Race Review | Australian 2026 Grand Prix | 165 | The 2026 Era and Nothing Is Settled Yet

The 2026 Formula 1 season has begun. George Russell won. Oscar Piastri never made it to the starting grid. And in the opening twelve laps, the lead changed hands more times than most races produce in an entire afternoon.

Whether that was a sign of things to come — or a consequence of cars that nobody has fully figured out yet — is exactly what Dick, Joe Saward, and Sabrina work through in this race review. Joe joined from Melbourne just hours after the race ended, with a flight waiting, which is about as close to a live debrief as this podcast gets.

In this episode, they go team by team through the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, covering Mercedes’ dominant one-two and what George’s post-race comments suggest they may still have in reserve, Ferrari’s familiar strategy problem resurfacing under new regulations, Max Verstappen’s recovery from twentieth, Isack Hadjar’s quietly impressive debut weekend before the car let him down, and why the reigning world champions had one of the most painful Sundays of anyone on the grid.

You’ll also hear why Albert Park may have been the worst possible circuit to debut these regulations on, whether the near-miss between Franco Colapinto and Liam Lawson on the starting grid before the race is a story the sport needs to take seriously, and what Joe says about the chances of the Bahrain and Saudi races actually happening this season.

This is one race, and everyone — teams, drivers, and observers — went into it without a reliable roadmap. What it reveals, and what it leaves open, is the conversation.

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• Grand Prix+
• The Green Notebook

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