2026 - Race 1 [Australia]

**F1nKS** · 4th March 2026, 04:53

Race Week - and oh the story lines!

Is Aston Martin in trouble? Are they really doing the formation lap and then quitting?
Will McLaren repeat?
Was Mercedes sandbagging?
Will the doom-mongers be right or wrong about 2026?

**Steve Boyd** · 4th March 2026, 23:45

Originally Posted by F1nKS

Race Week - and oh the story lines!

Is Aston Martin in trouble? Are they really doing the formation lap and then quitting?
Will McLaren repeat?
Was Mercedes sandbagging?
Will the doom-mongers be right or wrong about 2026?

Way off topic but - they really need to re-run "Soap" somewhere I can watch it!

**airshifter** · 5th March 2026, 02:51

I think AM will call it quits early in the race. Alonso said the vibrations are so bad that he doubts he could do 25 laps without risking long term nerve damage. Newey might find himself in the hot seat quick, and reports claim that he wanted Honda to change a LOT of stuff for packaging reasons. He may have forced some issues on Honda's end. For his sake I really hope not, but I remember him causing cooling issues with RB due to being really hard about bodywork packaging.

As for sandbagging, we will hopefully find out of any of them were doing it. I suspect maybe they were. I'm expecting qually times and race times to be near 2022 levels, with qual being closer and race times lagging by maybe a second or second and a half. I don't think it's nearly as doom and gloom as some are expecting. But we will find out soon!

**denkimi** · 5th March 2026, 14:04

I think AM will find some fix that will make the vibrations bearable for the pilots.

**Matthew** · Yesterday, 02:34

Mercedes didn't do great in FP1 but I won't be surprised to see them finish 1-2 in the qualifying.

**airshifter** · Yesterday, 17:44

I'm waiting to see who drops the sandbags in P3 and qually. I think some are already uncorking things a bit from P1.

**Nitrodaze** · Today, 07:50

Mercedes dumped the sandbags and whooped the grid with a massive 7-tenths gap to the nearest team. It would seem we are set for a runaway championship with Mercedes winning the constructors' title and George Russell winning the driver's title. Might as well hand them the trophies now, I think.

I was hoping for a much closer battle, but the gap is surprisingly big. Finding 7 tenths is not going to be easy. Some caveat to this is that Verstappen did not make it to Q3 to give us a clearer indication of how much closer is the Redbull. Also, the Ferrari had battery deployment issues in Q3, hence we did not see the true outright pace of the Ferraris.

The other surprising things were, firstly, the FIA removed straight mode for sector 3, which may have affected battery energy harvesting for most cars. However, the gap of the sharp end of the grid from the midfield was staggeringly above a full second.

It is turning out to be a very bad start to this new regulation era. It is not achieving close racing, and it has not been successfull from prevent one team from running away with the championship titles it would seem at this stage.

**Nitrodaze** · Today, 08:04

Mercedes dumped the sandbags and whooped the grid with a massive 7-tenths gap to the nearest team. It would seem we are set for a runaway championship with Mercedes winning the constructors' title and George Russell winning the driver's title. Might as well hand them the trophies now, I think.

I was hoping for a much closer battle, but the gap is surprisingly big. Finding 7 tenths is not going to be easy. Some caveat to this is that Verstappen did not make it to Q3 to give us a clearer indication of how much closer is the Redbull. Also, the Ferrari had battery deployment issues in Q3, hence we did not see the true outright pace of the Ferraris.

The other surprising things were, firstly, the FIA removed straight mode for sector 3, which may have affected battery energy harvesting for most cars. However, the gap of the sharp end of the grid from the midfield was staggeringly above a full second.

It is turning out to be a very bad start to this new regulation era. It is not achieving close racing, and it has not been successfull from prevent one team from running away with the championship titles it would seem at this stage.

Stars of Qualifying were the Mercedes pair. Hadjar delivered in the absence of Verstappen. He is going to be impressive this season. Lindblad makes it into the top ten on his debut race. What a talent in the making? What about AUDI getting into the top ten with Bortoleto in their debut race also? Audi is poised to be the surprise of the season as they may end up further up the contructor's table than most expected them to be. Aston Martin showed that there is tons of potential in that car if they can find a solution to their engine integration issues.

Disappointers of Qualifying:
Ferrari faultered when it mattered but may have a better showing in the race come sunday. Haas and Alpine faultered for reasons unclear. Williams were surprisingly mondane. It is going to be a tough season in the midfields by the look of things.

So we have seen the first qualifying, and it looks like the FIA has work to do. Mercedes looks ominous, and that may only intensify the engine protest. Ferrari race operation still needs work. Redbull is much stronger than they make out. McLaren also have head scratching moments ahead.

**Nitrodaze** · Today, 08:09

Mercedes dumped the sandbags and whooped the grid with a massive 7-tenths gap to the nearest team. It would seem we are set for a runaway championship with Mercedes winning the constructors' title and George Russell winning the driver's title. Might as well hand them the trophies now, I think.

I was hoping for a much closer battle, but the gap is surprisingly big. Finding 7 tenths is not going to be easy. Some caveat to this is that Verstappen did not make it to Q3 to give us a clearer indication of how much closer is the Redbull. Also, the Ferrari had battery deployment issues in Q3, hence we did not see the true outright pace of the Ferraris.

The other surprising things were, firstly, the FIA removed straight mode for sector 3, which may have affected battery energy harvesting for most cars. However, the gap of the sharp end of the grid to the midfield was staggeringly above a full second.

It is turning out to be a very bad start to this new regulation era. It is not achieving close racing, and it has not been successfull from prevent one team from running away with the championship titles it would seem at this stage.

Stars of Qualifying were the Mercedes pair. Hadjar delivered in the absence of Verstappen. He is going to be impressive this season. Lindblad makes it into the top ten on his debut race. What a talent in the making? What about AUDI getting into the top ten with Bortoleto in their debut race also? Audi is poised to be the surprise of the season as they may end up further up the contructor's table than most expected them to be. Aston Martin showed that there is tons of potential in that car if they can find a solution to their engine integration issues.

Disappointers of Qualifying:
Ferrari faultered when it mattered but may have a better showing in the race come sunday. Haas and Alpine faultered for reasons unclear. Williams were surprisingly mondane. It is going to be a tough season in the midfields by the look of things.

So we have seen the first qualifying, and it looks like the FIA has work to do. Mercedes looks ominous, and that may only intensify the engine protest. Ferrari race operation still needs work. Redbull is much stronger than they make out. McLaren also have head scratching moments ahead.