The opening round of the 2026 feeder single-seater season arrives beneath the towering skyline of Albert Park, as Formula 2 and Formula 3 return to action alongside the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
The street circuit offers a unique mix between the close walls of a street circuit and the gravel and grass of a permanent track. It’s not an easy track to overtake on despite its four DRS zones, making qualifying all the more important.
Pierre-Alain Michot, the F2 and F3 Technical Director, spoke about how important tyre strategy will be in the Feature Race.
“With a sweeping and relatively fast layout, downforce and tyre wear have a greater impact on laptimes, while a limited number of major braking zones aren’t as demanding as others the drivers will face this season,” he said.
“Overall, the four DRS zones should ensure drivers remain tightly bunched together, but pit strategy will be a very important factor in the outcome of Sunday’s Feature event.”
In Melbourne, F2 drivers will have a choice between the Soft and Supersoft compounds, unlike last year, when a step in the compounds was available. At the same time, F3 has choices between the medium compounds.
Tyre choices and safety car timing will likely play into how the races unfold.
The weather is more stable coming into 2026, hopefully avoiding the cancellations seen in 2025. However, Albert Park comes with its own challenges.
Since its first race in 2023, Melbourne has a 100% record of Safety Cars, the close walls around the track making mistakes costly.
Changing grids and new faces
Last year, the rain led to the cancellation of the F2 Feature Race, but Joshua Duerksen took the top spot in the Sprint Race. Duerksen returns for his third season in 2026, with the reigning champions Invicta Racing.
In F3, Rafael Camara took victory in the Feature Race, went on to win the championship, and moved up to F2, where he competes in his rookie year.
Camara spoke about the upcoming race ahead of the weekend to Motorsport Week and other media, saying: “I think both tests were very positive for me.
“I’m just trying to learn as much as I can from the car to make sure that we start this weekend in a good way. We start this championship in a positive way. So yeah, just looking forward to hitting the track tomorrow and then doing some laps to finally start the season.
“It looks like it’s gonna be a dry weekend. Like always, just try to prepare as much as we can in the scene, as we’re very limited on laps. And yeah, make sure that when we arrive on track, we build momentum with the team and know what we can improve for quali.”
Both grids have changed significantly from 2025 to 2026.
In F2, Alex Dunne is the highest-placing driver returning to the series, finishing fifth last year after a strong title campaign. Noah Stromsted is the highest-placed F3 driver after ending 2025 sixth in the standings.
With 17 rookies on the F3 grid and 11 rookies on the F2, all 50 drivers will be fighting for glory in a campaign that starts at Albert Park.
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