The Writers Verdict: 2026 Australian Grand Prix
9th March 2026The Formula 1 season has officially begun as the Australian Grand Prix concluded, won by Mercedes George Russell, and here is our writer’s verdict of the season opener.
Feature image credit: Getty Images // Red Bull Content Pool
Lucas Hamilton – ApexMotorsports.co.uk Contributor
Lined up to be a new spectacle for Formula One, the Australian Grand Prix thoroughly delivered the excitement that a lot of people feared would be lost with these new electronics-based regulations. Through the first 12 laps, specifically the racing between Russell and Leclerc, bringing Hamilton into the fight as well, was truly breathtaking.
The only drawback came from the feeling of inevitability left over from qualifying, that Russell was going to run away with the race once the Ferraris let him in front.
The return of mechanical retirements, while hurting the spectacle of this race, was something sorely missing from Formula One. The feeling that any driver could fail to finish left the second half of the race, while not having as much on-track action as the first half, still as tense as the beginning of the race.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar is comfortably sitting inside the top 5, after a stellar performance in qualifying from the Frenchman, having his engine fall so spectacularly. In retrospect, the failure was detrimental to the on-track product, still filling a hole F1 has not had since the beginning of the last turbo-hybrid era.
The race succeeded, overall. The ruleset paved the way for an exciting, chaotic, and successful debut for these new cars, and the amount of on-track passes surely won over a lot of the detractors after qualifying yesterday. While not the peak of on-track action, Formula One rarely is, yet the allure and the spectacle of the fastest cars on the fastest tracks has not been lost.
FOM and the FIA should rest easy knowing that the regulations worked a treat, at least to me.
Kamron Kent – ApexMotorsports.co.uk Founder
Going into the race weekend, it was a mix of excitement and concern. Excitement because the F1 championship had finally restarted after the winter break, and concern for the latest regulations. However, in hindsight, the concern was not needed.
At the start of the race, we saw several lead changes as Russell led and then lost the lead to Leclerc. It was a thrilling start to the race and held firm for at least the first third before it began to fizzle out, after Leclerc pitted and Russell took the lead, and remained unchallenged for the rest of the race.
The only caveats to this race are that it is the first time each driver has attacked the asphalt in competitive anger, and it’s the first race in a new regulation ruleset. Back in 2022, Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen battled it out for the win regularly before Verstappen finally walked away with the title.
So, it can be exciting and thrilling now, but the development race could – and likely will – determine the outcome of the championship, more than battery management.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Antonelli admits to ‘stressful’ start after Mercedes one-two at Australian GP
- Why Sergio Perez avoided punishment at Australian Grand Prix
- Australian Grand Prix: 3 Winners & Losers
- George Russell heads Mercedes 1-2 at Australian Grand Prix
- Oscar Piastri crashes on way to 2026 Australian Grand Prix grid
- George Russell heads Mercedes front row at Australian Grand Prix
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The ApexMotorsports.co.uk Team brings together the voices of our writers and contributors covering the latest stories from across the motorsport world. From race analysis and breaking news to opinion and event coverage, our team provides insight into Formula One, World Rally Championship and other major racing series.
