The wait is over. Formula 1’s new era kicks off in Australia this weekend amid excitement and anxiety as the championship and its fans prepare to witness what the racing will look like under the radical 2026 regulations.

There’s a lot at stake for the series as F1 gets to Albert Park to go racing after a winter that has generated scepticism and controversy in equal measure as some of its stars have criticised the new cars and power unit manufacturers have been at odds about their interpretation of the rules.

Melbourne will be the first opportunity to get some answers.

Whatever the 2026 pecking order actually looks like, we are about to find out.

What to watch out for at the Australian GP

Everything, really.

The opening race after the rules reset is the first attempt at trying to get some answers about what F1 2026 is all about, not just for drivers and teams, but also for its audience.

For one, Melbourne will offer decisive clues about how much every team was sandbagging — or struggling — during pre-season testing, as pretty much every team pointed at a rival as favourite.

The general consensus was that Mercedes and Ferrari were a step ahead of the competition, followed by McLaren and Red Bull, so Australia should confirm whether that is the case or whether the public and the media have been, once again, fooled by the smoke and mirrors of pre-season testing.

While discovering what the pecking order actually looks like is one of the most interesting threads for the first race weekend, what’s far more intriguing will be what Formula 1 looks like when the cars run in anger in 2026.

F1 bosses and teams must be sharing excitement and dread in equal parts as they await the outcome of qualifying runs or the race itself.

The exciting side is obvious: it’s all new, and millions of people will be tuning in to witness the start of a new era at the point in history when Formula 1 is at its most popular.

But that comes with real anxiety. What does the racing look like with so much dependency on electrical power? Is active aero a successful alternative to DRS? Will there be endless overtaking, or none at all? And above all, will fans be able to understand what’s happening on track?

There are many questions F1 has to begin to answer. It all starts here.

What Albert Park rewards and punishes

What it rewards: A settled, balanced car that works from lap 1. Teams that arrive with a confident set-up direction benefit disproportionately as the track rubbers in, because they can build on a known baseline rather than chasing one. That applies to most circuits, but it’s a bigger factor in the first race of the season.

Clean air pace matters more here than at most circuits – overtaking is possible but rarely easy, so qualifying well and managing the first stint without drama is often worth more than raw race pace.

In 2026, precise energy deployment adds another layer: Albert Park’s mix of low and high-speed sections means drivers will need to be surgical about when and where they deploy electrical power, and those who master it early will have a meaningful advantage.

What it punishes: Any car that needs a long weekend of development to find its window. Drivers who are overly aggressive on cold tyres in the opening laps also tend to pay for it – the surface bites back later in the stint.

And in a new era defined by complex hybrid architecture, poor energy management will be exposed here before teams have had the chance to fully understand their own systems.

Who’s under pressure: Aston Martin

Aston Martin arrived at the 2026 regulations reset with more reasons for optimism than almost anyone: a brand-new Adrian Newey-designed car, a works Honda power unit, state-of-the-art facilities in Silverstone, and Fernando Alonso still believing he has a championship-winning season left in him.

Then testing happened. The team didn’t hit the track until day four of the Barcelona shakedown, and things barely improved from there.

Lance Stroll completed just 36 laps on day one in Bahrain due to a power unit issue, before missing much of day three following a mechanical problem. When Stroll did speak, he put the team four to five seconds off the pace.

The Honda power unit, which was supposed to be the foundation of a new era, is struggling with energy deployment inconsistencies and reliability issues at precisely the moment it matters most.

Reports suggest Aston is going to Australia without any great expectations of being able to finish the race.

With that in mind, it appears Melbourne will not be a race weekend for Aston Martin so much as a very public, very expensive test session.

Pirelli form guide: Australian GP

Historical nugget: Button gives up points finish

Jenson Button arrived in Melbourne in 2006 carrying genuine momentum. Honda had become a works team, pre-season testing had gone well, and he had qualified on pole. For roughly 57 laps, the race unfolded as planned.

Then, two corners from the chequered flag, his engine blew, covering Giancarlo Fisichella immediately behind him in oil.

Button coasted towards the line – and then stopped. Deliberately, about 10 metres short of the finish, surrendering a point-scoring sixth position in the process.

The calculation was cold-blooded and instantaneous: crossing the line would have classified him as a race finisher, thereby requiring him to take a 10-place engine change penalty at the next race. Stopping just short counted as a retirement — and a free engine change.

A visibly angry Button vaulted the pitwall and marched into his garage.