Update | Exclusive – Albert Park set for Two-Weekend Expansion as F1 Sets Earlier Date

Supercars targeted for standalone weekend; Multi F1 European tests for new-spec 2026 cars

THE AUSTRALIAN Grand Prix Corporation is reportedly considering a massive expansion for 2026 and beyond, with a full ‘all-Australian’ event (including Supercars) on the weekend before the F1 Grand Prix – which will move forward a week next year anyway.

Auto Action understands that plans are afoot for Supercars – which has gradually been ‘downgraded’ during GP weekend over recent years, thanks to the introduction of FIA F2 and F3 – to headline a big motorsport weekend, featuring Australia’s leading national categories, a week earlier than the F1 Grand Prix.

Earlier F1 date aside, it is the concept of utilising the Albert Park circuit the week prior to the GP – ie the weekend of February 28/March 1 – that will shake up the local calendar, and have scheduling effects on major events traditionally scheduled pre-GP, such as the Adelaide Motorsport Festival and Phillip Island’s Classic Festival, which will face the need to move to an even earlier date.

If the Supercars weekend comes off, and there was some cynicism from Supercars insiders at the weekend, it would solve the issue of starting the season with a bang after two lacklustre openings since the demise of the Newcastle race.

A Supercars Melbourne 500 weekend on the Grand Prix track could attract good crowds and provide the Victorian Government with a greater return on its investment in turning Albert Park into a race track every year, which is becoming more of an issue each year as the non-motorsport public eyes its $50m plus investment in the race every year.

If Supercars fails to embrace the vision and make it happen, a Goodwood-style historic event is a possibility.

We know Supercars is considering its options in Melbourne the week before the Grand Prix. However, it stated that this wasn’t on the radar, which could have been said to increase its bargaining power with the AGPC.

The big news is the date which confirms Melbourne will once again host the season opener for the Formula 1 World Championship, with a provisional calendar circulated at Albert Park over the weekend provided F1 teams with the date of March 8.

The decision to move a few F1 races around next year to reduce the number of intercontinental trips for the teams, the FIA, Formula 1, and the media will force an earlier start to the 2026 championship. The first test is planned for the end of January in Barcelona.

With the completely new F1 Technical Regulations coming for next year, the teams and the FIA have agreed to hold not one, but three pre-season test sessions.

With the teams worried about the out-of-the-box performance and reliability of the new Power Units, it has been decided that a first test will be held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, from January 26 to the 30, with the teams each free to run on no more than three of those five days.

That first test will be held behind closed doors, with no fans, no media, and no TV broadcasting of the sessions.

A suggestion by an Australian national media outlet that the weekend before the GP would be an F1 test would seem to be wide of the mark – F1 teams unlikely to want to be so far from home for key testing, and at a ‘street’ track, where accidents and damage are likely.

At the same time, Formula 1 is also planning to host a second all-in livery launch in 2026, following the commercial success of the F1 75 event in London. However, some teams are opposed, and a final decision about that will not be made anytime soon.

In any case, should the event be held, it will have to be in the first 10 days of February, as a double test session is scheduled for Bahrain, the first to run February 12-14, followed one week later by the final three days of pre-season testing, at the same track, from February 19-21.

This means that, for the first time ever, Formula 1 will be running in Bahrain during the month-long Ramadan celebrations next year, which starts on February 16 and will end on March 18. While a Grand Prix cannot be held during that period, the circuit owners have agreed to host a three-day test session right at the start of the celebrations – although the daily schedule of the sessions is still under discussion.

For Australian fans, the key outcome is that Albert Park’s Grand Prix will be held one week earlier than this year. The race is scheduled for March 8, which is the Labour Day long weekend in Victoria.

The all-new ‘double weekend’ concept will see the Grand Prix weekend supported by F2 and F3 as it has been for the past three events, with the addition of the Formula 1 Academy series, with the previous weekend all-Australian in content.

The double-whammy two-weekend concept guarantees 10 days of action around the Albert Park track, with promotional events in town during that entire period. This will make the 2026 Australian Grand Prix the biggest motorsport festival worldwide.

This, and all the latest news, coverage and opinion in the latest Auto Action digital fortnightly – out today, online and FREE