Overview
- Oscar Piastri set the FP2 benchmark at Albert Park with a 1:19.729, 0.214s ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, with George Russell third and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc next.
- Mercedes impressed on long‑run pace despite FP1 power‑unit configuration and software issues, and Russell has been called to the stewards over a pit‑lane clash and a practice‑start procedure breach.
- Aston Martin’s opening day was marred by Honda battery woes, with Adrian Newey saying two packs were already spent and only two remained, as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll ran far off the pace.
- Red Bull’s Max Verstappen lost FP2 time when his car was stuck in gear and later damaged the floor in a high‑speed Turn 10 off, leaving the team trailing the front group on Friday.
- The new 2026 rules put battery harvesting and deployment at the heart of performance, forcing lift‑and‑coast and producing large top‑speed swings, as rookie Arvid Lindblad stood out with P5 in FP1 and P8 in FP2.