Australia examines F1 and its unknowns at the beginning of a new era

Formula 1 begins this weekend the 2026 World Championship and a new era with the new and revolutionary regulations for a new campaign full of unknowns that will begin to be cleared up in a first race to which Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull arrive after a more positive preseason than the rest, with little hope for Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Carlos Sainz (Williams).

After a shorter than normal winter, with ‘shakedown’ at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and two weeks of testing in Bahrain in the month of February, necessary for the teams to test the new cars, smaller, lighter and more agile and which will be the main protagonists of a new period in which McLaren arrives as the current Drivers’ champion – the Englishman Lando Norris, who already won the race in Melbourne in 2025 – and Constructors.

Although the favoritism this year, with many doubts still regarding the teams’ performance, seems to be more distributed, with some Ferraris that were scary, since the Monegasque Charles Leclerc was the fastest of the two weeks of testing. Along with him, Englishman Lewis Hamilton hopes to have reset and forgotten last year, on a circuit where he has two wins, in 2008 and 2015, and has the record for pole positions (8).

Faced with a ‘Prancing Horse’ that continues to desire that opportunity to compete for a title for the first time since 2008, Red Bull and the Dutchman Max Verstappen also finished the tests more satisfied than when they began them. In 2025, with a car inferior to the ‘papaya’, ‘Mad Max’ fought to the end for the World Cup, and now with Ford as his driver, the four-time champion is expected to remain competitive, with the limit of his car as a possible obstacle.

At first, Mercedes appeared in most pools as the great favorite, due to its engine, which has been surrounded by much controversy due to its compression and its measurement, in times where reliability seems to be one of the most important factors in the face of fear and the threat of multiple abandonments.

And it is not expected to be a kind weekend for Williams who already started the year late, not attending the ‘shakedown’ held in Barcelona due to a production problem. “The Williams can be improved in everything, it is very green,” Carlos Sainz even said once the tests in Bahrain were over, so those from Grove have a lot of work ahead of them and are not expected to be in the high zone in these first races.

The Madrid native has a positive and recent memory in Albert Park, where in 2024 he achieved victory in the race on Sunday 15 days after undergoing surgery for appendicitis, his third victory in the category. But this weekend the mission will be to learn and see where the FW48 is, which seems to have shown, at least, more security than the Aston Martin.

The test will be important for an AMR26, created from scratch by Adrian Newey, which has given Silverstone many headaches this preseason, with problems with the battery, the gearbox and, most recently, with vibrations since they started the car. An extreme situation that could cause Aston Martin to consider, according to Italian media, withdrawing early on Sunday and avoiding further damage.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso, with much less running than most, returns to a track where he won in 2006 with Renault, although with more pessimism than usual within a grid in which Cadillac will debut, with the Mexican Sergio Pérez in its ranks. Behind the four favorites, teams such as Racing Bulls, Haas and Alpine appear, while Audi is also joining in.

The drivers, including the ‘host’ Oscar Piastri (McLaren), await a 5.278 km, 14-corner track, which hosted the first Australian GP in 1996. The circuit will feature a new starting procedure, the new straight and overtaking modes and active aerodynamics, while no precipitation and maximum temperatures of 24ºC are expected.

–AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2026 SCHEDULES:

-Friday, March 6.

Free Training 102.30.

Free Training 206.00.

-Saturday 7.

Free Training 302.30.

Rating 06.00.

-Domingo 8.

Carrera 05.00.