Oscar Piastri ended the first day of practice for his home race quickest of anyone in his McLaren.

He lapped the Albert Park circuit in 1’19.729 on a set of soft tyres. Team mate Lando Norris, who covered just seven laps in the first practice session earlier in the day, was a second slower in seventh place.

In a significant change from the first practice session, three Mercedes-powered cars filled the top three places. Andrea Kimi Antonelli was second-quickest for the works team, a tenth of a second quicker than his team mate.

George Russell’s start to the session was delayed after he broke his front wing in a pit lane tangle with Arvid Lindblad. The pair made contact as Russell tried to join the fast lane in front of the rookie, who was encouraged to keep his position by his race engineer.

First practice pace-setter Charles Leclerc was fifth-quickest, behind his team mate. Lewis Hamilton had a near-miss with Franco Colapinto when the Alpine driver appeared to suffer a power unit problem and slowed on the pit straight.

Max Verstappen was sixth-fastest after a lurid moment at the exit of the high-speed turn 10. His Red Bull snapped sideways on the exit kerb, sending him into the gravel trap at speed. His new team mate Isack Hadjar was ninth behind Norris and Lindblad. Esteban Ocon beat his Haas team mate Oliver Bearman to the final place in the top 10.

Aston Martin’s tough start to the weekend continued, though at least both cars left the garage this time. Fernando Alonso managed to lap within five seconds of the pace, albeit a second off the next-slowest car. Lance Stroll was summoned back into the pits after just a handful of laps – neither Aston Martin driver has the luxury of a spare battery this weekend.

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Only Sergio Perez failed to set a time after coming to a stop in his Cadillac. Carlos Sainz Jnr’s session also came to an early end after he suffered a technical problem in his Williams.

2026 Australian Grand Prix second practice result

P. # Driver Team Model Time Gap Laps
1 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes MCL40 1’19.729 26
2 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes W17 1’19.943 0.214 31
3 63 George Russell Mercedes W17 1’20.049 0.320 28
4 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari SF-26 1’20.050 0.321 32
5 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-26 1’20.291 0.562 30
6 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford RB22 1’20.366 0.637 13
7 1 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes MCL40 1’20.794 1.065 29
8 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford 03 1’20.922 1.193 30
9 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford RB22 1’20.941 1.212 28
10 31 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari VF-26 1’21.179 1.450 29
11 87 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari VF-26 1’21.326 1.597 31
12 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi R26 1’21.351 1.622 34
13 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford 03 1’21.358 1.629 29
14 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi R26 1’21.668 1.939 28
15 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes FW48 1’21.847 2.118 32
16 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes A526 1’22.167 2.438 16
17 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams-Mercedes FW48 1’22.253 2.524 10
18 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes A526 1’22.619 2.890 27
19 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari MAC-26 1’23.660 3.931 28
20 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Honda AMR26 1’24.662 4.933 18
21 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Honda AMR26 1’25.816 6.087 13
22 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac-Ferrari MAC-26 No time 2

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2026 Australian Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine

Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 – when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring journalist, Keith began running the site full-time in 2010, achieving a long-held ambition to dedicate his full attention to his passion for motor racing. View all posts by Keith Collantine