After several long months, we can finally declare it race week! Formula 1 is back this weekend with the season-opener at Australia’s Albert Park circuit.
Every single season start is one that is always highly anticipated. But this year it’s amplified by the all-new, potentially life-changing, new-for-2026 regulations. Perhaps you think life-changing is a bit strong. But it isn’t really. These new regs could make someone like George Russell or Charles Leclerc a world champion. Or it could be the perfect cup-in-a-storm that finally brings Lewis Hamilton to that elusive eighth title. Heck, maybe it will miraculously raise the once-fabled Williams team from the ashes and restore them to championship-winning glory. Okay, maybe the last one is a bit of a stretch. Still, the great thing about the new regs, love them or hate them, is that they bring an amped-up sense of unpredictability to the table, which is something that has always made Formula 1 better.
READ MORE HERE: F1 2026: Pre-season testing, Week 1
The Albert Park circuit, a semi-permanent street track in Melbourne, isn’t ever going to be at the top of the name-your-favourite-track type of list. Yet there is something sacred about the circuit. Bathed in the bright Aussie sunshine, it has marked the start of the new F1 season for a good few decades now, give or take a few years. And for that reason alone, it’s steeped in F1 lore, imbued with the smell of brand-new F1 cars as they’re waiting to write the chapters that will become the story of 2026. The track is an outlier in terms of its layout. In recent years, it’s undergone some changes that have improved its flow, and when it rains here, it becomes a serious challenge to successfully and safely navigate the slippery white lines littered throughout nearly all of the 5.3 kilometres. It has never been high up on the list for overtaking either, but given the ‘issues’ with recharging of batteries, we may yet see a few more passes. The tyre strategy has always been quite straightforward too, what with the near indestructible rubber that Pirelli produces these days. What shakes things up is the appearance of the Safety Car, which is heavily prevalent at the Australian Grand Prix. The weather, too, as always, is never too distant a consideration to factor in, around these parts. Altogether, the Albert Park circuit has all the ingredients to produce an entertaining race.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2026, IT'S RACE WEEK!! 🤩
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 2, 2026
This weekend, 22 drivers will take to the track in Australia for the first round of the season 🙌#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/ai83EtH7Ko
But who will receive the famous Jack Brabham steering wheel on top of the podium come Sunday? The top four are still very much…the top four. McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari are not facing any great threat from behind. The question remains as to which order the Big Four will be in when it comes time for lights out. There are many who would put money on a George Russell/Mercedes win, and they wouldn’t be completely bonkers to do so. The Merc ran well in pre-season and especially on acceleration out of corners, looked to be a cut above. But, besides the completely different track layout in Bahrain, conditions were also a lot cooler. As such, it remains to be seen if the Merc is a car for all seasons and all tracks. However, a Merc win is probably the safest bet. But who would want to play it safe! There is every chance too that Ferrari could finally ascend to the front.
The joy of this is that there is no definitive way of telling who will do what. Therein lies the beauty of not only the new regs but the unmistakably electrifying feeling of being on the cusp of a brand-new season of Formula 1.
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