Mercedes dominates qualifying as criticism of F1 2026 cars emerges – round-up
It’s time to round up a busy Saturday from Albert Park, with Mercedes having dominated the first qualifying session of the season.
The first race of the year has yet to take place at time of writing, but after the first competitive session, drivers have offered their true thoughts on the new machinery.
Mercedes earns dominant front-row lockout
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The masks could finally drop on teams’ performance in qualifying, and it was George Russell who took pole position from Kimi Antonelli for the Australian Grand Prix.
Isack Hadjar took an impressive third place on his Red Bull debut, while Max Verstappen crashed out in Q1 after locking his rear axle and landing in the barriers.
The first race of the new era is yet to come, with a pecking order looking like it is working itself out.
Read more: Australian GP: Russell storms to pole as Verstappen crashes out in Q1
Opinion: Has F1 lost its thrill?
With plenty of drivers having voiced their disdain at the driving experience in the new F1 era, the sight of cars losing speed and downshifting on straights is one that has gone against previous eras.
Our own Thomas Maher argues that, while the new power units are undoubtedly remarkable feats of engineering, the way in which Formula 1 has long operated may need recalibrating with these changes.
The big question through this, though: Are these new regulations a misstep?
Read more: Opinion: Has F1 lost its thrill with flawed 2026 regulations?
Verstappen: New F1 regs ‘not correct’ for the sport
Max Verstappen has long been vocal in his views about the 2026 regulations, and is not changing his view now he has driven a new-era car in anger in qualifying.
While his crash in qualifying will not have helped, the enjoyment factor behind the wheel is lacking too, according to the four-time World Champion.
Read more: Max Verstappen Melbourne crash explained as Red Bull driver blasts ‘not correct’ F1 regulations
Lando Norris: 50/50 split doesn’t work
In his own assessment of the new machinery, Lando Norris reasoned that having such a high percentage of the power unit be electrical is not compatible with the cars today.
He admitted the feeling of having gone from the best Formula 1 cars ever to the worst with these regulation changes, which does not bode well at the start of this new cycle.
Read more: Norris blasts ‘worst’ F1 cars ever as 2026 battery rules frustrate drivers
McLaren: Knowledge gap with Mercedes PU could bring lap time
In some more positive news for McLaren, team principal Andrea Stella said that, as a customer team, Mercedes is more likely to have more inbuilt knowledge of its own power unit, which was closely analysed by the reigning champions.
As a result, he emphasised the work McLaren will be doing to try and understand the new PU as best as possible, which in turn will bring the Woking-based team “a lot of lap time” in the process.
By knowing more about how best to utilise Mercedes power, he thinks the team will be able to recover a portion of its deficit.
Read more: McLaren sees ‘lot of lap time available’ as Stella studies Mercedes PU
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