Motoring News

Charles Leclerc thinks Ferrari are “on the back foot” heading into the first weekend of the 2026 F1 campaign, with the “very, very strong” Mercedes appearing to be “a bit more in front than what I would have wanted”.

Mercedes were left with plenty to debrief after Kimi Antonelli and George Russell placed P2 and P3 in FP2 for the Australian Grand Prix.

Join McLaren's Oscar Piastri for his pace-setting lap on Friday at the Australian Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri seemed to temper expectations despite setting the pace in FP2, reporting that the complexity of the new cars will see everyone “find a big step” ahead of a crucial Qualifying hour for the Australian Grand Prix.

A busy second practice hour in Melbourne saw McLaren's Oscar Piastri set the pace.

Cadillac Team Principal Graeme Lowdon felt the squad had met their objective to “start racing” on a “hectic” first day for them at the Australian Grand Prix, with both cars gaining mileage despite some issues.

Théophile Nael took a maiden F3 pole position in Melbourne with his final lap of the day.

Fabio Quartararo says it is unlikely Yamaha will be able to bring an updated version of its V4 MotoGP engine until after the French Grand Prix in May.
Last weekend’s Thailand Grand Prix exposed Yamaha’s straightline speed deficit in 2026, with Quartararo running 6.5km/h slower than the fastest bikes at Buriram, and the other M1 riders losing significantly more in the speed trap.
Since ...Keep reading

Formula 1 CEO and president Stefano Domenicali feels the likes of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were too early to criticise the series' new 2026 regulations.
The two world champions voiced stinging criticism of 2026's complicated new ruleset during Bahrain winter testing, with Hamilton feeling the new power units and their complex energy management requirements are too convoluted to explain ...Keep reading

Mercedes’ pace in free practice for the Australian Grand Prix shows the Silver Arrows aren't concealing their true performance like they used to, according to Charles Leclerc.
McLaren was fastest on Friday in Melbourne with Oscar Piastri lapping in 1m19.729s; Mercedes was two tenths away with Kimi Antonelli setting a 1m19.943s, but the W17’s long-run pace particularly impressed Leclerc, who ...Keep reading

McLaren's Oscar Piastri sets the fastest time in Friday practice at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso is disappointed by Aston Martin no longer having spare batteries for its Honda power unit in what has been a disastrous start to its 2026 Formula 1 campaign. 
The Silverstone outfit entered a works’ deal with Honda for the new regulation cycle this year, but vast problems have arisen in the buildup to the first race due to excessive vibrations in the engine. 
Aston has ...Keep reading

Brodie Kostecki took victory in the second Supercars race of the Australian Grand Prix weekend at Albert Park.
In an action-packed race Kostecki, who was feeling better after falling ill on Thursday, watched as Matt Payne led away from pole position. Kostecki stalked the Grove Racing Ford Mustang for the opening four laps, before the Dick Johnson Racing Mustang found a way through to the lead ...Keep reading

Following FP2 at the Australian Grand Prix, Alex Albon has admitted that Williams is certainly on the back foot after a challenging Friday in which it battled with data collection and deployment issues across the day's running.
Teams are facing a steep learning curve as they adapt to Formula 1's new era of regulations, and Albon has made it no secret that the Grove outfit is playing catch-up ...Keep reading

Red Bull Formula 1 driver Isack Hadjar has confirmed that reliability is good from the Milton Keynes outfit, but that he struggled with consistency during the second practice session ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
The French-Algerian driver put in the fourth-fastest time behind his new team-mate Max Verstappen in third during first practice, before going ninth-fastest in FP2 with ...Keep reading

Dino Beganovic delivered under pressure to earn the first Formula 2 pole position of 2026.

TEAM REPRESENTATIVES: Toto WOLFF (Mercedes), Adrian NEWEY (Aston Martin), Graeme LOWDON (Cadillac)

Oscar Piastri finished the first day of running in Australia at the top of the timesheets, beating the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in another eventful hour.

Live coverage of Friday's second Formula 1 practice session for the 2026 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari set the pace as the 2026 F1 campaign kicked off with the opening practice session for the Australian Grand Prix.