Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain drives into pit lane after winning the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

AUSTRALIA — The hype surrounding the 2026 season for Formula 1 (F1) started mid-season last year when several teams, like McLaren who went on to win both the driver’s and constructor’s titles in 2025, stopped developing their 2025 car and turned their attention to figuring out the new regulations for 2026. I’ve heard the rule changes referred to as the largest change in a decade, the biggest overhaul in the history of the sport, and something that would fundamentally change how F1 cars drive.

Preseason testing showed there was a lot of development left to do for several teams, but also showed a pecking order wasn’t hashed out just yet. When cars actually take to the track for a race is the first time we saw drivers actually going all out and teams giving everything they have to try to win.

All the hype set high stakes set up for Australia on 3/8/2026, to show that these rule changes will make a meaningful impact on racing and put the drivers truly in charge of their cars. As the practice sessions started, many storylines played out in interesting ways.

Lewis Hamilton drove his Ferrari to the top of the time sheets in the first practice session looking like he actually enjoyed driving his scarlet red car for the first time since joining the team last year. Hometown favorite Oscar Piastri was able to take the top spot in the second practice session, much to the delight of his fans.

Hailed as the team to beat throughout the pre-season testing, Mercedes started showing their pace in the third and final practice session with George Russell setting the fastest lap of the weekend. His young teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli had a huge crash with minutes to go in the session meaning his team would have a huge amount of work in front of them to get the car drivable for qualifying.

On the opposite end of the speed spectrum, Aston Martin continued a woeful start to 2026 with mechanical issues preventing Fernando Alonso from driving in the first practice session and his teammate Lance Stroll from both the third practice session and qualifying. Williams also showed their cars need some help as Carlos Sainz ground to a halt in the third practice session and, like Stroll, was unable to compete in qualifying.

Saturday afternoon, drivers competed to get pole position and Max Verstappen, always able to get his Red Bull in the conversation for that honor, had an odd spin that ended with him sailing through a gravel trap and clobbering a barricade. This brought out a red flag to the first qualifying round and that stoppage of the clock gave Mercedes just enough time to finish repairs on Antonelli’s car, allowing him to compete. He showed his appreciation to his mechanics by immediately driving into second place by the end of qualifying.

Russell managed to get pole position by nearly three tenths of a second over his teammate, and nearly eight tenths over third place Isack Hadjar, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate. Hamilton was only able to get seventh, but his teammate, Charles Leclerc, was able to put his Ferrari in fourth.

On race day, the gathered fans sported a sea of green shirts and green and gold hats emblazoned with OP for Oscar Piastri. Qualifying in fifth and being ahead of his teammate, last year’s champion Lando Norris, throughout the weekend, Piastri was in high spirits for his home race.

During a reconnaissance lap on the way to the grid before the race even started, Piastri went over a curb and the car suddenly swerved to the left and plowed into a barrier. He was out of the race before it even started leaving fans stunned. He said that there was “a big element of it that was me,” but also said the new engines gave him, “about a hundred kilowatts of extra power that I didn’t expect, which is not insignificant.”

Nico Hulkenberg also failed to see the start of the race as the Audi team wheeled his car off the starting grid with a mechanical failure before the formation lap started. While there were no wrecks in the race, there were four other cars that didn’t finish. Hadjar’s engine blew, Valtteri Bottas lost drive in his Cadillac, and both Aston Martin cars couldn’t make the full race distance.

Unlike Hadjar and Bottas that were out of the race in an instant, Alonso and Stroll treated the race like an extended practice session, coming into the pits to change some things, then driving back out for a few laps. Like all the teams, they need as much information about their new cars as they can get, and the result was actually better than anticipated since they were predicting on Friday that neither car would even get to compete in the race at all.

As for the race itself, did it provide the spectacle the sport was promoting for many months? In short, yes, in many ways.

1. Ferrari showed they had great pace off the line which meant a lower qualifying position might not be a hindrance for them after all. Starting with Leclerc in fourth and Hamilton in seventh, they had a chance to show if the hype was real.

When the lights went out at the start of the race, Leclerc had to avoid a slow starting Antonelli, but still managed to get past Russell and into the lead after the first corner. Hamilton nearly passed Russell as well, from his seventh-place grid position, which is unheard of in previous years. These lightning quick starts could lead to race wins for Ferrari if passing proves difficult as it has in previous years.

2. Speaking of passing, the changes to the aerodynamics were supposed to make it easier for cars to follow closely, and “active aero” coupled with boost and overtake modes were all supposed to lead to more passing on track and in areas not seen before in previous years. Check and check in Australia…

Despite a massive pace advantage for Mercedes, Russell was unable to break free of Leclerc. The Ferrari drive took the lead early, but before the first lap was done, Russell drove his Mercedes back into the lead. Leclerc responded in kind, and the back-and-forth passing lasted for lap after lap. It was exhilarating.

3. Large changes in rules usually shake up the standard order of things and viewers won’t know who might win during a race. Australia’s fun race showed that Mercedes has a distinct pace advantage, but the early racing between Leclerc and Russell shows there is no guarantee Mercedes can run away with a title this year.

Ferrari bungled their strategy yet again, not pitting under the virtual safety car period like most of the rest of the field did. Instead, they pitted under green flag conditions and lost out ten seconds, at least, to Mercedes. Leclerc was more than fifteen seconds behind Russell at the end, but who knows what more wheel-to-wheel action would’ve meant for the race if Ferrari had pitted during a safety car period.

Russell was able to lap drivers through seventh place and would’ve done the same to Norris and Verstappen in fifth and sixth with a little more time. They have a rocket ship right now, but the development arc through the season should be interesting to see how other teams respond.

What is most exciting with the results from Sunday is that eight of the eleven teams are represented in the top ten. The two Mercedes were on top followed by the two Ferraris, but then McLaren, Red Bull, Has, Racing Bulls, Audi, and Alpine all had one car in the points. Williams, Cadillac, and Aston Martin are on the outside looking in, but there are still twenty-three more races to improve.

So, Australia showed we might be in for an unforgettable F1 season in 2026. Russell claimed his sixth victory and is leading the driver’s championship for the first time in his career which is entering its eighth season. Ferrari showed they have tools in hand to challenge Mercedes but need to figure out how to get out of their own way when it comes to strategy. Verstappen, never one who can be ignored, drove from twentieth to sixth over the course of the race and can likely be a factor in future races.

The only sure bet? More excitement is to come in F1 in 2026. Drivers are next on track in China this coming weekend with the race on Sunday, starting at 3 a.m. Eastern.