Oscar Piastri has offered a measured verdict on Formula 1’s new 2026 cars, warning that some “fundamental” issues may not be easy to solve […]

Formula 1, FOM and Bernie Ecclestone have been ordered to pay £250,000 in legal costs for its ongoing case against Felipe Massa over the outcome of the 2008 world championship.Massa has been seeking approximately £64million in damages due to losing that year’s title to Lewis Hamilton, believing it was because of the disgraced 2008 Singapore Grand Prix that he did. Renault driver […]

The Australian Grand Prix, Formula 1’s first race of 2026, is expected to be one of the most-watched F1 races in recent memory. New rules, new cars, new teams, new drivers: this isn’t an event to miss and will set the stage for the remaining 23 races this year. For the first time in a decade, a larger grid of 22 cars will contest the Australian GP.Here is everything you need to know […]

Cadillac’s first qualifying session in Formula 1 ended in a double Q1 exit at the Australian Grand Prix, with the American car’s flaws now obvious.Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas failed to emerge out of Q1 in the newly named MAC-26 despite three drivers being unable to set a single lap time. They qualified down in 18th and 19th respectively, more than four seconds off the pace; Perez was […]

Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz have branded the start of the Formula 1 season as "tough" as they discussed the reality of travelling from Australia to China, back to Europe, and then out to Japan.The Australian Grand Prix kicks off the 2026 season this weekend and is part of a double-header with the Chinese Grand Prix, meaning the F1 paddock will pack up after the grand prix in Melbourne and head […]

Why did Ferrari’s pre-season promise disappear in qualifying for the 2026 Australian Grand Prix? Mark Hughes has a theory that we may soon see it again […]

Fernando Alonso qualified 17th in Australia, but believes there is a high ceiling with the Aston Martin AMR26 […]

Lewis Hamiltons first F1 world championship became the subject of legal action when former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa brought a £64m claim against Formula One Management, the FIA, and Bernie Ecclestone; A high court judge has ordered Massa to be paid £250,000 in costs […]

F1's new cars failed to deliver on a painful debut as Lando Norris and Co. raged at the driving experience - ESPN's Nate Saunders makes sense of the situation […]

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson's long-term partner, Hannah St John, has caught the attention of Formula 1 fans after wearing a $350,000 Formula 1-inspired diamond necklace to the Glamour on the Grid event ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.At first glance, the unusual necklace looks like a tangle of diamonds, but on closer inspection, it becomes clear that each individual part is made up of […]

Max Verstappen continued his longstanding criticism of the 2026 Formula 1 regulations by saying he feels “completely empty” after qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix.The championship is debuting its latest overhaul this year and the current ruleset is arguably the most controversial in recent times, due to its increased reliance on electric power. That has an approximate 50:50 […]

Former Formula 1 driver Jolyon Palmer has dampened some of Lewis Hamilton's optimism leading into the 2026 season, as he pointed to aspects of the cars under the new regulations that might not suit the seven-time champion.Hamilton has been much more positive about the 2026 F1 season as he puts the ground effect era behind him. While Palmer noted that some areas of the new regulations will lean […]

1George Russell (Mercedes)        2      Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)3Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)        4    Charles Leclerc […]

Lewis Hamilton leads the way as rivals accuse Mercedes of sandbagging and underplaying significance of compression ratio advantage […]

This may be anecdotal given the Australian Grand Prix is just the first round of the 2026 Formula 1 season, but Isack Hadjar is the first driver to lead Max Verstappen in their qualifying head-to-head since Daniel Ricciardo early in the 2017 campaign.That is largely down to Verstappen crashing out of Q1 in Melbourne with what may be a technical fault – Red Bull is “still trying to fully […]

Having clearly not received the memo from Stefano Domenicali, world champions Max Verstappen and Lando Norris remain unimpressed by the new generation of cars […]

George Russell expected Mercedes to be strong in Australian GP qualifying, just perhaps not this strong […]

Today's post-qualifying press conference with George Russell, Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar […]

Following weeks of speculation of just how strong Mercedes would be, Australian Grand Prix qualifying finally gave customer team McLaren some much-needed clues on where it is lagging behind Formula 1's new dominant force.As expected, Mercedes locked out the front row in Melbourne, with George Russell taking pole by three tenths over team-mate Kimi Antonelli and - more significantly - around […]

Formula 1's new rules for 2026 have made qualifying laps look like cool-down laps - and there's no easy fix for this built-in flaw […]

A Formula 1 driver may be “passed by half the grid” at the start of the Australian Grand Prix if they race ‘stupidly’, reckons Ferrari star Charles Leclerc.The championship is debuting its latest regulation overhaul this year with changes to both the chassis and power unit, which has vastly altered the way drivers go racing.That’s largely because of the engine tweaks with it now […]

F1's new era of regulations is off to a very rocky start, and there's no quick and easy fix to rectify what may be a major blunder […]

Carlos Sainz believes drivers should focus their criticism of F1’s new cars in private forums […]

McLaren Formula 1 team principal Andrea Stella thinks Melbourne's Albert Park circuit "definitely exposes some of the weaknesses" in the 2026 regulations as drivers voiced fierce opposition to the new power unit regulations.The new 2026 rules force drivers to heavily compromise their driving style to focus on electric energy saving. Following early warnings last year when drivers got a first […]

The sandbags are off and we now know for sure that Mercedes has a sizeable advantage in F1 2026 - but where does its advantage lie? […]

Gabriel Bortoleto's qualifying was brought to a premature end when his Audi broke down in the pit lane […]

What we learned from the first qualifying session of F1 2026 […]

Pictures from qualifying day for the 2026 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park […]

Mercedes stunned rivals in Melbourne qualifying, but Toto Wolff insists the team were not hiding pace before their dominant one-two […]

The Formula 1 grid is split on how much it expected Mercedes to dominate qualifying for the 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix after George Russell led a Silver Arrows 1-2. Russell took his eighth career pole after beating team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 0.293s, with third-placed Isack Hadjar close to eight tenths off the pace on his Red Bull debut. It therefore backed up the […]

Will the new requirements for drivers at the start of races in 2026 create an unpredictable dash to the first corner in Melbourne? watch Sundays Australian Grand Prix at 4am with build-up from 2.30am, live on Sky Sports F1 and Main Event […]

After Mercedes outpaced rival Formula 1 teams by eight tenths in Australian Grand Prix qualifying, Lewis Hamilton expressed concern about the German constructor’s engine advantage.George Russell was dominant on Saturday in Melbourne, topping all three segments of qualifying as Mercedes’ gap to its competition increased throughout.Russell ended up taking pole by 0.293s over team-mate […]

Oscar Piastri thinks McLaren was "overly optimistic" about its chances in Australia […]

Charles Leclerc admits Mercedes' speed at the Australian Grand Prix so far has been impressive […]

McLaren believe there is still significant performance to unlock as Andrea Stella studies how Mercedes exploited its power unit in Melbourne […]

Mercedes led the field by almost eight tenths of a second in qualifying. But did Red Bull or Ferrari have the potential to go faster? […]

The FIA has confirmed Lance Stroll will be allowed to start the Australian Grand Prix […]

Mercedes will have both cars on the Australian Grand Prix front row on Sunday, after Kimi Antonelli escaped a penalty for being released in an unsafe condition […]

World champion Lando Norris joins in with the criticism of the new generation of F1 cars […]

Charles Leclerc was stunned by Mercedes’ pace in Melbourne and doubts Ferrari’s strong starts will be enough […]

Lance Stroll has been given special dispensation to take part in Formula 1's Australian Grand Prix despite not setting a competitive lap time all weekend, with Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz also placed on the starting grid.The three drivers all failed to set a lap time in qualifying, with Verstappen crashing out in Turn 1 and Sainz coasting to a halt in the Williams on his out-lap. In their […]

Aston Martin Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll has received the permission to take the start in the Australian Grand Prix - but it required a "compelling" case from the team […]

Max Verstappen suffered an early high-speed crash in Qualifying which means he will start F1s 2026 season-opener from 20th; watch Sundays Australian Grand Prix at 4am with build-up from 2.30am, live on Sky Sports F1 and Main Event […]

It was a tremendously encouraging qualifying session for the team, and seeing Gabi reach Q3 is a special moment for everyone involved […]

Lewis Hamilton hopes Mercedes' power advantage in Australia is not a result of compression ratios […]

Kimi Antonelli labelled his Mercedes mechanics as "heroes" for fixing his car in time to make qualifying for Formula 1's Australian Grand Prix after his hefty FP3 shunt threatened to derail his weekend.The Italian had taken too much kerb at Turn 2 during the final stages of FP3 while attempting to start his qualifying simulation run, and careened into the outside wall as a result. His car came […]

Reigning champion Lando Norris says Formula 1 has gone from having the best cars in the sport's history to the worst after new rules were introduced for the 2026 season […]

What happened to Max is obviously very unfortunate and the most important thing is that he is okay. At the moment we are still trying to fully understand what happened […]

Mercedes had a monster performance in the first qualifying of this F1 rules era - but who else overperformed expectation, and whose year is looking a little worrying? […]