Formula 1

Mercedes has begun the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship in strong fashion, dominating qualifying for the FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2026, locking out the front row.

George Russell led the way with a stunning lap of 1:18.51 in Q3, nearly three-tenths faster than teammate Kimi Antonelli.

Russell had already showed great pace with the fastest time in free practice, showing the car’s strong potential early on.

Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was the next quickest, just eight-tenths behind Russell and outpacing teammate Max Verstappen, who will start from the back after a high-speed crash early in the first qualifying session.

Australian Oscar Piastri will start fifth, alongside McLaren teammate and reigning World Champion Lando Norris in sixth locking out the third row on the starting grid.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll did not leave the garage, while teammate Fernando Alonso was eliminated in Q1.

Carlos Sainz also missed qualifying after Williams attempted to resolve an issue that left him stranded during practice.

Saturday’s results confirm Mercedes’ strong start to the weekend, with Russell and Antonelli showing exceptional pace.

Red Bull and McLaren follow, though Verstappen’s crash leave uncertainties ahead of Sunday’s race which will require him to make several moves to try and climb up the race order.

The 2026 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix will begin at 3pm on Sunday afternoon, preceded by the Drivers’ Parade at 1:30pm.

Formula 2

Joshua Duerksen has again began the Formula 2 season in fine form, winning the opening race of the year for the second time in a row for Invicta Racing.

The Paraguayan driver claimed his second consecutive victory in Sprint Races at the Australian Grand Prix, battling from second on the grid to the top step of the podium.

Campos Racing’s Noel León wound up in P2, with Alexander Dunne going from eighth to third for Rodin Motorsport.

Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak made a strong start to lead the field, while Oliver Goethe moved into second early. Duerksen quickly regained the lead, with Kush Maini and Noel León challenging around them early on.

Early incidents shuffled the order, including Maini spinning and Martinius Stenshorne receiving a penalty for leaving the track. León and Rafael Câmara fought through the field as battles for podium spots intensified.

A crash for Mari Boya’s crash brought out the Safety Car, which allowed drivers to change to fresher tyres.

Once racing resumed, Duerksen held a comfortable lead, with León overtaking Inthraphuvasak for second.

Duerksen claimed a clear victory, with León finishing second. Dunne was promoted to the final podium spot following Stenshorne’s penalty.

Inthraphuvasak completed the top four, ahead of Miyata, Minì, Laurens van Hoepen, and Roman Bilinski.

The race featured multiple strategic battles, overtakes, and recoveries, setting an exciting tone for the start of the 2026 Formula 2 season. The Formula 2 Feature Race begins Sunday at 11.25am.

Formula 3

In the first race session of the Formula 3 season, Bruno Del Pino secured his maiden FIA Formula 3 victory in the Sprint Race of the Australian Grand Prix, leading a Van Amersfoort Racing one-two finish ahead of teammate Enzo Deligny. Rodin Motorsport’s Brando Badoer completed the podium.

The race was ultimately red-flagged and called off early after a collision between PREMA Racing teammates James Wharton and Louis Sharp, one that resulted in Sharp receiving a 10-second time penalty post-race, dropping him down to 16th.

It was a difficult start for home favourite Wharton. Starting fifth, the Australian dropped to eighth by the end of the first lap after running deep into Turn 1 while attempting to avoid the back of Stromsted’s car.

By Lap 6, Del Pino had built a 1.3-second advantage over Deligny. The leading pair were closely followed by Badoer, with the top four opening a two-second gap to Taito Kato in fifth.

The race-ending incident occurred on Lap 8 when Wharton and Sharp went wheel-to-wheel early in the race, before making contact at the entry to Turn 6.

Both drivers crashed into the barriers, bringing out the red flag. With significant barrier repairs required, the stewards did not resume the race.

As more than 25% of the race distance had been completed, points were only awarded to the top five finishers.

Del Pino claimed victory ahead of Deligny and Badoer, with Noah Stromsted finishing fourth and Taito Kato fifth.

Supercars

Broc Feeney has reclaimed the championship lead early in the 2026 season winning Race 3 of the Melbourne SuperSprint at Albert Park, edging out Brodie Kostecki in a chaotic sprint featuring two Safety Cars.

Feeney held off pressure from Kostecki to win by just 0.1447 seconds, with Cam Waters and Kai Allen also finishing within a second of the #88 Ford.

The race was packed with incidents from the opening lap. Championship leader Matt Payne was taken out almost immediately after colliding with James Golding at Turn 2.

Payne’s #19 Mustang suffered three punctures and was forced to retire, dramatically shaking up the title fight.

Will Brown was then pushed onto the grass by Chaz Mostert before tangling with Jack Le Brocq and Cooper Murray, sending Murray into the gravel and triggering the first Safety Car.

Racing resumed shortly after where Kostecki quickly passed Aaron Cameron for second and began hunting Feeney.

Meanwhile, another incident involving Ryan Wood, Thomas Randle and Macauley Jones sent Jones into the barriers and Randle out of the race, bringing out the second Safety Car.

After the restart, Kostecki repeatedly attacked Feeney, forcing him to defend through several braking zones.

Behind them, more drama unfolded as Waters moved into third while Brown and Cameron tangled, ending both of their races.

In the closing laps, Feeney slid across the grass twice while defending but managed to keep Kostecki behind to secure the win.

Waters finished third ahead of Allen, with Mostert, Anton De Pasquale, David Reynolds, Cameron Hill, Andre Heimgartner and Le Brocq completing the top 10.

Feeney leads the championship by 45 points ahead of Payne, with Kostecki second and Waters close behind in third. The final race of the Melbourne SuperSprint on Sunday will decide the Larry Perkins Trophy.

Porsche Carrera Cup

McElrea Racing’s Harri Jones was able to work his way to the top of the podium after safety car-ridden second race session to claim his first Carrera Cup win of the season, just outlasting yesterday’s winner Marcus Amand.

The win for Jones came under a safety car after Ryan Casher made heavy contact with the wall after slipping on a fluid trail left behind by Angelo Mouzouris on the penultimate lap – both ultimately receiving DNF finishes.

Dylan O’Keefe did enough to close out the podium for Ram Motorsport, while closely behind him was Clay Osborne and Aaron Love.

Glen Wood also made his way into the points, while Max Geoghan could not replicate the same level of success two days in a row to finish seventh.

Jake Santalucia, Lachlan Bloxham and Diesel Thomas each rounded out the top 10.