Australian 2026 GP preview
Weekend schedule
All timezonesTimes shown in circuit-local time (GMT+11).
- FP1Fri12:30
- FP2Fri16:00
- FP3Sat12:30
- QualifyingSat16:00
- RaceSun15:00
A forecast appears here once the weekend is inside the forecast window.
The circuit
Full circuit guide →Albert Park Circuit · 5.278 km · 14 corners · clockwise
Historic moments
2020 · The race that never happened
The 2020 season opener was called off just two hours before Friday practice, after a McLaren team member tested positive for coronavirus and the other nine teams voted not to proceed. It was the first Grand Prix lost to the pandemic and the start of a five-month gap before F1 resumed racing.
2002 · Ralf Schumacher's first-lap flight
Rubens Barrichello braked early into Turn 1 in 2002 and was collected by Ralf Schumacher's Williams, which launched off the back of the Ferrari and cartwheeled through the gravel. Eight cars were eliminated in the opening seconds, and Ralf climbed out unhurt.
What makes it different
- A public park for 51 weeks of the year - the lake road it runs on carries ordinary Melbourne traffic outside race season.
- The 2021 rebuild widened the track and removed the old Turn 9–10 chicane, which cut roughly five seconds off a lap and turned the run to Turn 9 into a flat-out sweep.
- This same lake-side layout hosted a non-championship Australian Grand Prix back in 1953, more than four decades before Albert Park joined the world championship calendar in 1996.
Home race
Home race for Oscar Piastri.
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