Drivers who have used the #1 since 2000:
• Lando Norris ('26)
• Max Verstappen ('22-'25)
• Sebastian Vettel ('11-'14)
• Jenson Button ('10)
• Lewis Hamilton ('09)
• Kimi Raikkonen ('08)
• Fernando Alonso ('06-'07)
• Michael Schumacher ('01-'05)
• Mika Hakkinen ('00)
What is your bold prediction for the first race of the 2026 F1 season?
I'll start: We will see 4 red flags in the race, beating the previous F1 record of 3 from the 2023 Australian GP.
The last time Max Verstappen started 20th was the 2021 Russian GP when he ended up finishing 2nd.
If I had a nickel for every time new engine regs began with a top 3 in qualifying consisting of two Mercedes drivers and a Red Bull driver making his team debut alongside a 4-time champion teammate, I'd have two nickels.
Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice
For the first time ever, Lando Norris has been outqualified by his teammate in Australia.
Oscar Piastri gets it done at his home race.
Isack Hadjar's first qualifying as a Red Bull driver 😳
• Qualifies P3
• Outqualifies Max Verstappen, both Ferraris & both McLarens
First polesitter of the turbo-hybrid era:
• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
First polesitter of the energy era:
• George Russell (Mercedes)
Feels like a déjà vu for Mercedes 👀
Isack Hadjar is the first Red Bull driver to make Q3 in their debut for the team since Max Verstappen at the 2016 Spanish GP 👏
Gabriel Bortoleto will forever be in Audi's history books as their first Formula 1 Q3 appearance.
Arvid Lindblad has made Q3 on his F1 debut at 18 years old.
That’s how you make an entrance.
March 7 2025: Cadillac officially approved to join F1
March 7 2026: Cadillac participates in its first F1 qualifying session and qualifies ahead of Max Verstappen
3.7 seconds covers P1 through P19 in the first Q1 session of these new regulations.
This also means that in his first race as a Red Bull driver, Isack Hadjar will have qualified ahead of Max Verstappen.
First time Verstappen will be outqualified by a teammate since Baku 2024.
After one flying lap, Max Verstappen already has as many Q1 eliminations in this era of regulations (1) as he did over the entire ground-effect era (1).
Fastest laps in FP3 from Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull ⚔️
*Pretends to be shocked at Mercedes*
It would be a shame for Kimi Antonelli if his car is too damaged for qualifying.
Him and George Russell had some more impressive long run pace in FP3.
George Russell was faster in FP3 today than the best time from FP3 in Australia in 2022, the last time we had a major regulation change.
FP3 Australia 2026: 1:19:053 by George Russell
FP3 Australia 2022: 1:19:117 by Lando Norris
The funniest possible outcome after all the outcry over the current regulations is us getting an entertaining race & then watching everyone try to backtrack & say, well if the races are going to be like that, who even cares?
Something I'm personally rooting for ...
Cadillac would become the first completely new team to score points on its F1 debut since Haas did at the 2016 Australian GP.
Would be a nice story if the same thing happens again a decade later.
The last time a Ferrari driver left a race leading the championship was the 2022 Miami GP 😳
When will this streak end?
F1 predicts McLaren to be fastest in qualifying and race pace with Mercedes, Ferrari & Red Bull next.
The last time a Mercedes driver led the championship was Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Russian GP ...
21 years ago today, Red Bull made its Formula 1 debut. Since then:
• 6 constructors championships
• 8 drivers championships
• 111 poles
• 130 wins
• 297 podiums
Most Poles At Albert Park 🇦🇺
Mercedes - 6
Ferrari - 6
McLaren - 6
Red Bull - 5
Who will it be? 👀
Aston Martin announced the Honda PU deal in May 2023.
How did they not find out about the lack of experience until November 2025 on a trip they took to Tokyo to discuss rumours about their own engine supplier (🤨), I'm baffled at the communication here.
🚨 These are some really interesting comments from Adrian Newey:
• Honda re-entered F1 with roughly 30% of their original team
• Many members of Honda now are fresh to F1
• Aston Martin only really became aware of Honda's inexperienced team LAST NOVEMBER
Tried tracking some long runs from Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren & Red Bull in FP2.
Hard to draw anything from most of them but Mercedes got a good number of laps in and looked good.
🤯 The driver who went fastest in FP2 of the first race during the last two major regulation changes went on to become champion & dominate the era:
2014: Lewis Hamilton 🏆✅
2022: Max Verstappen 🏆✅
2026: Oscar Piastri 👀
The fastest laps from Ferrari & Red Bull in FP1 compared to Mercedes' best laps.
Last time we had new engine regs (2014), Lewis Hamilton - who previously won his maiden title with McLaren - was 19th in FP1 in Australia, the first race.
Lando Norris - who won his maiden title with McLaren - was 19th in FP1 in Australia, the first race of new 2026 engine regs.
