Australian GP Review: Welcome to the 2026 Chaos

The 2026 Formula 1 season is officially underway, and if Melbourne told us anything… it’s that nobody fully understands these new cars yet.

In this Formula Fools race review, David and Skin break down everything from the season opener at the Australian Grand Prix — including chaos, massive saves, unexpected pace, and a lot of confused drivers.

Because while fans got a wild race… the drivers were not happy.

Multiple drivers slammed the new regulations after the race.

Max Verstappen called the cars “not fun to drive” and “anti-racing.”

Meanwhile Lando Norris joked the grid had gone “from the best cars to the worst cars.”

Why?

The new 2026 power units.

The internal combustion engine power has dropped massively, from around 738 HP in 2025 to roughly 536 HP in 2026, with the rest now coming from electric deployment.

The problem is the battery is being drained down the straights.

At Melbourne we saw cars hit around 308 km/h early on the straight… then drop to roughly 253 km/h by the braking zone while still flat out.

That’s not a lift.

That’s literally running out of power.

Drivers like Oliver Bearman even said the overtake boost button was basically useless at this track compared to circuits like Bahrain.

But from a fan perspective?

The racing was wild.

There were 120 overtakes compared to just 45 last year.

And while some of it might feel slightly “manufactured,” it produced one hell of a season opener.

We also break down the biggest talking points of the weekend:

Mercedes look terrifying

George Russell dominated the race with a cool, controlled performance from start to finish.

And rookie sensation Kimi Antonelli backed it up with a huge P2 — showing Mercedes might have built another monster at the start of a new engine era.

Ferrari’s speed… and strategy

Charles Leclerc delivered some brilliant overtakes, while Lewis Hamilton surged from P7 to the front pack early.

But once again Ferrari’s strategy decisions may have cost them a tighter fight at the front.

Audi’s incredible debut

The new Audi F1 Team shocked the paddock.

Q3 on debut.

Points in their first race.

For a brand-new works project, that’s an unbelievable start.

And yes… Franco’s save

Franco Colapinto produced one of the saves of the weekend — the kind that instantly goes into the highlight reel.

We also hand out our first Guru and Fool of the season, debate why some teams like Williams and Aston Martin still look lost, and ask whether Mercedes were sandbagging all weekend before unleashing the pace in the race.

Finally, we look ahead to China and the next big questions:

• Does the new overtake mode work better on Shanghai’s massive straight?
• How chaotic will the first Sprint weekend of the new era be?
• And which teams already look fragile on reliability?

The 2026 season is only one race old…

…but it already feels unpredictable.

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