The 2026 Formula 1 season gets underway properly with the 58-lap Australian Grand Prix.
The new campaign is one of the most eagerly anticipated in years, as a major regulations overhaul sets up one of the most unpredictable seasons in F1 history.
Mercedes and George Russell have stunned its grid rivals, after a dominant display in qualifying saw the Briton lead a team 1-2 and leave its nearest competitor almost eight tenths behind.
As such, Mercedes starts the 2026 Australian Grand Prix as favourite to win.
Isack Hadjar has made a promising start to life as a Red Bull driver, as he took third in qualifying with the team's new in-house Ford-backed power unit.
The Frenchman's performance was a boost to Red Bull, after four-time world champion Max Verstappen crashed out during Q1 having not registered a lap.
Verstappen, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the new generation of cars, will go from the back of the grid.
Ferrari will line up fourth with Charles Leclerc, after a small issue in the final segment of qualifying hindered his charge. Ferrari engines proved rapid during practice starts in testing, making the Scuderia one to watch when the lights go out.
Team-mate Lewis Hamilton will launch from seventh on the grid, with reigning world champion Lando Norris sixth after suffering front wing damage due to striking debris during Q3.
The sister McLaren of home hero Oscar Piastri lines up fifth, while the top 10 is completed by Racing Bulls duo Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad, and Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto.
Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli - having since passed Hadjar for fourth - is also fast closing on this feuding top three.
Mercedes and Ferrari have a huge pace advantage here, but that's better than just Mercedes having the huge advantage many anticipated
2.5secs. between the top four
Some fantastic tussling here as Russell goes for the lead into Turn 1 but locks up, allowing the Ferrari back past on the run to Turn 3.
The battle has allowed Hamilton right into the fight - Russell holds the Briton at bay, but the top three are running very closely now.
Leclerc holds on again
Russell leads again after squeezing down the inside of Leclerc on the run to Turn 3, the Ferrari is glued to his rear though and attempts to go through on the outside of T11.
And he is successful, Leclerc back in front
Leclerc and Russell are getting frisky up at the front, the momentum shifting between them as they deploy battery at different points in the circuit.
Leclerc defends hard, drawing the ire of Russell, who calls it 'dangerous' on the radio
Speaking of Lindblad, replays show that not only did he successfully pick himself through at Turn 1 - unlike Hamilton, who ran wide after an initially good getaway - but he was the last of the late-brakers into Turn 3 to pass both the Ferrari and Norris on the outside
So, let's regroup
Leclerc leads Russell, the pair having swapped positions twice after the Ferrari got the superior start to lead into Turn 1 on lap one.
Hamilton, having been forced to pick through some drivers on lap one, is up to third and pressuring the leaders.
Hadjar is fourth, with now Antonelli - who bogged down from the front row - behind him after he gets past Lindblad at the start of lap five.
What a first few moments for Lindblad, who went from ninth to run third briefly on lap one. He is now settled in sixth and comfortably ahead of Norris in seventh.
Look at that start from the Ferraris!
Here we go, the to'ing and fro'ing of the new season is in full evidence as Leclerc - having initially dropped back from Russell after being passed - moves back through on the run to Turn 11.
Russell tries to respond as he did the previous lap but Leclerc holds his line this time.
Leclerc leads from Russell, while Hamilton has now closed back onto the lead two
Russell has regrouped and is putting pressure on Leclerc immediately on lap two
And just like that, he surges past on the exit of Turn 12 - Russell leads at the end of lap two
There had been rumours that Ferrari had a special trick at the start and so it proved, Leclerc blasting from fourth to first into the opening bend.
He holds a solid lead.
Meanwhile, behind Russell, Lindblad has had an incredible start and briefly runs third ahead of Hadjar, but Hamilton moves ahead of both before the end of lap one
Leclerc gets a blinder from the lights and takes the lead ahead of Russell, Hadjar and Lindblad
The 2026 F1 Season is GO!
The warm-up lap for the 2026 F1 season opener, the Australian GP, is underway with 20 cars filing around - minus of course, Piastri who is out already and Hulkenberg, who is in the pits
Nico Hülkenberg looks set to start this race from the pit-lane, his Audi hasn't made it to the grid.
Disappointment for the German after an excellent effort to put his car 11th on the grid and in the hunt for points - however, Gabi Bortoleto is still well placed in 10th
Lots of things to keep an eye for, so here is a rundown as we wait for green in just a few minutes...
Onboard of Oscar Piastri's sighting lap crash
| 2026 F1 Australian Grand Prix - Starting Grid | |||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team |
| 1 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team |
| 3 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Oracle Red Bull Racing |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP |
| 5 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team |
| 6 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Scuderia Ferrari HP |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team |
| 9 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | Oracle Red Bull Racing |
| 10 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Audi Revolut F1 Team |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Audi Revolut F1 Team |
| 12 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | TGR Haas F1 Team |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | TGR Haas F1 Team |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team |
| 15 | Alex Albon | THA | Atlassian Williams F1 Team |
| 16 | Franco Colapinto | ARG | BWT Alpine F1 Team |
| 17 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team |
| 18 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Cadillac F1 Team |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Cadillac F1 Team |
| 20 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing |
| 21 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams F1 Team |
| 22 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team |
Beyond Mercedes (and Piastri), is this the day to enjoy another classic Verstappen charge from the back of the grid?
The Dutchman crashed during Q1, leaving him 20th on the grid, so history would suggest something magical is again afoot, but it's going to be a hard slog for him - more so in a car that he has made abundantly clear he is not fond of.
On the other hand, team-mate Hadjar put in a stellar qualifying performance to line up in third place and pace would suggest he has a good shot at only a second career podium.
Even a top five would be handy - no Red Bull driver other than Verstappen has achieved that in an extraordinary 42 races!
After all, for all of Mercedes' performance might, at one point yesterday Antonelli's car was in bits after he also crashed heavily during FP3 - Albert Park is, of course, one of the less forgiving tracks on the calendar, more so when you're getting to grips with a new formula.
Whatever the opinions, it has all added up to a race many feel is predictable in terms of pace (Mercedes) but unpredictable for everything else...
In fact, one area of intrigue and concern is the starts with these new cars requiring a new way to get off away at the lights, something that hasn't gone entirely to plan for a lot of drivers during simulations. It could be a major flash point for this race.
Many see this as George Russell's to lose given the extent of his pace advantage the moment he let rip in the new Mercedes - but Piastri's crash - both a crash like that by someone like that - will send a shiver through every driver ahead of this race.
Norris - who starts fifth - said: "We've come from the best cars ever made in Formula 1 and the nicest to drive to probably the worst. It sucks, but you have to live with it.”
Verstappen - who starts 20th after crashing in Q1 - added: "I'm definitely not having fun at all with these cars. I don't know. You can make up your mind, but I think if you look at the onboard, you see enough, right? "The formula is just not correct, and that is something that is a bit harder to change, but I think we need to.”
Sainz, countered however: "In the end, I think it’s just self-harming to keep the fans and the journalists… if the drivers are overly negative about this set of regualtions, then I think everyone goes in at it."
Like we said, if anything unusual is going to happen at any point in the season, it'll most likely happen here - commentators' curse and all that
Before we recalibrate - and we before we confirm that it's the lack of knowledge in race weekend conditions for these new cars that might have triggered Piastri's crash - this might be a good time to consider some of the less than flattering comments about the regulations being bandied about after qualifying.
It's a crash that has been seen before here, the awkward bump on the exit of Turn 4 unsettling the car, which combined with very cold tyres (on a cool day) and upshifting lower down the rev range than usual, has caught him out.
It's a desperate outcome for Australia's darling and one that will sting for Oscar and the McLaren team for a long time to come.
But one thing is for sure, Oscar Piastri is OUT of the Australian GP on Lap minus-1
The incident has brought the sell-out crowd to an absolute standstill, no-one can quite believe it.
Absolutely devastating for Piastri, who was due to start fifth on the grid and bid to become the first local driver to win the Australian Grand Prix