F1 Australian Grand Prix 2026: Dates, tickets and our Melbourne fan guide to the next race

Australian Grand Prix

Australian Grand Prix 2026: Dates, tickets and our Melbourne fan guide to the next F1 race

The next race on the F1 calendar takes us Down under for the season opener

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Thursday 5 February 2026 23:01 Updated: 00:40

The 2026 F1 calendar is almost here and another incredible year of action is about to start up again with the Australian Grand Prix.

The Albert Park street circuit in Melbourne - which has staged this race since 1996 - will once again play host to a season opener as 11 teams and 22 drivers line up on the grid for an epic motorsport battle.

The showdown Down Under will give us the first real clues about who is setting the pace at the front of the grid, and who is in for a year of struggle.

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Right now Mercedes appear to be leading the pack but things could change quickly with two actual testing windows in Bahrain to come before the season gets under way (February 11-13 inclusive and February 18-20 inclusive).

The excitement is real as Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and co get ready to rumble, and we have all you need to know about Australia’s great race - and why it should be on your bucket list to attend.

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When is the 2026 Australian Grand Prix?

Everything gets under way on Friday March 6, 2026 at Albert Park with the first two free practice sessions taking place to start F1’s very next race weekend.

Saturday March 7 moves us on to Free Practice 3 and Qualifying, while the race takes place on Sunday March 8. Start time is 3pm local time, which is 4am in the UK (5am CET).

If you are watching the race in the US then the start time is late Saturday March 7. Lights out will be 11pm Eastern, 10pm Central or 8pm Pacific.

As for TV coverage, Sky Sports F1 will again have the call in the UK but the US begins a new era in 2026 with Apple now having rights after snatching them away from ESPN in a five-year deal worth a reported $750mUSD.

How much are Australian Grand Prix tickets in 2026?

Very good question, and global inflation (and the increased popularity of F1, thanks to Drive to Survive) means things are only getting more expensive.

Ticket prices for the 2026 race at Albert Park vary from the most expensive grandstand tickets ($440 to $835AUD), to general admission (do not rule those out, and we’ll explain why).

The bad news for fans right now if you don’t have a ticket is that the race is an official sellout for both the Saturday and the Sunday. So if you do want to snap up a ticket, you are looking at resale options either from third-party sites or from other fans on social media.

A quick scan of resale sites tells us you can still purchase 3-day general admission passes for c. £267 each but for a grandstand ticket for Sunday only, you are looking at in excess of £600.

At the time of writing, there are still a few official tickets remaining for Friday March 6 in the Engineers Australia Grandstand and these are priced from $135AUD (£69 or $94USD).

You can read our complete Australian Grand Prix ticket guide by clicking here.

Grandstand vs General Admission?

Okay, how about both?

So I am lucky enough to have attended the Australian Grand Prix as a fan, and it’s a fantastic weekend. I employed a hybrid ticket strategy to get the best out of the weekend, AND get best value for money.

For the Saturday, I bought a general admission ticket which allowed me to roam about the circuit, walking or standing right next to the barriers pretty much everywhere but the start/finish straight.

This gave me a terrific close-up view of the cars and the sounds of F1 for both Free Practice 3 and Qualifying - fantastic value. It also cost me about a quarter of the price of a grandstand ticket.

The only pity was it was 2016 and those horrible short-lived new Qualy rules had just come in, so Sebastian Vettel was in his jeans and not a Ferrari racesuit by the time the session ended (insert crying emoji).

For the Sunday, I did splash out a little and buy a grandstand ticket, and after speaking to like-minded F1 fans on social media, I chose the Senna Grandstand as it gives a really nice view of the cars as they come out of Turn 14 and then wind up before hurtling down the main straight.

Everybody is different, but the strategy definitely worked for me - it provided a mix of getting really close to the action on Saturday and then having a comfy seat in a terrific vantage point for the race on Sunday.

Albert Park circuit - the best way to get there

Melbourne is a terrific city to visit, period. And Grand Prix weekend has a real buzz about it. The great news is there are pretty easy transport options to get to the track. Albert Park is an actual park by day (they set up the F1 circuit for one week per year, so it’s a street track just like Monaco for example).

I used public transport to get there from the city centre each day - a pretty short ride by tram. Stops are conveniently located very close to the various entry gates.

If you’re thinking of driving to the track, we would advise against it. It’s difficult to park and public transport is way, way easier.

To sum up, Albert Park is a lovely location for an F1 Grand Prix. We highly recommend it.

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Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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F1 Australian Grand Prix