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Kiwi drivers in spotlight as Payne leads Supercars, Lawson eyes F1 opener
Savannah Lendich Jonkers • March 6th, 2026 12:09 pm
Liam Lawson | Photo: Photosport
Bathurst champion Matt Payne finally leads the Supercars Championship heading into race five on Friday.
The 23-year-old Kiwi finished just 0.4 seconds behind Brodie Kostecki yesterday in the first of four sprint races in Melbourne.
Starting from grid four, Payne said he simply ran out of laps.
“Matty was breathing down my neck there towards the end," said Kostecki.
Payne managed to pull away from Broc Feeney, who finished third.
Feeney led the majority of the 2025 Supercars season before a devastating series of events at the Adelaide Grand Final in December.
Currently leading Feeney by just six points in the championship, Payne said: "I did think if I got in front of Broc, I’d steal the numbers off him.”
Payne will start from pole position for Friday’s race, followed by Brodie Kostecki, Kiwi Ryan Wood, last year's champion Chaz Mostert and Broc Feeney, who may have a point to prove.
Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls Formula One team is also in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix, the first of 24 rounds in the 2026 season.
Matt Payne crosses the finish line to win the Bathurst 1000 | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Lawson told the NZ Herald it's “hard to know” where all drivers will stack up following the biggest regulation change in F1 history - changes that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said you may need a degree to understand.
During the off season, a series of changes were made to car specifications and other rules including making the cars smaller and lighter to allow easier wheel-to-wheel racing.
Other changes were made to the fuel and battery systems, aerodynamics, overtake and boost modes as well as tires.
Labeling the changes as a challenge for everyone and essentially racing completely different cars, Lawson said he is anxious but excited to figure out how the season will pan out.
Lawson said every team does things differently in testing so the real results will come in qualifying tomorrow night.
“I’m just as green with these cars and will be trying to figure them out as much as I can.”
Supercars Schedule (NZ time)
Friday - Race 5 - 7.30pm
Saturday - Qualifying for Race 6 - 11.00am
Saturday - Qualifying for Race 7 - 11:.22am
Saturday - Race 6 - 7.35pm
Sunday - Race 7 - 12.10pm
Formula One Schedule (NZ time)
Friday - Practice One - 2.30pm
Friday - Practice Two - 6.00pm
Saturday - Practice Three - 2.30pm
Saturday - Qualifying - 6.00pm
Sunday - Australian Grand Prix Race - 5.00pm
