Motorsport

Joey Logano and Kyle Larson will share the front row for the NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix as the 'real' season gets underway, following two drafting tracks and a road course to open the 2026 season.
Logano lapped the Arizona oval in 26.561s, and the driver of the #22 Team Penske Ford beat Larson's #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet by 0.117s in an impressive lap.
Austin Cindric will start ...Keep reading

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard is confident that Honda and Aston Martin will bounce back from the difficult start to the 2026 season, but warned they will likely incur "massive penalties".
The former Red Bull driver pointed to the cost cap as a big hurdle for the Silverstone outfit and its power unit supplier.
"Well, the last time we had this sort of difficulty was when Honda ...Keep reading

Formula 1, FOM and Bernie Ecclestone have been ordered to pay £250,000 in legal costs for its ongoing case against Felipe Massa over the outcome of the 2008 world championship.
Massa has been seeking approximately £64million in damages due to losing that year’s title to Lewis Hamilton, believing it was because of the disgraced 2008 Singapore Grand Prix that he did. 
Renault driver ...Keep reading

The Australian Grand Prix, Formula 1’s first race of 2026, is expected to be one of the most-watched F1 races in recent memory. 
New rules, new cars, new teams, new drivers: this isn’t an event to miss and will set the stage for the remaining 23 races this year. For the first time in a decade, a larger grid of 22 cars will contest the Australian GP.
Here is everything you need to know ...Keep reading

Cadillac’s first qualifying session in Formula 1 ended in a double Q1 exit at the Australian Grand Prix, with the American car’s flaws now obvious.
Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas failed to emerge out of Q1 in the newly named MAC-26 despite three drivers being unable to set a single lap time. They qualified down in 18th and 19th respectively, more than three seconds off the pace; Perez was ...Keep reading

Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz have branded the start of the Formula 1 season as "tough" as they discussed the reality of travelling from Australia to China, back to Europe, and then out to Japan.
The Australian Grand Prix kicks off the 2026 season this weekend and is part of a double-header with the Chinese Grand Prix, meaning the F1 paddock will pack up after the grand prix in Melbourne and head ...Keep reading

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson's long-term partner, Hannah St John, has caught the attention of Formula 1 fans after wearing a $350,000 Formula 1-inspired diamond necklace to the Glamour on the Grid event ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
At first glance, the unusual necklace looks like a tangle of diamonds, but on closer inspection, it becomes clear that each individual part is made up of ...Keep reading

Max Verstappen continued his longstanding criticism of the 2026 Formula 1 regulations by saying he feels “completely empty” after qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix.
The championship is debuting its latest overhaul this year and the current ruleset is arguably the most controversial in recent times, due to its increased reliance on electric power. 
That has an approximate 50:50 ...Keep reading

Former Formula 1 driver Jolyon Palmer has dampened some of Lewis Hamilton's optimism leading into the 2026 season, as he pointed to aspects of the cars under the new regulations that might not suit the seven-time champion.
Hamilton has been much more positive about the 2026 F1 season as he puts the ground effect era behind him. While Palmer noted that some areas of the new regulations will lean ...Keep reading

Alex Palou will roll off 10th for today’s Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway, and when he takes the green flag he’ll officially hit the century mark with 100 career starts in the IndyCar Series.
It has been a remarkable run for the Spaniard since entering North America’s premier open-wheel championship in 2020. Through his first 99 starts, he has racked up 20 wins that includes the 2025 ...Keep reading

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George Russell (Mercedes)

 
 


 
 
 
 
 
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  Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)




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Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

 
 


 
 
 
 
 
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Charles Leclerc ...Keep reading

This may be anecdotal given the Australian Grand Prix is just the first round of the 2026 Formula 1 season, but Isack Hadjar is the first driver to lead Max Verstappen in their qualifying head-to-head since Daniel Ricciardo early in the 2017 campaign.
That is largely down to Verstappen crashing out of Q1 in Melbourne with what may be a technical fault – Red Bull is “still trying to fully ...Keep reading

Following weeks of speculation of just how strong Mercedes would be, Australian Grand Prix qualifying finally gave customer team McLaren some much-needed clues on where it is lagging behind Formula 1's new dominant force.
As expected, Mercedes locked out the front row in Melbourne, with George Russell taking pole by three tenths over team-mate Kimi Antonelli and - more significantly - around ...Keep reading

A Formula 1 driver may be “passed by half the grid” at the start of the Australian Grand Prix if they race ‘stupidly’, reckons Ferrari star Charles Leclerc.
The championship is debuting its latest regulation overhaul this year with changes to both the chassis and power unit, which has vastly altered the way drivers go racing.
That’s largely because of the engine tweaks with it now ...Keep reading

McLaren Formula 1 team principal Andrea Stella thinks Melbourne's Albert Park circuit "definitely exposes some of the weaknesses" in the 2026 regulations as drivers voiced fierce opposition to the new power unit regulations.
The new 2026 rules force drivers to heavily compromise their driving style to focus on electric energy saving. Following early warnings last year when drivers got a first ...Keep reading

The Formula 1 grid is split on how much it expected Mercedes to dominate qualifying for the 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix after George Russell led a Silver Arrows 1-2. 
Russell took his eighth career pole after beating team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 0.293s, with third-placed Isack Hadjar close to eight tenths off the pace on his Red Bull debut. 
It therefore backed up the ...Keep reading

After Mercedes outpaced rival Formula 1 teams by eight tenths in Australian Grand Prix qualifying, Lewis Hamilton expressed concern about the German constructor’s engine advantage.
George Russell was dominant on Saturday in Melbourne, topping all three segments of qualifying as Mercedes’ gap to its competition increased throughout.
Russell ended up taking pole by 0.293s over team-mate ...Keep reading

Lance Stroll has been given special dispensation to take part in Formula 1's Australian Grand Prix despite not setting a competitive lap time all weekend, with Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz also placed on the starting grid.
The three drivers all failed to set a lap time in qualifying, with Verstappen crashing out in Turn 1 and Sainz coasting to a halt in the Williams on his out-lap in FP3 ...Keep reading

Kimi Antonelli labelled his Mercedes mechanics as "heroes" for fixing his car in time to make qualifying for Formula 1's Australian Grand Prix after his hefty FP3 shunt threatened to derail his weekend.
The Italian had taken too much kerb at Turn 2 during the final stages of FP3 while attempting to start his qualifying simulation run, and careened into the outside wall as a result. His car came ...Keep reading

Broc Feeney continued his winning ways in a shortened third Supercars race at Albert Park on Saturday evening.
The Triple Eight Ford Mustang driver qualified on pole for the second time this season – Feeney’s seventh at the lakeside circuit – and won the start, holding out the similar car of Aaron Cameron (Blanchard Racing Team).
Feeney held onto the lead and, even when a safety car ...Keep reading