9m agoSun 8 Mar 2026 at 2:17amRussell says Ferrari ‘probably leading by turn one’

Mercedes were dominant in qualifying yesterday.

George Russell claimed pole position, and Kimi Antonelli was second, to lock out the front row for the Silver Arrows.

But Russell, a five-time grand prix winner, has says he expects a Ferrari to be leading at turn one.

During preseason testing, Ferrari’s launch compared to the other teams when doing practice starts looked mighty impressive.

Starts will be harder this year, because drivers need to spool more energy to launch off the line under the new power unit regulations.

Ferrari’s impressive starts in preseason has Russell believing he is powerless to stop a red car from leading at turn one.

“Ferrari can be starting anywhere in the top 10 and they’ll probably be leading by turn one. We need to keep our eyes out for them, they’re a rocket off the line.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start on the second row behind the Mercedes duo, while Lewis Hamilton is on the fourth row, directly behind the two McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Leclerc, speaking on the grid, seemed confident he could get a good launch, but was quick to also play up Mercedes’ power unit.

“Honestly, I think when Mercedes are in their optimal window for the engine for the start, I don’t expect big, big differences. For sure, we may be a bit more robust, but, I don’t want to speak to soon.”

17m agoSun 8 Mar 2026 at 2:10am

Mercedes team brilliant to get Kimi on track yesterday

G’day Mick. Still can’t get over Mercedes team effort yesterday. Can you recall any team rebuilding such a damaged car in such a short time before with such success ?

– Phillip

G’day Phillip.

Thanks for joining the blog, mate.

For those who missed it, Kimi Antonelli had a heavy crash late in practice yesterday. His team had just enough time to fix the car and get the Italian out into qualifying.

And the driver repaid the favour, but putting his car second on the grid.

Now, to your question, Phillip. There are plenty of examples of mechanics working minor miracles on cars. The first that came to mind was Red Bull on Max Verstappen’s car in Hungary, 2020.

The Dutchman went off the damp track on the way to the grid. The Red Bull team had essentially 30 minutes to fix car, while on the grid. The team completed the job with moments to spare, and Verstappen went on to claim second place.

26m agoSun 8 Mar 2026 at 2:00am

Grand prix is two hours away

We are now two hours away from the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

The drivers have made their way onto the grid for the drivers’ photograph that takes place ahead of the year’s first grand prix.

There will be a drivers’ parade soon, as they go around waving to the fans.

Once that parade is over, we really get serious.

37m agoSun 8 Mar 2026 at 1:50am

‘We hold a lot of power’: Records broken as women flock to F1

As more women and girls flock to Formula 1, the sport now faces the challenge to convert that fandom into female participation.

You can read the full story from ABC Sport journalist Marnie Vinall, by tapping the link below.

57m agoSun 8 Mar 2026 at 1:30am

What if today’s race is a let down?

What do you think would happen if todays race is an absolute let-down?

– Gibel

G’day Gibel.

I know the answer to this question: The circus packs up and moves to China for next weekend’s race.

There are always headaches at the beginning of a new regulation era.

Any headaches or negatives out of today I doubt will mean much.

Remember, F1 had new regs in 2014 and Mercedes were so dominant they won seven consecutive drivers’ championships and eight consecutive constructors’ championships.

Then a new era began in 2022, and Max Verstappen was so dominant in the second half of 2022 and all of 2023, he almost could have won races driving with one hand and waving to fans with the other.

And despite all of that, F1 has never been more popular.

1h agoSun 8 Mar 2026 at 1:10am

Catch up on the big F1 talking points from Saturday

Mercedes blitzed the competition yesterday, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri declaring the Silver Arrows had dropped the “sandbags” from their car.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen was involved in a big crash that did not seem to be his fault.

Want to catch up on the big talking points from Saturday? You can tap the link below.

1h agoSun 8 Mar 2026 at 12:50am

Will F1 be happy with the new cars?

Do you think F1 will be disappointed that qualifying times are 3 seconds slower this year from 2025? Wasn’t the new design supposed to faster?

– RayH

G’day Ray.

I’m thrilled you have joined me today.

F1 will have no worries about the speed of the cars. This was not only expected, it was also almost guaranteed.

The new F1 regulations were never intended to make the cars faster. They were designed to encourage better racing, and be more appealing to manufacturers to be part of the sport.

The power unit manufacturers are investing A LOT of money into the technology, and it is not just for racing. This tech funnels down to road cars as well.

It is why Audi and Cadillac have entered the sport, and why Ford has a partnership with Red Bull. Honda was going to leave F1, but reversed its decision because of the new power unit regulations.

F1 needs the manufacturers to want to be part of the it, and this era of regulations has already achieved that.

There are plenty of headaches at the moment. Drivers are not thrilled with these cars, because they are spending so much time harvesting energy rather than focusing on going fast.

But this is the first race of a new era of regulations that lasts until 2031.

F1 will judge the success or failure of this era based on the racing in a couple of years, not this afternoon.

1h agoSun 8 Mar 2026 at 12:30am

Catch up on Saturday’s qualifying results

Mercedes were brilliant yesterday.

George Russell stormed to pole position, while his teammate Kimi Antonelli was second-quickest.

It was, in the context of F1, daylight to the rest of the field.

Catch up on qualifying from our blog yesterday.

2h agoSun 8 Mar 2026 at 12:20am

Feeney loses title lead in massive Supercars smash-up

— reporting by AAP

Brodie Kostecki has claimed the Larry Perkins Trophy and Supercars championship lead, after a morning of carnage left Broc Feeney a victim of a massive first-corner pile-up.

Kostecki took his third win from four races at Albert Park this weekend, after the Dick Johnson Racing star passed pole-sitter Will Brown on the penultimate lap to take the lead.

Thomas Randle held off Jack Le Brocq for third spot, but the story was the mess that group left behind in the opening corner of the race.

Incumbent championship leader Feeney was one of three drivers to retire before the field even reached turn two, with at least 10 cars caught up in the collisions.

After Ryan Wood and Kai Allen made contact off the grid, the latter was then tagged by Macauley Jones before the first corner.

Jones went into the back right of Feeney, who lost a wheel and went pin-balling across the track.

Cooper Murray then collected Feeney as the 24-year-old tried to take evasive action across the grass, before being ploughed into by Zach Bates.

Behind them, veteran David Reynolds was also spun around by Rylan Gray, ruining both of their races.

After the chaos, Kostecki’s superb weekend continued from fourth spot as he passed Aaron Cameron and made a brilliant overtake on Thomas Randle.

Championship-contender Matt Payne also passed Randle on the next lap to take third, before his front-right tyre punctured a few corners later and deteriorated quickly to leave the Grove Racing driver back in 20th.

Cameron’s day was also ruined when he was squeezed into the pit lane by Chaz Mostert, adding to a horror weekend on which he has spun out of contention in each of the first three races.

But for Kostecki, this weekend has been a dream, even with the illness that left the 2023 champion vomiting in his helmet during a flying lap on Thursday.

His best move of the weekend was arguably his last, feigning to overtake Brown at turn 11 on the penultimate lap, forcing the Triple Eight Race Engineering star to lock up.

Kostecki then reacted quickly to swing to the inside and take the lead, making it three victories and a second-place finish for the weekend to win the SuperSeries event.

2h agoSun 8 Mar 2026 at 12:00am

How to follow the Australian Grand Prix?

Want to follow all the action?

You have a few options.

ABC Sport has a live blog throughout the day (which you are currently reading, and thanks for joining).

You also have multiple options to watch the race on TV or streaming.

Network 10 is the free-to-air broadcaster, with the race being shown on Channel 10 and streamed on 10 Play.

Pay television provider Foxtel will also broadcast the Australian Grand Prix on Fox Sports channel 507. You can also stream online via Foxtel Go or on Kayo.

2h agoSat 7 Mar 2026 at 11:41pmF1 season starts with new cars in spotlight

— reporting by AAP

Reigning world champion Lando Norris has launched a scathing attack on Formula 1’s new regulations, declaring that they “suck” and the 2026 cars are the “worst” in history.

The sport’s biggest regulations overhaul looms as the key issue for Sunday’s season-opening grand prix in Melbourne, with reliability also likely to be a big issue.

(Getty)

Under the new regulations, almost 50 per cent of a car’s power unit is a battery, which drains unless drivers recharge it while braking or by lifting off the throttle.

That has created a particular issue at Albert Park, with drivers needing to lift on the long sweeping back straight, given there are minimal twisty sections of the track.

The reigning champion Norris made no secret of his frustration over the current regulations, and where he fears they have left the sport.

“We’ve come from the best cars ever made in Formula 1, and the nicest to drive, to probably the worst. It sucks,” Norris said.

“Everyone knows what the issues are. It’s just the fact the engine is a 50-50 split and it just doesn’t work.

“You decelerate so much before corners, you have to lift everywhere to make sure the battery pack is at the top level.

“But if the pack’s too high, you’re also screwed. It’s just difficult.”

The British champion also suggested 20 of the 22 drivers on the grid had complained about the situation in a meeting on Friday.

Piastri was more reserved in his views around the new regulations after qualifying on Saturday, but noted the car was down 450 horsepower on some corners compared to last year.

“I think everyone can see the state of things,” the Australian said.

“I think it will probably improve a bit but there is clearly some fundamental things that won’t be very easy to fix. I don’t really know what we do about that.

“It will be better at different tracks. We will have different challenges at other tracks.”

3h agoSat 7 Mar 2026 at 11:25pm

Supercars race starts with chaos

The start of the Supercars race at Albert Park today can only be described as chaotic.

Multiple cars were involved in a big crash at the first corner, and in truth, the car banging started on the approach to the turn.

Several cars were eliminated from the race, but the most spectacular was the championship leader, Broc Feeney.

The Triple Eight Race Engineering driver was an innocent bystander when he was spun around. Feeney’s spinning car went into the path of Cooper Murray, who had moved off the track to avoid other contact. Murray clattered into Feeney’s car and ripped the right rear wheel off the Triple Eight Race Engineering entrant.

3h agoSat 7 Mar 2026 at 11:10pmWhat time is the F1 Australian Grand Prix?

Here is when the grand prix will begin in each Australian state and territory.

3pm AEDT: Victoria, NSW, ACT, Tasmania2:30pm ACDT: South Australia2pm: AEST: Queensland1.30pm ACST: Northern Territory12pm: AWST: Western Australia3h agoSat 7 Mar 2026 at 11:00pmWelcome to the ABC Sport F1 live blog

G’day.

Welcome to Albert Park, and welcome to ABC Sport’s live digital coverage of the 2026 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

My name is Michael Doyle (but you can call me Mick) and I will be bringing you all the action from Albert Park today.

A new F1 season has dawned, and its first grand prix is ready to be contested.

There are plenty of high hopes for Oscar Piastri, the Melbourne-born McLaren star hoping to be the first Aussie to win his home race since Alan Jones in 1980 (before it was an F1 race).

But the Mercedes team proved yesterday in qualifying that they are the team to beat, with George Russell claiming pole position in commanding fashion, and Kimi Antonelli second quickest.

Join me throughout the day and join the conversation in the comment section.