Issue #659: Mercedes on the up down under

It’s official, the 2026 Formula 1 season has begun! The new era kicked off with a chaotic weekend in Australia, with George Russell withstanding a Ferrari challenge to get Mercedes off to the best possible start. Graham Harris, Jack Oliver Smith and James Phillips have the story while James Moy and Glenn Dunbar took the amazing images. James and Jack also dive into one of the more fascinating aspects of the weekend, analysing the media briefings by Aston Martin on Honda’s pre-season struggles, and the Adrian Newey legacy that this could tarnish… Formula 2 and Formula 3 were also in action down under, with Fleur Rogerson bringing us up to speed on the next generation of talent’s first dose of racing in their stepping stone towards Formula 1. Away from Melbourne, the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series had its first oval race of the year with the Good Ranchers 250 in Phoenix. Kevin Dejewski takes us through a dramatic afternoon in the Arizona desert at Phoenix Raceway that included a shock early retirement. And in the world of rallying, David Ledbitter previews what promises to be an exciting and intriguing WRC Safari Rally Kenya next weekend. And always, we have all the news, views and stories in this week's edition of the most widely read weekly motorsport magazine in the world!