Motorsport

From “artificial” to “awesome” – how drivers rate the racing under F1’s 2026 rules

Sun, 2026-03-08 17:00
Formula 1 kicked off its new season in style at the Australian Grand Prix, which featured a frantic start, battles for the lead and a handful of retirements. George Russell won for Mercedes in a race that was dominated by talk of the new cars, which have divided opinion in the paddock.
For 2026, F1 rolls out new regulations that mandate for smaller, lighter cars that are powered by new hybrid ...Keep reading

Pit stop mishap hinders Mick Schumacher in oval debut

Sun, 2026-03-08 16:17
It was Mick Schumacher's first real test on an oval track, and it was an emotional roller coaster in the Arizona desert. After a Lap 1 crash in the season-opener in St. Petersburg, the son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher put in a brilliant performance in qualifying in Phoenix, placing fourth.
Newgarden, two-time IndyCar champion and eventual race winner, described Schumacher's ...Keep reading

Arvid Lindblad left "speechless" after points on F1 debut at Australian GP

Sun, 2026-03-08 16:00
Arvid Lindblad was left “speechless” after his “pretty nuts” Formula 1 debut where he scored points at the Australian Grand Prix while battling the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
The Racing Bulls driver climbed one spot to finish eighth at Albert Park, but at one stage was even running in third following a brilliant getaway for the 18-year-old Briton at race start. 
It ...Keep reading

Liam Lawson: Bitter Sergio Perez fights me ‘like it’s for the world title’

Sun, 2026-03-08 14:30
Liam Lawson has claimed Sergio Perez fights him “like it’s for the world championship”, after the pair aggressively battled in Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix.
Lawson dropped from eighth to 18th on lap one after failing to deploy his engine’s power for five seconds, which caused a frightful near-miss with Franco Colapinto; he then pitted under the first virtual safety car but ended ...Keep reading

Pedro Acosta leads MotoGP standings after opener – but history says it’s no title guarantee

Sun, 2026-03-08 14:00
Pedro Acosta left Thailand as the first leader of the 2026 MotoGP world championship. The KTM rider claimed his maiden sprint victory in Saturday's contest and followed it up with a second-place result in the grand prix itself.
Accumulating 32 points across the weekend, he now holds a seven-point lead over Thai Grand Prix winner Marco Bezzecchi, with Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez a further ...Keep reading

“It was just very dangerous” – Franco Colapinto’s scary near-miss with Liam Lawson at start of F1 Australian GP

Sun, 2026-03-08 13:30
Alpine’s Franco Colapinto expressed unabashed relief after narrowly avoiding a colossal accident with Liam Lawson’s crawling Racing Bulls at the start of Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix.
The race start was a point of concern amid F1’s switch to new power unit rules, with the removal of MGU-H making it harder for drivers to spool up the turbo.
Several competitors endured slow ...Keep reading

McLaren offers frank summary of F1 2026 performance with 0.5-1s gap to Mercedes

Sun, 2026-03-08 12:30
McLaren boss Andrea Stella admitted that it’ll take time to catch Mercedes in the 2026 Formula 1 campaign with the gap up to “one second” per lap after the Australian Grand Prix.
George Russell led a Silver Arrows 1-2 in the Melbourne season opener after beating team-mate Kimi Antonelli to pole, while being at least 0.7s ahead of the other 10 squads. 
Mercedes therefore backed up the ...Keep reading

Isack Hadjar calls on Red Bull to do better: ‘I would’ve taken the lead easily but had no battery’

Sun, 2026-03-08 11:30
Isack Hadjar called on Red Bull to “do better” after his lightning-quick getaway in Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix failed to pay off.
Starting from third on the grid after narrowly outqualifing the Ferraris and McLarens in Melbourne, Hadjar’s excellent reaction time meant he challenged polesitter George Russell for the lead within seconds.
However, that challenge was short-lived ...Keep reading

Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Australian Grand Prix

Sun, 2026-03-08 10:14
Winner: Mercedes - Toto's great revenge
Toto Wolff's grin as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli coasted across the finish line said it all. Mercedes is back with a vengeance, and its years in the doldrums have only meant revenge tastes sweeter.
As F1 switched to the bouncing ground-effect cars 2022, Mercedes's reign stuttered to a halt, powerless to see first Red Bull and then McLaren take ...Keep reading

Why Ferrari didn’t pit under VSC in F1 Australian GP

Sun, 2026-03-08 09:13
Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Fred Vasseur has explained why neither Charles Leclerc nor Lewis Hamilton pitted under the VSC in the Australian Grand Prix, after losing victory to Mercedes.
Leclerc’s lightning getaway earned him the lead of the Albert Park race from fourth on the grid, and he traded first place with George Russell on several occasions over the first 10 laps.
However ...Keep reading

LIVE: WSK Super Master Series - Round 4 in Lonato

Sun, 2026-03-08 09:00
After the first three events in La Conca, Sarno, and Viterbo, the WSK Super Master Series hosts its fourth round in Lonato this weekend. From 4-8 March, the championship organised by WSK Promotion will see 400 drivers compete at South Garda Karting with all categories fully represented, from the national MINI and OK-NJ to the international and high-performance OKJ, OK, and KZ2.
 
More ...Keep reading

Franco Colapinto praised for "cat-like reactions" after avoiding Liam Lawson crash in Australia

Sun, 2026-03-08 08:19
Former Formula 1 driver Anthony Davidson and 2009 champion Jenson Button have reacted to Franco Colapinto's "scary" near miss with Liam Lawson at the start of the Australian Grand Prix.
Colapinto, who started from 16th on the grid, quickly gained on Lawson at the start of the race as the New Zealander struggled to launch. Lawson had barely moved from the P8 grid box, forcing the Alpine driver ...Keep reading

Mercedes: “We have a fight on our hands with Ferrari”

Sun, 2026-03-08 08:09
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says “we have a fight on our hands with Ferrari” following Formula 1’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, which initially was closely contested.
Polesitter George Russell was eight tenths faster than the quickest Ferrari, driven by Charles Leclerc, in qualifying, but that advantage didn’t translate into race dominance.
Leclerc snatched the lead ...Keep reading

Why Max Verstappen “hopes” the FIA takes action against 2026 F1 rules

Sun, 2026-03-08 07:34
Max Verstappen hopes the collective negative response to the 2026 Formula 1 regulations will cause the FIA to take action after the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
This year sees the debut of what’s arguably the biggest regulation overhaul in F1 history with changes to both the chassis and power unit, the latter now being more reliant on electric power.
That has caused controversy ...Keep reading

Lewis Hamilton positive on Ferrari pace: A lot of work to do to catch Mercedes but not impossible

Sun, 2026-03-08 07:21
Lewis Hamilton has admitted that Ferrari still has a lot of work to do to catch up to Mercedes, but insisted that it is "not impossible".
Both Hamilton and his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc had incredibly strong starts to the Australian Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver took the lead from George Russell at the race start and the first handful of laps saw a strong battle between the two ...Keep reading

"It’s chaos” – Lando Norris continues criticism of "artificial" F1 2026 regulations

Sun, 2026-03-08 06:47
Lando Norris once again slammed the “very artificial” 2026 Formula 1 regulations as he reckons races are now more dangerous than before after the dramatic Australian Grand Prix.
This year, F1 is debuting its latest regulation overhaul with changes to both the chassis and power unit, the latter of which is the biggest contention point as electric power is more prominent. 
It means ...Keep reading

George Russell: "Nothing in the tank" to fend off Charles Leclerc at Australian GP start

Sun, 2026-03-08 06:32
Australian Grand Prix winner George Russell put an off-kilter start to the first Formula 1 race of the year down to having no battery power left on the grid, opening the door to Charles Leclerc at the start.
Both Russell and team-mate Kimi Antonelli endured difficult starts to the race at Albert Park. Russell slipped to second as Leclerc made a fast start to grab the lead, while Antonelli ...Keep reading

Ferrari will face questions after VSC strategy call in Australian GP, says Bernie Collins

Sun, 2026-03-08 06:30
Former Aston Martin strategist and Sky Sports F1 analyst Bernie Collins has argued that Ferrari's decision not to pit under virtual safety car conditions during the Australian Grand Prix will raise questions.
Ferrari had a strong start to the race at Albert Park. Charles Leclerc took the lead from polesitter George Russell at the start and both the Monegasque driver and his team-mate Lewis ...Keep reading

Ralf Schumacher: Mercedes still has “room for improvement” after strong Australian GP 1-2

Sun, 2026-03-08 06:05
Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports Germany pundit Ralf Schumacher claimed that Mercedes "still has a lot of room for improvement" despite a commanding season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Mercedes started with a front-row lockout with George Russell on pole position and his team-mate Kimi Antonelli beside him in second place. While the Brackley outfit saw fierce competition from Ferrari's ...Keep reading

Five quick takeaways from F1’s first race of the new era in Melbourne

Sun, 2026-03-08 05:39
New Formula 1 is… different
There’s a lot to take in from Melbourne. One thing is clear: drivers are not the biggest fans of this new Formula 1. And it isn’t too difficult to understand why – they made their point clear in the media. It’s way too complicated, “unnatural” and counter-intuitive – and in some ways indeed reminds of Formula E. Some of the onboard footage, seeing how ...Keep reading

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