2026 Australian Grand Prix Preview

Guide to the 2026 Australian Grand Prix weekend as F1 kicks off the new season Down Under in Melbourne, Australia. 

McLaren and Lando Norris enter the season as the reigning constructors and drivers’ champions but with new technical rules providing a new challenge, this will be the first time that F1 fans will discover how each team properly stack up competitively against each other.

This weekend also marks the official on-track race weekend debuts for Audi and Cadillac, whilst Arvid Lindblad is the only new rookie on the grid as he joins Racing Bulls.

Now, here is everything that you need to know ahead of 2026 Australian Grand Prix.

 

Track Guide

Circuit: Albert Park Circuit

Laps: 58

Race Distance: 306.240km

Tyre Compounds: C3, C4 & C5

 

Schedule

Date	Session	Time (GMT)
Friday 6 March	FP1	1:30am
Friday 6 March	FP2	5:00am
Saturday 7 March	FP3	1:30am
Saturday 7 March	Qualifying	5:00am
Sunday 8 March	Race	4:00am

 

Five Key Pointers

• Despite Ferrari showing their potential on the final day of pre-season testing, it is unclear which of them, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull have the quickest car coming into the season opener.
• With warm temperatures forecast all weekend, tyre management will be key especially in the race so
• Having endured a tough pre-season test in terms of mileage, Aston Martin simply will view this opening race weekend as a chance to conduct further data gathering as they and Honda continue to build their new partnership.
• With the midfield pecking order currently unclear between Alpine, Audi, Haas and Williams after pre-season testing, Qualifying will give an indicator of how those teams stack up and whether Racing Bulls are quietly holding their cards.
• Cadillac were beset by reliability issues in pre-season testing and unable to properly showcase their raw single-lap pace, FP1 will give a glimpse of where they could stack up across the weekend.

 

Last Time Out

Norris dominated from lights out to checkered flag in 2025 as he survived three safety car periods and an off-track moment in wet conditions to take his first victory around Melbourne, whilst Isack Hadjar spun out on the formation lap on his F1 debut for Racing Bulls.