Motoring News

McLaren's Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris says his team's history of developing itself to the front has bolstered his confidence the papaya squad 'won't be on the back foot' even if it's not among the two quickest teams in Melbourne.
While F1's first real pecking order in Melbourne has yet to emerge, and can fluctuate circuit to circuit depending on power unit demands, McLaren believes it ...Keep reading

Lewis Hamilton has stated that his goal is “to win” in 2026 as he enters into his second campaign as a Ferrari driver, with the seven-time World Champion explaining that he focused on “cultivating a positive mental attitude” during the off-season.

Oscar Piastri has vowed to do his “absolute best” to claim a “really special” home victory at the Australian Grand Prix, but the McLaren driver believes it would be “optimistic” to expect the squad to replicate the form they displayed 12 months ago.

Here are the number of penalty points that each driver holds entering into the 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

George Russell has expressed his trust in Formula 1 to make the correct decision over its forthcoming Middle Eastern grands prix amid the ongoing Iran-United States conflict. 
The US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran during 28 February, killing the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei plus many other officials and the situation has since escalated.
Iran and its allies ...Keep reading

Charles Leclerc believes Lewis Hamilton isn't in a "different place" at Ferrari compared to his first year with the team. Instead, he argues he's simply excited as the duo head into a bout of new regulations.
Hamilton's first season in red was a disappointing one as the seven-time world champion struggled with his Italian machinery. It was the saddest we'd seen the Briton as weekend after ...Keep reading

Esteban Ocon believes that overtaking currently looks "quite difficult on paper" as the new Overtake Mode only "seems to gain a tenth".
The new wave of regulations that has been introduced to Formula 1 in 2026 includes Overtake Mode, replacing DRS, along with active aerodynamics. Overtake Mode deploys an extra 0.5MJ of electrical power, allowing the car to reach higher speeds to aid - you ...Keep reading

Formula 1 in 2026 will be defining for Lewis Hamilton.
The seven-time world champion heads into the new regulation era amid questions regarding his future, as the past four seasons failed to witness the version which established him as arguably F1’s greatest ever. 
It started with three troublesome seasons at Mercedes before his blockbuster move to Ferrari for 2025, but last year was his ...Keep reading

Valtteri Bottas used the first FIA press conference of the 2026 season to poke fun at the Aston Martin team, joking that drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were his picks for a championship win.
It's been over a year since we've been treated to Bottas's dry humour in a press conference after he performed reserve driver duties for Mercedes in 2025. But with the driver's vast experience now ...Keep reading

Valtteri Bottas has been told he won't have to serve a lingering grid penalty at Formula 1's Australian Grand Prix.
Bottas accrued a five-place grid penalty on his last F1 outing at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for punting Red Bull's Sergio Perez - now his Cadillac team-mate - out of the way.
Drivers have to serve the penalty at the next round they take part in, which in the Finn's case ...Keep reading

Lewis Hamilton has confirmed that he is working on the F1 movie sequel.
The seven-time champion not only made a cameo appearance in the Brad Pitt-led film but also served as executive producer on the blockbuster. Since its release in June 2025, the film has exceeded $630million at the global box office and has been a regular in the 2026 awards season.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently ...Keep reading

Aston Martin has moved to change the messaging after team boss Adrian Newey’s frank admission that his drivers are likely to be limited to 25 laps of running in the Australian Grand Prix.
Vibrations from the new Honda power unit had been said to be damaging not just to the hybrid system but also to the car and its occupant, to the extent that the drivers risked long-term health issues if they ...Keep reading

Despite feeling optimistic going into the 2026 season, George Russell has admitted that the new set of regulations has made even the "straightforward" parts of Formula 1 racing feel complicated.
The Mercedes driver has arrived in Melbourne with a wide smile on his face after a successful stint of testing in Bahrain. The Brackley outfit looked fairly dominant in the running we saw at the Bahrain ...Keep reading

Live coverage of all the build-up ahead of the 2026 Australian Grand Prix weekend.

Oliver Bearman doesn't want to "draw any conclusions" from the Australian Grand Prix, arguing that the season-opening race could be the "worst-case scenario" for the new regulations due to the lack of braking zones at Albert Park.
While the 20-year-old driver has some reservations about the upcoming weekend of racing, he looked to the silver lining of capitalising on the chaotic ...Keep reading

Alpine Formula 1 driver Franco Colapinto has addressed the heated conversation shown between him and Flavio Briatore during the latest season of Netflix’s Drive to Survive.
After replacing Australian rookie Jack Doohan midway through the 2025 season, the pressure was on Colapinto to perform alongside his experienced team-mate Pierre Gasly. 
The second episode of the eighth season of Drive ...Keep reading

The Honda engine vibrations that Aston Martin is suffering are so severe that they limit the number of laps drivers are able to complete without risking damage to their hands, team boss Adrian Newey has revealed.
The new partnership between Aston Martin and Honda got off to a disastrous start in pre-season testing when a variety of reliability issues limited the AMR26's running. The headline ...Keep reading

Garrett Mitchell, who is better known as YouTuber Cleetus McFarland, is set to make his NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts (NOAPS) debut at one of the trickiest ovals in the sport -- Rockingham.
He will pilot the #33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, a historic organization and the defending NOAPS driver champions via Jesse Love. RCR also has six Cup titles, all with the legendary Dale ...Keep reading

Last year, Christopher Bell became the first driver in the Next Gen era (2022 onward) to win three consecutive Cup races, with Tyler Reddick recently becoming the second. However, Reddick is now the only driver in the 78-year history of NASCAR to win the first three races of a new season, winning two drafting tracks and a road course.
Since the modern era of NASCAR began in 1972, only eight ...Keep reading

Sky Sports has confirmed its broadcast team for the 2026 Formula 1 season, and the absence of former NASCAR and IndyCar driver Danica Patrick has been picked up by fans. 
Joining lead commentator David Croft will be Simon Lazenby, Natalie Pinkham, Ted Kravitz, Rachel Brookes and Craig Slater as presenters and reporters.
Martin Brundle, Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Jacques Villeneuve, Naomi ...Keep reading