F1 Australian GP live race updates: the 2026 world championship kicks off. Follow the live race coverage of the 2026 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

F1 | Live race: the 2026 world championship begins. Live commentary – Australian GP

Everything is ready for the first race of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship at the Australian Grand Prix: Mercedes starts from the front row, while Isack Hadjar and Charles Leclerc are ready to challenge the Silver Arrows into Turn 1. There is also huge anticipation for Max Verstappen’s comeback drive from the back of the grid.

Here we are, everything is set in Melbourne where the Australian Grand Prix is about to begin, the opening race of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship. Mercedes dominated Saturday’s qualifying session by securing the entire front row with George Russell on pole position and Kimi Antonelli lining up alongside him. Behind them will start Isack Hadjar in third place with an excellent Red Bull, while Charles Leclerc will line up fourth with the leading Ferrari.

The live race commentary will begin at 4:50 CET, with the race start scheduled for 5:00.

Mercedes the clear favorite

The new Formula 1 season begins with the Australian Grand Prix and sees George Russell starting from pole position ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli. Mercedes has dominated the Melbourne weekend so far, showing a significant advantage over its rivals both on a single qualifying lap and during race pace simulations.

Ferrari has not yet found the expected feeling with the car: Charles Leclerc will start fourth, more than eight tenths behind pole position, while Lewis Hamilton will begin only seventh after struggling with energy management during qualifying. A surprising third place went to Isack Hadjar with Red Bull, who inherits the role of team leader after Max Verstappen’s dramatic crash in Q1: the Dutch driver hit the wall, probably due to a technical issue, and will therefore start from the back of the grid.

The McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris occupy fifth and sixth positions respectively, while Racing Bulls managed to place both of its cars in the top ten with rookie Arvid Lindblad in eighth and Liam Lawson in ninth place. The nightmare continues for Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso will start seventeenth, while Lance Stroll did not take part in FP3 due to an engine failure and will start last after failing to set a lap time in qualifying.

The race promises to be highly unpredictable, with Max Verstappen called upon to produce an epic recovery drive and Ferrari needing to rely on strategy in order to recover ground against the dominant Mercedes.

This is also the first Formula 1 race for Audi and Cadillac. The German manufacturer achieved encouraging results in qualifying by securing tenth and eleventh positions on the grid, although Gabriel Bortoleto was unable to participate in Q3 due to a technical issue.

The starting grid