AustralianGrand Prix

Sunday will mark the start of the F1’s 77th season, and the start of a new era of regulations, with new cars, Power Units, and driving features all ready to be unleashed in racing conditions for the first time.

Interestingly, the Australian Grand Prix was the first race of 1996, and the last race of 1995 (held in Adelaide). It marks the only time in F1 history the same Grand Prix has taken place in consecutive races.

Fred Talks Melbourne

"Albert Park, with a good deal of medium and high-speed corners plus a lack of heavy braking zones, is an energy-lean circuit," explains Third Driver Fred Vesti, who raced at the track at F3 and F2 levels.

"That essentially means that we will have to make some interesting strategic decisions on where to deploy our battery and where to recharge. It is a new challenge within these new rules set and one both the team and us drivers are relishing.

"The entire team has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to prepare for this moment. Countless hours of dedication and commitment have gone into ensuring we are ready to compete at the highest level and I can’t wait for the season to finally start."

A Lap of Albert Park

Sunday’s Grand Prix will take place over 58 laps of the 5.278km layout. The last noticeable change to the track came before 2023, when the right-left sequence at Turn 9 and 10 around the lake was removed, to make way for a longer high-speed section towards the new Turn 9/Turn 10 sequence.

At 281 metres, the pit lane at Albert Park is the shortest on the 2026 F1 calendar.

Cars will only spend 12.6 seconds driving through the pits when making a stop this weekend, quicker than any other track visited this season.

With no room for error at high speed between the tight walls, it is no surprise that there have been nine Safety Car deployments across the past six editions of the Australian Grand Prix. In 2023 and 2024, the race also finished under Safety Car conditions as well.

Southern Hemisphere Sunshine?

And what about the weather? Well, as you may expect from a summer Down Under, temperatures tend to be in the mid to high twenties. So, no chance of rain? Not quite.

Three sessions in the past six editions of the event have been run in the rain, most notably the majority of last season's race. Mathematicians among you may be interested to know there is an 10% chance of rain based on previous data.

Early glances at the long-range forecast indicate no chance of rain in 2026, with temperatures set to be bewteen 20C and 25C for the duration of the weekend. But there will be some cloud around, so don't rule a surprise drop of rain or two...

Mercedes in Melbourne

Mercedes has four wins in Melbourne as a works team, and all have come since our return to the sport in 2010. Mercedes-Benz as an engine manufacturer has a total of 11 wins , the most of any engine supplier in F1 history.

Nico Rosberg claimed two wins in 2014 and 2016, while Lewis Hamilton claimed victory for the Silver Arrows in 2015.

Valtteri Bottas got his 2019 campaign off to the perfect start with victory in Melbourne. The Finn also made his debut for the team at the circuit in 2017 – and scored a P3 finish.

That podium remains the best Three-Pointed Star debut result in the modern era.

Kimi and George Down Under

Kimi became the 13th different driver to start a Grand Prix for Mercedes when the lights went out race day in 2025.

The 18-year-old became the third-youngest driver ever to start an F1 race, and the first Italian to start a Grand Prix since Antonio Giovinazzi at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

It was special maiden Grand Prix, as the debutant recovered from P16 on the grid to take a wonderful P4 at the flag.

That was one place behind George, who scored the first of nine podiums in 2025 at Albert Park.

It was his second silverware in Melbourne after his first with Mercedes back in 2022. George's debut in Formula One came at the venue with Williams in 2019.

AMG and HPP

Away from Brackley, two special Mercedes milestones will also be reached Down Under. Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) will celebrate its 600th Grand Prix start, having first started in F1 at Brazil in 1994.

Elsewhere, Mr Safety Car himself Bernd Mayländer will arrive in Melbourne for his 500th Grand Prix as the Official F1 Safety Car Driver, having first got behind the wheel at the front of the field in 2000.