Formula 1 opens its season at the Australian GP with plenty of questions

Formula 1 kicks off its 2026 season at the Australian GP, raising questions about race safety, team performance, and new regulations.

As crowds filtered into Melbourne's Albert Park on Friday (March 6, 2026) for Formula 1’s first day of practice at its 2026 season opener, there were questions. Plenty of them.

The first, and most pressing, at the milestone 40th Australian Grand Prix was the potential postponement or cancellation of upcoming F1 races in the Middle East on April 12 and 19 in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

That's due to the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which has made travel difficult due to closed air spaces and dangerous to be in the region. F1’s governing body, the FIA, has already postponed the Qatar curtain raiser for the top sports car category, the World Endurance Championship, that was slated to be held on March 26-28.

And while it, and Formula One Management, the sport’s commercial rights holder, are monitoring the situation in real time — with a focus on the safety and well-being of all concerned — an announcement is expected soon.

In the F1 paddock, though, where performance is king, the biggest question mark is the sport’s reshuffled pecking order as a result of new technical regulations — including the position of new American startup squad, General Motors-sponsored Cadillac.

F1 heads into a new era this year, with unprecedented changes across the chassis (car) and power unit, which now feature an almost 50:50 output split between the turbo 1.6-litre V6 engine and electrical energy harvested from the brakes, one that requires a new, often counterintuitive driving style from the drivers.