By Daniel Feuerstein | Melbourne, AUS.| March 5th, 2026 |
The New Season begins in the Land Down Under
After a long offseason, the new 2026 Formula One racing season is underway at the Albert Park Circuit as the opening Practice run got underway in the Australian Grand Prix. Same designs, but new parts for these new cars coming in to see who can take advantage and break them in at the opening practice of this race, which will be held on Saturday. The drivers went out to test their cars, and while most had a successful practice, a few had issues. But the new racing season is here, and everyone is getting excited for the start.
The new cars have hybrid engines. While they will still consume gasoline, there is a button on the steering wheel to switch to an electric engine for added performance while racing. The front bumper and rear spoiler flex when the brakes are applied, and the bottom of the car is flatter to improve aerodynamics and make the car flow better. They also tested the tires: the majority went with the soft tires, while seven tried out the medium tires to test the track and their cars. But issues did pop up, especially for both McLaren drivers.
Practice 1 recap
Oscar Piastri lost power right after the opening lap and was stranded on the track until they got him back inside the paddock. Later, Lando Norris had gearbox issues, and the car stalled. He had to return to the paddock and have his car checked out as well. Neither of the McLaren cars got off to a good start in their first practice session. Franco Colapinto of Alpine had an issue when his car left the track, drove over the pebble bed, and stalled. Alexander Albon of Williams lost power steering
For Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen had an excellent first practice, going around the track without an issue, even though there was a moment at turn three where the right side of the car dipped down a bit and kicked up some dirt or smoke, but he was fine heading back to the pit lane. His teammate, Isack Hadjar, also had a strong practice day. While he was seen losing a bit of control, going off the track through a small dirt bed and onto the grass, he still found his way back onto the track and completed the practice.
As Nico Hulkenberg of Audi started the practice run, it would be Charles LeClerc of Ferrari who finished with a time of 1:20:267. His teammate Lewis Hamilton finished second, while Verstappen finished third, and his teammate Hadjar finished fourth. A solid start to the Australian Grand Prix with two more practices to go, then Qualifying, and then the green flag will go down for the actual race. The second practice will be up very soon.
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