F1 update – Australian GP

The first of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship was held the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia for the Australian Grand Prix. This was also the very first race of the new rules and the new car designs as well.

There were a lot of overtakes in the Australian Grand Prix, 120 to be exact. In the end it was Mercedes driver George Russell kick starting his season by taking victory down under ahead of his Mercedes Andrea ‘Kimi’ Antonelli despite the latter not getting the best start to the race with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completing the podium in third.

Australian GP – top 5:

• 1st: George Russell – Mercedes
• 2nd: Andrea ‘Kimi’ Antonelli – Mercedes
• 3rd: Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
• 4th: Sir Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari
• 5th: Lando Norris – McLaren

Other highlights:

• Red Bull had a mixed race as Max Verstappen who started twentieth after spinning out in qualifying ended up finishing the race in sixth, whilst his new team mate Isack Hadjar would retire on lap 11 with an engine failure.
• McLaren’s Oscar Piastri’s race ended before it begun after he crashed out on the way to grid.
• Haas’s Oliver Bearman drove a fine race by finishing seventh.
• Racing Bull’s rookie driver Arvid Lindblad impressed all weekend by finishing the race in eighth on debut, his team mate Liam Lawson had a nightmare start, but recovered to finish the race in thirteenth.
• Mixed fortunes for Audi in their first race as a constructor which saw Gabriel Bortoleto finish in ninth whilst his team mate Nico Hulkenberg couldn’t start the race with mechanical problems for his car.
• Cadillac struggled in their first race as a constructor which saw Sergio Perez finish the race in sixteenth 3 laps down whilst his team mate Valterri Bottas retired on lap 16 with fuel system problems.
• Aston Martin really struggled as Fernando Alonso retired on lap 22 whilst his team mate Lance Stroll finished the race 15 laps down and therefore wasn’t classified in the final result as he hadn’t completed 90% of the race distance.

News:

• Former Red Bull boss Christian Horner and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff could go into battle to buy Alpine.
• Former F1 driver Felipe Massa is to recieve £250k from the FIA, Formula 1 Management and Bernie Ecclestone in damages over the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix fiasco.
• Mercedes were fined $7,500 for releasing Andrea ‘Kimi’ Antonelli’s car unsafely during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix.
• 7 time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton opened on his ADHD diagnosis ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.

The next round of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship will take place at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China for the Chinese Grand Prix on 13th to 15th March.

Here’s Aston and regular contributor Cameron Perkins with the latest from the world of Formula 1.