How to follow Australian Grand Prix on the BBC

What you need to know about the new F1 cars

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

The 2026 Formula 1 season has arrived and the first stop on the 24-race calendar is the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, from 6-8 March.

Sunday's 58-lap race starts at 04:00 GMT.

Mercedes dominated qualifying on Saturday as George Russell claimed pole position ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli for the opening race, with Red Bull's Isack Hadjar third.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen will line up at the back of the grid after crashing his Red Bull heavily in Q1.

Session start times and BBC coverage

Commentary of the race will be available across BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app.

You can also listen by asking most smart speakers to "play BBC Radio 5 Live".

Make sure to listen to every episode of the Chequered Flag podcast. For the first time this year, the post-race show for every grand prix will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer and YouTube.

All times GMT.

Sunday, 8 March

Race: 04:00 (BBC Radio 5 Live coverage from 03:30, BBC Sounds and smart speakers)

What is the Melbourne weather forecast?

Last year, it was hot and sunny in Melbourne until we got to race day, when rain arrived and many drivers crashed out, including rookie Hadjar on the formation lap.

This time, the grand prix is set to be sunny, warm and dry with temperatures reaching 25C, with lights out at 3pm local time.

What's new in F1 2026?

Lewis Hamilton drives the new Ferrari during testing in Bahrain Getty Images

Ferrari turned heads during pre-season testing in Bahrain when their rear wing flipped to an upside down position

What will Formula 1 racing look like in 2026? That question will soon be answered when the lights go out in Melbourne this weekend.

With the sport heading into the unknown, here is a quick rundown of some key changes and new terms:

  • Cars - shorter, lighter, nimbler and more environmentally friendly

  • Engines - now a near 50-50 split between electric and internal combustion power - and use fully sustainable fuels

  • DRS overtaking aid gone - replaced by overtake mode, a burst of extra electrical power when a driver is within one second of the car ahead at a detection point, usually the final corner

  • Active aero - both the front and rear wings adjust angles to reduce drag on straights (straight mode) and increase downforce in corners (corner mode)

  • Recharge - cars can recover energy during braking, running the engine at high revs in corners, lifting off early and coasting at the end of straights and from not being at full throttle

Straight mode zones and Mueller & Schmitz corner

A split image of Laura Mueller and Hannah Schmitz Getty Images

Laura Mueller and Hannah Schmitz are the first women to have an F1 circuit corner named after them

With moveable aerodynamics here to stay, each circuit will now display 'straight mode zones' on its map, in place of the previous DRS detection points, to indicate when the active wings come into play.

At Albert Park, four DRS zones now become five straight mode zones, with the overtake mode activation and detection points marked at the end of the lap at Turns 13 and 14.

Also on Sunday, to celebrate International Women's Day, the right-hander of Turn Six will be dedicated to Haas race engineer Laura Mueller and head of race strategy at Red Bull Hannah Schmitz.

German Mueller is the first female race engineer in Formula 1 and is back for a second season working with Frenchman Esteban Ocon.

Briton Schmitz, meanwhile, has been a key figure in Red Bull's recent championship successes and her strategy calls have guided the team to many of their wins and podiums.

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