F1 Australian Grand Prix 2026: FP2 Results and Report After Drama-Hit Session

Oscar Piastri gave the home crowd something to cheer about at the end of Friday running after topping second practice for Formula 1's Australian Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver set the best lap of the day with a 1:19.729s to finish ahead of Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, with all three showing vast improvement from FP1.

But there were plenty of incidents across the field as the acclimatization to F1's new regulations continued in Melbourne, with plenty to mull over ahead of qualifying on Saturday.

Mercedes-powered cars turn up the heat in drama-filled session

The session began with drama as Russell lost a front wing on his Mercedes as he tried to jump the queue to join the track, with Arvid Lindblad running over his compatriot's endplate in the process. The incident was placed under a post-session investigation.

Not the way Russell or Lindblad wanted to start FP2! 🫣

Here's the moment between the pair in the pit lane 👇#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/5cgKP41xYb
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 6, 2026

Moments later, Lewis Hamilton almost ran into the back of Franco Colapinto's Alpine as the Argentine slowed with an apparent issue down the start-finish straight.

Colapinto opted not to shift from the racing line, leaving Hamilton needing cat-like reflexes to avoid a huge accident. He would also face a post-session investigation.

Further issues arose as Max Verstappen ground to a halt when leaving the garage, stopping in the middle of the pitlane with a problem that appeared similar to Lindblad's in FP1.

Much of the early running was dictated by longer runs, with the hard and medium tires the choice for the field, and Mercedes finally beginning to show its hand after a low-key FP1.

The Silver Arrows then circulated on soft tires 20 minutes into the hour, with Russell pumping in a 1:20.049s straight away, 1.3s faster than he had lapped in the first session and two-tenths up on Charles Leclerc's table-topping time earlier in the day.

More drama came for Russell, though, as he ran wide at Turn 3 and took to the gravel, locking up his right-front tire under braking. He was followed by Hamilton, who made a similar trip through the trap in his Ferrari.

When the soft tire runs were completed, however, it was Piastri who had set the fastest time with a much improved afternoon for McLaren.

Antonelli got the better of Russell, while Ferrari duo Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were fourth and fifth, the latter another to find gravel at the exit of Turn 3.

Verstappen was sixth after getting out onto the track following his early issue and the Dutchman did well to hold a huge slide through Turn 10 that saw him take to the gravel, albeit his Red Bull had shed parts of its underfloor with 10 minutes left.

Lando Norris logged his first soft-tire lap of the weekend to finish a second down on teammate Piastri.

Lindblad was again impressive to finish eighth fastest and ahead of Isack Hadjar, while Esteban Ocon rounded out the top 10 for Haas.

Esteban Ocon, Haas, Australian GP 2026 — TGR Haas F1 Team

Oliver Bearman was 11th, narrowly faster than Nico Hulkenberg's Audi and Liam Lawson's Racing Bull, with Gabriel Bortoleto the final driver within two seconds of the fastest time.

Alex Albon was again 15th but at least finished the session, unlike in FP1, though Williams teammate Carlos Sainz wasn't as lucky, forced into the garage without having run the softs.

Franco Colapinto was 18th, two places behind Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly, with Valtteri Bottas 19th, with more mileage racked up for Cadillac.

Fernando Alonso finally got some meaningful running under his belt for Aston Martin, as did Lance Stroll before he was forced into the garage with yet another issue.

It was a tough session for Sergio Perez, however, who was confined to the Cadillac garage for over 50 minutes before hitting the track, only to be forced to stop at the exit of Turn 11 before setting a laptime.

F1 Australian Grand Prix 2026 - FP2 Results

Position / Driver / Team	Gap [s]
1. Oscar Piastri / McLaren	1:19.729
2. Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes	+0.214
3. George Russell / Mercedes	+0.320
4. Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari	+0.321
5. Charles Leclerc / Ferrari	+0.562
6. Max Verstappen / Red Bull	+0.637
7. Lando Norris / McLaren	+1.065
8. Arvid Lindblad / Racing Bulls	+1.193
9. Isack Hadjar / Red Bull	+1.212
10. Esteban Ocon / Haas	+1.450
11. Oliver Bearman / Haas	+1.597
12. Nico Hulkenberg / Audi	+1.622
13. Liam Lawson / Racing Bulls	+1.629
14. Gabriel Bortoleto / Audi	+1.939
15. Alex Albon / Williams	+2.008
16. Pierre Gasly / Alpine	+2.438
17. Carlos Sainz / Williams	+2.524
18. Franco Colapinto / Alpine	+2.890
19. Valtteri Bottas / Cadillac	+3.931
20. Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin	+4.933
21. Lance Stroll / Aston Martin	+6.087
22. Sergio Perez / Cadillac	No Time