Motorsport

Formula 1's Australian Grand Prix will debut the five-second 'pre-start' delay to allow the drivers at the back of the grid extra time to prepare their new powertrains for the beginning of the race.
The revisions to the starting procedure has been detailed in the race directors' notes, following a successful test in the final week of pre-season testing in Bahrain. This came following concerns ...Keep reading

Formula 1’s 2026 season begins this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix, opening a new era for the championship following a major overhaul of both chassis and power unit regulations.
After nine days of pre-season testing across Barcelona and Bahrain, teams arrive at Melbourne’s Albert Park with only limited data on the competitive order. Early indications suggest McLaren, Mercedes, Red ...Keep reading

Aston Martin could be forced to limit its running in the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix this weekend as severe engine vibrations are impacting its car and drivers, with Lance Stroll comparing the issue to getting electrocuted.
All eyes are on Aston Martin at the opening race of the 2026 F1 season after a tough start to the year. The team was late to the Barcelona shakedown and struggled in ...Keep reading

Ford has ended Chevrolet’s 12-race winning streak in Supercars racing after Brodie Kostecki took victory in the opening race of the Australian Formula 1 Grand weekend at Albert Park.
Kostecki led a Ford Mustang domination of the opening race on Thursday. The Dick Johnson Racing driver took pole position (the fifth different driver to do so in five races) under odd and somewhat brave ...Keep reading

Max Verstappen reckons it’s too late to make tweaks to the 2026 Formula 1 regulations despite Carlos Sainz calling for the FIA to listen to feedback and be fluid with any changes.
This year, F1 is debuting what’s arguably its biggest regulation overhaul in history with changes to both the chassis and power unit, the latter of which is the biggest point of contention. 
That’s because ...Keep reading

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

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

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