New cars, new rules and a Kim K cameo? How this year’s Australian Grand Prix will be different

New cars, new regulations, and a new team. Welcome to the start of the 2026 Formula 1 championship season.

The Australian Grand Prix is right around the corner and Melbourne-born Oscar Piastri will have a chance to make history as the first Aussie to stand on an Albert Park podium.

Are McLaren’s infamous “papaya rules” still in place, and will Kim Kardashian make a surprise appearance to support rumoured partner Lewis Hamilton?

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a diehard petrolhead or a casual fan, here’s everything you need to know about the Australian Grand Prix, including all the drama you need to catch up on.

When and where is the Australian Grand Prix held?

The first round of the F1 season will take place at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne from March 5 to 8.

Practice sessions will be held across the Friday and Saturday, with qualifying on Saturday afternoon. The 58-lap race starts at 3pm on Sunday.

If you didn’t manage to grab a grandstand ticket or a ground pass, the F1 fan festival is back again this year at Federation Square, where fans will be able to watch the race with a live cross from Albert Park.

How are the cars different this year?

To the average fan, an F1 car isn’t going to look too different in 2026; however, pretty much everything has changed – just ask Max Verstappen.

There are rule changes around engines, chassis and tyres. In his typical blunt, no-holds-barred style, four-time world champion Verstappen told the Up to Speed podcast this is shaping up as his “least-favourite” era.

He also recently said the new cars are “not so fun” and “like Formula E on steroids”.

“As a pure driver, I enjoy driving flat out. And at the moment, you cannot drive like that. There’s a lot going on,” Verstappen told media.

In 2026, the cars are narrower, shorter and lighter. The floors of the cars are also flatter and are required to be higher off the ground (leading to less downforce), while both the front and rear wings have changed.

Rear wing beams have gone completely, while the front wings are narrower and cars will be able to use “active aero” – adjusting the angles of both front and rear wings on designated sections of track, which will help reduce drag and increase speed.

Verstappen told Up to Speed the changes to the 2026 cars would lead to less grip, but faster acceleration out of corners.

“The whole layout of the car is completely different,” he said.

“The tyres are different, so the way you have to drive it around the corner is very different because the grip is also generated a little bit differently – less through the floor. You are sliding around probably a little bit more, and then you have more power coming out of the corner. So with less grip, that’s a bit harder to manage.”

During pre-season in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari made headlines for its unique design in which the rear wing flips up and rotates 270 degrees.

In terms of racing, the major change that comes into effect is the loss of the infamous drag reduction system (DRS). Now, drivers will have access to “overtake mode”, which can be used anywhere on the track if they are within one second of the car in front. This feature has been designed specifically to encourage attacking manoeuvres.

Meanwhile, drivers can still access their cars’ maximum power (through the engine and battery) in a function now known as the “boost” button. This can be used at any point on the track, including by cars trying to defend from a trailing car using overtake mode. The catch, of course, is that the drivers using the boost button need to have enough available charge in their cars’ batteries.

In addition to the boost and overtake functions, drivers also have access to a “recharge” button, which, as explained on the F1 website, they can use (with their engineers) to recharge their cars’ batteries through things like braking and engine energy.

The teams have been testing their cars in Bahrain; however, Albert Park is the first place where fans will get to see the new cars in action.

New rookies, familiar faces and veterans: Which drivers to watch

In the F1 paddock, farewells are rarely ever final. In fact, it’s usually more of a “see you later”.

In 2026, we are welcoming Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez back to the grid – this time as the drivers of new team, Cadillac.

Known for his famous naked calendars and his love of Australian coffee, Bottas previously raced for Mercedes during Lewis Hamilton’s reign, and later Alfa Romeo. He is even thought of, in some circles, as a kind of honorary Aussie, given his relationship with Australian cyclist Tiffany Cromwell.

Perez was Red Bull’s second driver during Verstappen’s four championship-winning seasons. But the Mexican lost his seat to Kiwi Liam Lawson, who then lost his seat to Yuki Tsunoda, who then lost it to rookie Isack Hadjar – continuing Red Bull’s astonishing second seat curse.

Cadillac is the first new, independent constructor to join the grid since Haas in 2016, after receiving approval to join the sport last year as the 11th team.

While Cadillac will use Ferrari engines until eventually developing their own GM powerplants, the newly rebranded Audi factory team (formerly Sauber) will use their own engines straight off the bat.

Other returning faces include Australian Jack Doohan who lost his Alpine seat to Argentina’s Franco Colapinto last year.

Doohan – who crashed in the first lap of the 2025 Australian Grand Prix – is returning as a reserve driver for Haas in the hope of getting his F1 career back on track.

Other faces to keep a close eye on include 18-year-old British rookie Arvid Lindblad, who debuts with Racing Bulls out of the Red Bull Academy.

New Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey will also be one to watch. The revered designer and chief technical officer designed championship-winning cars for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull but defected from the latter in 2024 to join billionaire Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin.

In 2025, Newey replaced Andy Cowell as Aston Martin’s new team principal.

Keep a close eye, too, on seven-time world champion Hamilton. This is the Briton’s second year at Ferrari and the 41-year-old will be eager to improve on what many considered a below-par 2025.

Are McLaren’s papaya rules still in place?

One of the biggest talking points of the 2025 season was McLaren’s infamous “papaya rules”, a team strategy that dictates both their drivers are treated equally and are free to race each other, as long as they don’t crash into one another, and they do what’s best for the team.

The strategy arguably did keep things as fair as possible, but also allowed Verstappen to threaten for the drivers’ championship in a dramatic end to the season.

One of McLaren’s drivers should already have won the drivers’ crown earlier in the year, however the team’s insistence on papaya rules led to a series of blunders, including a collision between the two in Canada, calls to “swap positions” in Italy and a double disqualification in Las Vegas.

The errors, combined with Verstappen’s remarkable resurgence, forced the three-horse race down to the final grand prix in Abu Dhabi, where Lando Norris was ultimately victorious.

During pre-season testing, McLaren boss Zak Brown confirmed papaya rules would remain in place for 2026, with both Piastri and Norris free to race each other.

How do I get to Albert Park?

Travel is free with your grand prix ticket and there are 5000 extra tram services during event days running from Southern Cross station to gates 1 and 2, Flagstaff station to gate 3 and Flinders Street station/Melbourne Central to gates 5, 8, 9 and 10.

From 5am to 10pm, tram shuttles run every one to two minutes in peak times and every three to 10 minutes off-peak.

Taxi and ride-share pick-up locations are also available, and the track is between a 30- and 60-minute walk from the city centre, depending on your nearest gate.

There is no public parking at the circuit.

What changes have been made at Albert Park this season?

This year fans will be able to move around Albert Park more easily and quickly, with major venue upgrades including more covered grandstand seats, new pontoons and a larger overpass across the track.

In previous years, racegoers have complained about the bottleneck queues surrounding the overpass, with long wait times slowing down entry and exits.

The new pedestrian overpass is three times the size of the previous structure and has six adaptable lanes to help fans move around the track during peak periods.

What about the celebrities? Will Kim Kardashian be there?

Grand prix weekends have become known for their star-studded invite lists, with guests including White Lotus actress Alexandra Daddario, singer Raye, AFL star Sam Durham, cricketer Usman Khawaja, runner Peter Bol and Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus all attending last year.

This year, British singer Rita Ora will be performing on Saturday night, following a performance from Aussie band Rogue Traders. Closing out the weekend on Sunday will be DJ and producer Duke Dumont.

However, one of the biggest rumoured guests this year is reality television star Kim Kardashian. One of the most famous faces on the planet, she made headlines when she joined Hamilton at the Super Bowl.

Will Kim K make the trip Down Under? Unlikely, but keep an eye on the Glamour on the Grid event on March 4, or for ex-driver Martin Brundle’s iconic grid walk on the day of the race, to catch all the big names.

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