Oscar Piastri topped the second practice session at the Australian GP, setting the fastest lap of 1:19.729.
Kimi Antonelli impressed by climbing to second place, briefly leading the session before Piastri’s surge, while George Russell secured third for Mercedes despite a pit-lane contact.
What has happened so far?
Charles Leclerc topped the opening practice session at the Australian GP, leading a Ferrari 1-2 ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
The Monegasque set a late 1:20.267s to edge his team-mate, while Max Verstappen headed a Red Bull 3-4 from Isack Hadjar.
The session featured several disruptions, with power unit issues sidelining Fernando Alonso and forcing early stops for Lando Norris and Lance Stroll.
Rookie Arvid Lindblad briefly stopped at the pit exit but recovered strongly to finish fifth, while Oscar Piastri rebounded from an early power loss to place sixth.
Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli ended seventh and eighth, with Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg completing the top 10.
Disruptions continue at the Australian GP
The second practice at Albert Park wasn’t short of action from the beginning.
When the lights turned green, George Russell sustained front wing damage following contact with Arvid Lindblad in the pit lane, after a misunderstanding over priority between the two drivers.
Several incidents disrupted the session early, including Max Verstappen stopping in the pit lane and requiring assistance back to the Red Bull garage.
Lewis Hamilton also had to take avoiding action on the pit straight after Franco Colapinto slowed dramatically while dealing with a gearbox issue.
Cadillac delayed Sergio Perez’s running due to a sensor issue, while team-mate Valtteri Bottas completed early laps on the medium tyre.
Fernando Alonso returned to the track for Aston Martin, though Lance Stroll remained in the garage.
Mercedes set the early pace as George Russell initially led before Kimi Antonelli improved to a 1:19.942, with Lewis Hamilton close behind.
In the midfield, Haas briefly impressed through Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman amid a tight fight with Audi, Racing Bulls, and Alpine, while Russell also ran off into the gravel after a lock-up but continued.
Second half of the session
Lindblad continued an impressive session by moving up to seventh on soft tyres, just 0.170s behind Isack Hadjar, though the rookie remained under investigation for his earlier pit lane contact with George Russell.
Oscar Piastri later set the fastest time with a 1:19.729.
Meanwhile, Williams worked on Carlos Sainz’s car in the garage as the Spaniard waited for a possible return to the track. Team-mate Alex Albon completed soft-tyre runs before also pitting.
Teams moved into long-run simulations in stable conditions, with track. Mercedes gathered data on hard tyres while Max Verstappen had a snap of oversteer into Turn 10, taking damage to his car’s underbody.
With just a few minutes left on the clock, Sergio Perez joined the session on soft tyres for Cadillac but stopped out on track shortly after, triggering a Virtual Safety Car.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen returned to the Red Bull garage as the team checked potential floor damage following his earlier high-speed off.
The session ended with practice starts, which slowly seem to work better for all the teams.
READ MORE – F1 2026 Australian Grand Prix – FP2 results
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