The event was held at Albert Park Circuit for the 29th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 6–8 March. As the first round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship, the Grand Prix was the first to be held with the new regulation set for 2026, which entailed major changes to the chassis and power unit. It marked the 40th running of the Australian Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship.
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list, with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. Arvid Lindblad made his debut as a full-time driver with Racing Bulls. Cadillac and Audi made their Formula One debuts. Cadillac's entry as the eleventh team made this the first Formula One race with 11 teams since the season-ending 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Ford returned to the grid after a 21-year absence, supplying Red Bull and Racing Bulls through Red Bull Powertrains, having last supplied Jaguar, Jordan, and Minardi in 2004. Honda made their full return to the sport after pulling out following the 2021 season, supplying engines to Aston Martin. After acquiring the Sauber team, Audi made their Formula One debut, supplying their own power unit.
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds, which are the three softest in their range. These were designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.
Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session on 6 March 2026, at 12:30 local time (UTC+11), was topped by Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (Red Bull). The second free practice session, held on the same day at 16:00 local time, was topped by Oscar Piastri (McLaren) ahead of Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. The third free practice session on 7 March 2026 was delayed by 20 minutes due to a crash in the F3 round. It was topped by Russell ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc. Red flags were brought out due to stoppages from Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams) due to power loss and Antonelli due to a heavy crash.
Qualifying was held on 7 March 2026, at 16:00 local time (UTC+11), and determined the starting grid order for the race.
A red flag was flown during the opening segment after Max Verstappen (Red Bull) locked his rear axle braking into the opening corner, sending him into a high-speed spin into the gravel. He did not set a time, leaving him in twentieth ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), neither of whom went out due to power unit issues. The crash benefited Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), whose car was repaired during the red flag period following his crash during the final practice session. While the second session ran without issues, another red flag was observed early into the third session after Antonelli was released with two cooling devices attached to his car. The first device was rolled into the turn one gravel trap, and the second fell off on a straight and was run over by Lando Norris (McLaren), damaging his front wing endplate and creating debris.
Mercedes recorded their first front-row lockout since the 2024 British Grand Prix. George Russell's pole lap of 1:18.518 was eight-tenths faster than third-placed Isack Hadjar's (Red Bull) 1:19.303. After the race, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) commented that the gap in race pace would not be as large.
The race was held on 8 March 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+11), and was run for 58 laps.
20 of the 22 entrants started the race. Nico Hülkenberg's Audi suffered technical issues before the start. Oscar Piastri crashed his McLaren on a reconnaissance lap after experiencing an unexpected power surge.
At the start, the Ferrari cars shot forward. Polesitter George Russell found himself sandwiched between Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton; Russell's teammate Kimi Antonelli briefly dropped to seventh. Over the next several laps, Russell and Leclerc repeatedly exchanged the lead. Russell used his electric boosts to overpower Leclerc at various turns, but this drained his battery, allowing Leclerc to respond and retake the lead each time. On lap 11, Isack Hadjar, on his debut for the Red Bull team, retired with an engine issue, triggering a virtual safety car (VSC). Both Mercedes drivers pitted, while both Ferrari drivers stayed out. Ferrari planned a one-stop strategy, hoping to pit later to gain a tyre advantage over the faster Mercedes; this decision left Mercedes racing in clear air, and Russell rapidly cut into the Ferraris' lead on track.
From there, Mercedes controlled the race. The next VSC came on lap 16 when the Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas retired with mechanical issues. By this time, Russell was too close for Ferrari to pit and retain the lead, and the pit lane was closed to recover Bottas' car before either Ferrari could make a pit stop. Ferrari made their pit stop midway through the race without the benefit of a safety car, allowing Russell and Antonelli to take first and second place. Russell and Antonelli completed the race on 46-lap-old hard tyres. Despite Ferrari's tyre delta advantage, Russell posted essentially identical lap times to Leclerc after the latter pitted, prompting Leclerc to comment that Mercedes was hiding its true pace.
In the closing laps, Antonelli cut Russell's lead from six seconds to three, and Hamilton closed in on Leclerc, but neither was able to overtake their teammate. The top three were formed by Russell, Antonelli, and Leclerc. This marked Mercedes' first 1–2 finish since the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, which Russell also won. With his victory, Russell picked up his sixth victory in Formula One and led the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career.
Finishing fifth and sixth were the last two World Champions, McLaren's Lando Norris and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, the latter recovering from twentieth place at the start. The two drivers had a lengthy duel in the final half of the race, though Verstappen suffered tyre wear and dropped off at the end. The Haas of Oliver Bearman took seventh, and Arvid Lindblad, making his debut in Formula One, finished eighth in his Racing Bulls. Gabriel Bortoleto of Audi scored that team's first Formula One points in ninth. Rounding out the top ten, Pierre Gasly of Alpine picked up the final point of the day after holding off Haas' Esteban Ocon.
Sergio Pérez recorded Cadillac's first-ever finish in his return to Formula One. Also noted was the 43-lap stint of Lance Stroll; due to ongoing development difficulties at Aston Martin-Honda, neither car had been expected to complete more than 25 laps. His teammate Fernando Alonso had an explosive start, passing seven drivers, but retired the car.
Russell's victory allowed him to take the lead of the Drivers' Championship, making him the first Mercedes driver to do so since Lewis Hamilton led the standings following the 2021 Russian Grand Prix. Mercedes led the Constructors' Championship standings for the first time since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where they won the Constructors' Championship. Ferrari trailed behind them with 27 points, with McLaren holding ten.
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