Always Wrong But Never In Doubt

Gian-Piero Maccagno

Pearls on a Pig

Was the 2026 edition of the Australian Grand Prix 'Pearls on a Pig'.

A good looking pig but still a pig.

Depends who you ask.

Oscar PIASTRI's crash on the formation lap had to be a great disappointment to the Australian crowd.

On first blush it doesn't appear Oscar is in the vein of Jack BRABHAM and Alan JONES.

More like Mark WEBBER and Daniel RICCIARDO. Close but no cigar.

Then there was the 'trick' five red lights to start the race. The fifth one was scarcely lit when they all went out for go time.

The racing in the first couple of laps between eventual winner George RUSSELL's Mercedes and Charles LECLERC's Ferrari was fun while it lasted.

Then the Ferrari strategist made The Scuderia look like the team of old.

Instead of pitting both cars under the Virtual Safety Car, like everyone else of consequence, they stayed out.

Even Lewis HAMILTON asked if one of them at least should have gone in.

Mercedes was clearly the fastest cars on the track but at least don't hand them the race on a platter.

With everything new for '26 you expected a couple of blow ups. Isack HADJAR fit the bill and was the most spectacular.

Then there was Aston Martin. The debutante team Cadillac didn't look Aston martin bad.

Fernando ALONSO retired twice. The laughingstock of F1 Lance STROLL finished 15 laps behind the winning pair of Mercedes.

Can you imagine George passing him 15 times!

Finally all the talk wasn't about the tyres.

It was all about battery deployment and battery charging. Oh joy. At least you could see what was happening to the tyres as they degraded.

Let's not talk about the on screen graphic 'Colapinto Drive Thru Penalty'. I guess it was a new season for everybody.

Whatever.

This is what we have got for the rest of the season. So you might as well lay back and enjoy it.

 

Thanks

Runners and Riders is a team effort

Special THANKS to Christian Petersen and Eric Petersen