The 2026 Formula One season started with the Austria Grand Prix on the first Sunday of the month, March 7. A surprising lineup with George Russel came in first, followed by Kimi Antonelli second and Charles Leclerc in third.
The Grand Prix shocked many fans when the McLaren Driver, Oscar Piastri–who was racing at his home race–crashed before the starting lap when he lost control and collided into the side wall. He was not able to race and got 21st position out of 22.
A surprising aspect of the race was Ferrari’s drivers getting third and fourth after their tough last season. Last year, Lewis Hamilton changed teams from Mercedes to Ferrari. Fans were excited about this switch, but were quickly disappointed with the strategy and cars that performed badly under the pressure of races.
Alongside the drivers of Ferrari having a great start to their new season, other drivers also scored points at this Grand Prix. The rookie, Arvid Lindblad, with the team Racing Bulls, placed eight. The past rookies also did decently for their first full season in F1.
Kimi Antonelli, a driver for Mercedes, placed second alongside his teammate George Russel who placed first. Oliver Bearman also doing well in his sophomore year in F1 as he finished seventh in the race.
The new season includes changes like cars will be shorter, narrower, and lighter. Another change is no more Drag Reduction System (DRS). Instead, newly introduced Overtake Mode will allow drivers that are within one second of another driver to press a button to give them more electrical energy to allow them to pass. For more information about new rules, visit the Formula 1 page.
Fans are not the only ones that have options in F1, some drivers have spoken up on their feelings on the new changes that are in place for the 2026 season. One major driver that has spoken out about various rule changes was Max Verstappen, who is the top driver for Red Bull.
“I don’t want to leave so I also hope of course it gets better. I’ve had discussions with F1 and the FIA and we are working towards something and hopefully that will improve everything,” Verstappen said.
Overall, the Australian Grand Prix was a mix of excitement for some teams like Mercedes and Ferrari but disappointment for drivers like Max Verstappen. Everyone is looking forward to seeing what will happen in the next few races of the season to see what teams will thrive or struggle under the pressure of new cars and rules.
