Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2026 – Free Practice 2 Results. Get the latest results from the second free practice session of the 2026 Australian GP.

The highly anticipated Mercedes power units have begun to send their first strong signals. During the second free practice session of the Australian Grand Prix, the opening round of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship, the Brixworth-built V6 engines dominated the top three positions, with Oscar Piastri leading the session ahead of the two Mercedes drivers Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

Drivers did not need much time to reach the lap times set earlier in the day during the first practice session, and soon after they began improving them further. Piastri and Antonelli were the first — and ultimately the only — drivers to break the 1’20” barrier. The Australian McLaren driver stopped the clock at 1’19”729, beating the Italian Mercedes rookie from Bologna by 214 thousandths of a second.

George Russell was slightly further behind, finishing third and 320 thousandths slower than Piastri. However, what truly raised eyebrows was not so much the single-lap pace — with Lewis Hamilton, the first driver in the standings using a different engine manufacturer, just one thousandth behind Russell — but rather the impressive race pace displayed by the two Mercedes W17 cars.

Both Russell and Antonelli showed consistent and competitive long-run pace while running on the Hard compound tyres. Starting their race simulations in the 1’24” range, both drivers gradually improved into the 1’23” bracket while using a set of tyres that had already been used earlier during the first free practice session.

As mentioned, Ferrari remained close to the top three in terms of outright lap time. Lewis Hamilton finished just a step behind the Mercedes drivers, while Charles Leclerc struggled slightly more to piece together a lap capable of placing him firmly in the fight for the top three positions. Nevertheless, the Monegasque still completed the session inside the top five, and his short long-run simulation on Hard tyres appeared reasonably competitive, even if not quite at the same level as the Mercedes drivers.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris did not particularly shine during this session. Both drivers finished just behind the Ferraris, but the Red Bull car currently appears to lack the race pace shown by the Mercedes-powered teams, and it also seemed slightly slower than the Ferrari SF-26, which had looked particularly lively earlier in the day.

One of the biggest positive surprises once again came from Arvid Lindblad. The only rookie on the grid this season delivered the eighth fastest time of the session, finishing just 128 thousandths behind Norris’ McLaren. The young British driver looked composed throughout the session and even managed the satisfaction of finishing ahead of Isack Hadjar, who was driving the second Red Bull RB22.

Haas confirmed the encouraging performance already seen during pre-season testing. The American team appears to be one of the strongest candidates for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, at least during the early stages of the season. The tenth and eleventh fastest times recorded by Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman further reinforced the positive impressions already observed during testing in Sakhir.

Audi also made a solid start to the race weekend. The team making the debut of its brand-new power unit finished the session in twelfth place with Nico Hulkenberg, while Gabriel Bortoleto placed fourteenth. Separating the two Audi drivers was the Racing Bulls car of Liam Lawson. The New Zealander, however, was about half a second slower than Lindblad on a single qualifying-style lap.

Williams arrived in Melbourne with a car that is currently above the minimum weight limit, and although a weight reduction program has already begun — which should be completed within the next two Grands Prix — the team currently finds itself towards the lower end of the standings. Alexander Albon finished fifteenth, while Carlos Sainz ended the session in seventeenth place. The Spanish driver also lost valuable track time after being forced to stop due to a technical issue that interrupted his running during the session.

Alpine, on the other hand, delivered a disappointing performance. The French team had appeared capable of challenging Haas for the fight over fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, but today it managed no better than sixteenth place with Pierre Gasly and eighteenth with Franco Colapinto, who struggled significantly to keep the nervous A526 under control on track.

Valtteri Bottas placed the first Cadillac in nineteenth position, finishing 3.9 seconds behind Piastri’s fastest lap. The session was even more difficult for Sergio Perez. It was not only his last-place classification that stood out, but also the two technical problems that affected his car, one related to a sensor and another involving the hydraulic system. The Mexican driver was eventually forced to park his Cadillac on track just a few minutes before the end of the session.

The difficult period for Aston Martin continues as well, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll spending far more time in the garage than out on track. The vibrations generated by the Honda power unit continue to cause several issues for the AMR26, and the situation is further complicated by the team reportedly being short on battery components. As a result, Aston Martin could realistically manage only a handful of laps between Saturday and Sunday. In short, the step from a promising dream to what is currently — hopefully only temporarily — a nightmare has been remarkably short.

Here are the results from the second free practice session at the Albert Park circuit: