Oscar Piastri ended the opening day of the 2026 Australian Grand Prix on top, the McLaren driver going fastest in a second practice session that barely ran a lap without something happening. His 1:19.729 on the soft compound put him two tenths clear of Kimi Antonelli, with George Russell third for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completed the top five for Ferrari, while Max Verstappen slotted in sixth after a session he will want to forget.
It was a very different picture to FP1, where Ferrari led a Red Bull and McLaren were in damage-limitation mode. Six hours later, the order had shuffled almost completely. Make of that what you will.
Full FP2 results
|
Pos |
Driver |
Team |
Time / Gap |
Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Oscar Piastri |
McLaren |
1:19.729 |
26 |
|
2 |
Kimi Antonelli |
Mercedes |
+0.214s |
31 |
|
3 |
George Russell |
Mercedes |
+0.320s |
28 |
|
4 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Ferrari |
+0.321s |
32 |
|
5 |
Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari |
+0.562s |
30 |
|
6 |
Max Verstappen |
Red Bull Racing |
+0.637s |
13 |
|
7 |
Lando Norris |
McLaren |
+1.065s |
29 |
|
8 |
Arvid Lindblad |
Racing Bulls |
+1.193s |
30 |
|
9 |
Isack Hadjar |
Red Bull Racing |
+1.212s |
28 |
|
10 |
Esteban Ocon |
Haas |
+1.450s |
29 |
|
11 |
Oliver Bearman |
Haas |
+1.597s |
31 |
|
12 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
Audi |
+1.622s |
34 |
|
13 |
Liam Lawson |
Racing Bulls |
+1.629s |
29 |
|
14 |
Gabriel Bortoleto |
Audi |
+1.939s |
28 |
|
15 |
Alexander Albon |
Williams |
+2.118s |
32 |
|
16 |
Pierre Gasly |
Alpine |
+2.438s |
16 |
|
17 |
Carlos Sainz |
Williams |
+2.524s |
10 |
|
18 |
Franco Colapinto |
Alpine |
+2.890s |
27 |
|
19 |
Valtteri Bottas |
Cadillac |
+3.931s |
28 |
|
20 |
Fernando Alonso |
Aston Martin |
+4.933s |
18 |
|
21 |
Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin |
+6.087s |
13 |
|
22 |
Sergio Perez |
Cadillac |
No time |
2 |
McLaren bounce back
After Norris spent most of FP1 in the garage with a gearbox concern and Piastri lost power after three minutes, the reigning champions came back looking considerably more sorted. Piastri's late soft-tyre effort was clean and confident, and Norris at least completed a meaningful session in seventh, albeit still some way back as the team continues to dial in the MCL40.
Exactly how much time McLaren had in hand in FP1 is unknowable. That they were quicker here is clear enough.
Mercedes make their presence felt
Russell and Antonelli split Piastri's fast lap either side, and neither looked like they were at the limit. GPS analysis of FP1 had suggested Mercedes were significantly slower than Ferrari through one particular sector, with Russell losing as much as 30km/h at one point. That gap did not show up in FP2. Whether Brackley had turned the wick up or the FP1 picture was misleading, the Silver Arrows look very much in the conversation.
Russell's afternoon was not without complication, though. He will face the stewards over two separate incidents: a pit lane clash with Lindblad at the start of the session when he clipped the Racing Bulls car attempting to enter the fast lane, and a practice start infringement flagged separately by the race director.
Verstappen's difficult afternoon
Verstappen stalled in the pit lane inside the first ten minutes, needing to be pushed back to the garage. He eventually got running, then had a significant snap of oversteer at Turn 10 late in the session, going through the gravel and damaging his floor. He completed another lap before pitting, ending the session sixth.
Red Bull looked genuinely fast in FP1. FP2 was messier. Whether the floor damage is a concern for Saturday will become clear overnight.
Colapinto moment
Franco Colapinto slowed dramatically on the main straight, apparently losing drive through the final corner and coasting into the racing line. Hamilton had to take evasive action at speed. It was noted by the stewards. Colapinto appeared to regain speed and continued, but it was an uncomfortable few seconds.
Aston Martin: still barely running
Alonso completed one slow out lap and came straight back in. Stroll lasted 13 laps before being told to box. The pair ended 20th and 21st, nearly five seconds off the pace. Perez failed to set a representative time at all after a sensor fault and a subsequent hydraulic issue stopped his Cadillac on circuit, bringing out a virtual safety car.
The Aston Martin situation is getting harder to look past. Between sessions, Adrian Newey confirmed the team has only two working batteries remaining for the entire weekend, having arrived in Melbourne with four. No replacements are available. Whether both cars make the grid for Sunday is genuinely uncertain. We covered the Honda power unit problems in detail before the season started, but the situation has worsened considerably since then.
What Friday actually told us
After two sessions, four different teams have topped the timing screens across the day. Ferrari led FP1, McLaren and Mercedes dominated FP2. Red Bull looked strong at points and chaotic at others. The order after day one of a regulation reset tells you something, but not everything.
FP3 and qualifying on Saturday will start to sharpen the picture. For now, Melbourne is doing exactly what Melbourne does.
