Red flag - Verstappen out of the carpublished at 05:13 GMT 7 March

05:13 GMT 7 March

Max Verstappen is safely out of the car and the red flag is shown. The Dutchman reaches Turn One for his first flying lap and as he hits the brakes, the rear wheels lock and it sends the Red Bull man smashing into the wall.

Image source, Getty Images

Yellow flag - Verstappen crashespublished at 05:11 GMT 7 March

05:11 GMT 7 March

Six drivers will be cut from this opening qualifying session and at the moment, Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli occupy two of those spots.

Verstappen is winding up a lap but he's crashed into the gravel!

Lewis Hamilton slots into third place for Ferrari on mediums but the seven-time world champion might drop a place now because George Russell is out for a flyer. The Briton is on the softs and after a bit of super-clipping to harvest energy, he shoots to the top with a time of 1:19.840.

Russell is followed by Arvid Lindblad, the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar and Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Live

There are so many new challenges, not just for the teams in designing and creating these new packages, but for the drivers and how they use them and deploy all the various tools they have at their disposal.

Rookie Arvid Lindblad (below) had a flash of pace to send him to the top of the timesheets in the Racing Bulls but home hero Oscar Piastri has beaten the rookie's time in the McLaren.

But here comes Gabriel Bortoleto, in his second year in Formula 1... and the Brazilian goes straight to the top for Audi with a 1:20.495 on the softs.

Image source, Getty Images

Nico Hulkenberg of the other new team on the grid, Audi, is the first driver to take to the Albert Park track in this Q1 running. The German is on the soft compound and is preparing to show us what a qualifying lap is like in 2026. Oh, hang on. Looks like Hulkenberg has aborted his attempt already.

Alex Albon in the Williams, meanwhile, puts a marker on the board with a 1:21.408 on the red rubber, but that time is beaten by the Haas of Briton Oliver Bearman.

Jennie Gow
F1 pit-lane reporter in Melbourne

Mercedes were not expecting Kimi Antonelli to be out right at the beginning of this session, but they are hopeful they will be able to get him out before Q1 ends otherwise he can't qualify.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Live

I've never known an F1 season to be this hotly anticipated. There is so much hype around it and so many unknowns, in terms of all of the new technology and how the teams are going to get to grips with that.

There are so many things that are going to be unpredictable, and coming into any live sporting event, that is exactly what you want.

Here we go then.

The opening qualifying session of the 2026 season is green!

With moveable aerodynamics here to stay, each circuit will now display 'straight mode zones' on its map, in place of the previous DRS detection points, to indicate when the active wings come into play.

At Albert Park, four DRS zones now become five straight mode zones, with the overtake mode activation and detection points marked at the end of the lap at Turns 13 and 14.

If you were sleeping soundly during third practie, the FIA had planned to remove the straight-line mode between Turns Six and Nine for safety reasons but this was quickly scrapped after a big push-back from teams and drivers.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Jennie Gow, Harry Benjamin, Andrew Benson and former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley are back with us from a dry, yet slightly cloudy Melbourne.

Qualifying is on BBC Radio 5 Live now, so you can tune in by selecting the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page, follow along on the BBC Sounds app or by asking your smart speaker to "play BBC Radio 5 Live".

Image source, Getty Images

'Engine aware and energy efficient' is a mantra drivers will have to live by in the new world of F1 regualtions. Will this impact our enjoyment of qualifying? We'll find out shortly.

Here's a quick rundown of what's new for 2026:

• Engines - now a near 50-50 split between electric and internal combustion power - and use fully sustainable fuels
• DRS overtaking aid gone - replaced by overtake mode, a burst of extra electrical power when a driver is within one second of the car ahead at a detection point, usually the final corner
• Active aero - both the front and rear wings adjust angles to reduce drag on straights (straight mode) and increase downforce in corners (corner mode)
• Recharge - cars can recover energy during braking, running the engine at high revs in corners, lifting off early and coasting at the end of straights and from not being at full throttle
• Boost mode - Alex Albon described this button as like Popeye taking his spinach, as drivers can get maximum power from the battery to help with an attack or defense

The work is continuing over at Mercedes to get Kimi Antonelli back in the car for the opening qualifying session of the campaign. The Italian has his race suit on as he darts back behind the screens that have gone up in front of the garage. This is going to be tight for the Silver Arrows.

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Martin boss Adrian Newey said the team's terrible start to the brand new era of Formula 1 has left 44-year-old Fernando Alonso in a "hard mental place". So what will today's qualifying bring the two-time world champion?

Alonso's team-mate Lance Stroll was a no-show in third practice because of an issue with the Honda power unit and while the Spaniard did set a lap time in the session, he was down at the bottom of the timesheets with newbies Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas of Cadillac.

Tomorrow's 58-lap race also looks likely to be an uphill struggle for Aston Martin after Newey said vibrations from the engine are risking permanent nerve damage for their drivers within 25 laps of running, plus the team only has two operational batteries left for the rest of the weekend in Melbourne.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, Getty Images

I thought Arvid Lindblad did a solid job in the practice sessions yesterday, there's a lot of pressure coming in as a sole rookie.

Last year we had about six rookies at the Australian Grand Prix, so I guess every one of them was surrounded by another one going through the same experience.

He's on his own here and did a really solid first day. That's what you have got to do, you've got to build with your performance gradually and build your confidence as you go through it.

With the grid expanding this year with 11th team Cadillac joining the action, Saturday's qualifying gets a slight adjustment from what we've been previously used to.

With 22 cars now in the mix, the six slowest drivers instead of five will be knocked out in both Q1 and Q2, leaving the pole position shootout to reamain as the usual 10-driver fight.

As for timings, Q1 will last for 18 minutes, Q2 will take 15 minutes and the battle for pole will be done and dusted, barring any issues, in 13 minutes.

Image source, Getty Images

The extensive repair job on Kimi Antonelli's smashed car has been taking place during the break but will the Mercedes driver make it out for the first qualifying session of the season?

Antonelli was just starting a lap with 15 minutes left on the clock in third practice when he crashed heavily into the wall at the exit of Turn Two after clipping the kerb and losing the rear. The Italian walked away unharmed and returned to the garage but the debris from his beat-up machinery was strewn across the Albert Park circuit.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has been giving Antonelli some words of encouragement and a big hug in a video posted by the team. "I had so much confidence, though," says Antonelli. "Keep the confidence!" replies Wolff. "Analyse the data and keep the confidence."

Image source, Getty Images

Can George Russell turn the pre-season hype into a first pole position of the 2026 season? The Briton flew to the top of the timesheets earlier on with a lap that was 0.616 seconds than his former Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

The other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc finished third fastest, followed by McLaren's Oscar Piastri and the two Red Bulls of Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen.

Lando Norris has been a touch away from his Australian team-mate Piasti so far this weekend and the world champion ended his session in eighth place.

The sole rookie on the grid, Brit teenager Arvid Lindblad, has been solid in his first practice runs and he put his Racing Bulls 11th on the board on Saturday.

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Hello, folks. This will be our first glimpse of how these new generation of Formula 1 cars tackle a qualifying session and the fight for pole position.

Who will claim the front spot on the grid for tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix? Judging by third practice, Mercedes' George Russell will be hot favourite after banking a rapid lap earlier on.

On the other side of the Silver Arrows garage, however, teenager Kimi Antonelli will be looking at the clock and hoping his mechanics can rebuild his shattered car, after he suffered a huge crash in final practice.

Elsewhere, the likes of Aston Martin and Williams have been struggling since their arrival in Melbourne for the season-opener and it will be a big task for both teams to make it out of Q1 today. Carlos Sainz came to a stop in the final hour of practice and Lance Stroll didn't get out at all.