9 moments you missed at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix

The Australian Grand Prix once again cemented itself as the ideal location for a blockbuster season-opening race weekend. The fans in Melbourne made the whole event unforgettable, with this week also featuring LEGO helmet reveals, chaotic cricket collaborations and hectic home race events.

There was plenty of on-track drama for the first race of Formula 1’s new era, with George Russell and Charles Leclerc battling for the lead, Arvid Lindblad storming home for a debut points finish, and Max Verstappen producing another enthralling comeback to finish P6. But those weren’t the only stories from the Grand Prix weekend – so here are some off-track moments you should know about...

Home race fun

Although Oscar Piastri had a torrid day on Sunday after crashing out before the race even got going, the Melbourne man certainly made the most of his home Grand Prix off the track. He spent some time during the week driving a variety of Ford cars with Monster Energy in Calder Park, before setting up a pop-up to show fans some of his old junior career memorabilia.

Despite the race day disappointment, the Piastri stand brought the energy all weekend – hopefully next year they will be cheering the 24-year-old to a strong result at home!

Four-wheel arrivals

The ex-Racing Bulls team mates are no strangers to causing mayhem in and around the paddock, and while they are racing for different teams this year, this season looks to be no different!

On media day, Isack Hadjar was seen flying along Melbourne Walk to greet fans in a Red Bull Soapbox car, while Liam Lawson hopped in on Friday complete with some impressive drifting challenges with the Frenchman.

However, the New Zealander may have topped his soapbox arrival, turning up to the track on Sunday in a Dakar Raptor F150!

Melbourne Walk

One of the weekend’s best features is the Melbourne Walk – the best place to meet and greet some of the paddock’s familiar faces. Fans certainly made the most of their opportunity, getting plenty of things signed and taking even more selfies.

The Racing Bulls social media admin even sneaked into the crowd to continue their season-long mission to wind up Lawson – we think it may have worked...

Alpine cricket takeover

F1 loves a sports collaboration, but there was only one option Down Under – cricket. Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto got lessons from Australia’s men’s cricket stars Scott Boland and Glenn Maxwell, and while they struggled at first, the Alpine boys quickly found their strike zones. Maybe we’ll see a paddock match in the future, given Piastri and Valtteri Bottas’ love for the game...

Lego helmets for Lewis and Charles

LEGO continues to flex their creative muscles, producing yet another iconic F1 collaboration, this time with Ferrari. Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were treated to full-size replicas of their race helmets during the race weekend – and the Monaco man certainly enjoyed his, asking to take his piece home!

International Women’s Day

This year, Sunday’s race fell on the same day as International Women’s Day, with plenty of the teams spending the whole weekend spotlighting some of the amazing women in their factories and in the paddock.

Two women at the top of their game in Formula 1 are Hannah Schmitz, Red Bull’s Head of Race Strategy, and Laura Mueller, Esteban Ocon’s Race Engineer – with the pair honoured with the renaming of Turn 6 after them.

Padel Down Under

Verstappen, Gabriel Bortoleto, Ollie Bearman and Luke Browning took some time out of their busy race week preparations to play the paddock’s favourite sport – padel! It seems to be the perfect pastime for the grid, so we’re sure this won’t be the last time we see some of the guys flexing their skills on the court.

Celebrations

There was plenty to celebrate up and down the paddock after a thrilling first race of this brand-new era of racing. A Mercedes 1-2 was the perfect start for the Brackley outfit, with Russell and Kimi Antonelli recreating their old and new title sequence poses on the podium – we might be seeing them a few more times on the rostrum this season!

Elsewhere, Lindblad wowed the Australian crowd after a stunning start moved him all the way to P4. A debut points finish was an incredible effort from the Briton, who found his parents in the paddock after the race – a heartwarming moment.

Celebrities

Melbourne is a popular place for familiar faces to get their fix of motorsport. This year, we saw music producer Fisher, actor Terry Crews, singer-songwriter Delta Goodrem, 2026 Winter Olympic silver medallist Scotty James, captain of Australia’s men’s cricket team Pat Cummings, popstar Rita Ora, filmmaker Taika Waititi, singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock, actor Daniel Kaluuya, NFL star Jordan Mailata, and rapper Mike Shinoda. How many did you spot?