Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Oscar Piastri ended the opening day of the 2026 Australian Grand Prix as the fastest driver in Free Practice 2 at Albert Park. The home favourite for McLaren set a benchmark lap of 1:19.729, finishing around three tenths of a second ahead of the Mercedes pair of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
Despite ending the session third fastest, Russell faced a complicated outing as he was noted for two separate incidents that will be reviewed by the stewards. The British driver was first involved in a pit lane clash with Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, before later being noted for a potential practice start infringement during the session.
The pit lane incident occurred at the start of FP2 when Russell attempted to move ahead of Lindblad in the fast lane queue. The 18-year-old driver then ran over the endplate of Russell’s front wing, forcing the Mercedes crew to push the car back into the garage for a front-wing replacement.
Around twenty minutes into the session, Russell set a lap of 1:20.049 on soft tyres, which was already quicker than the fastest time recorded in FP1 by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.
Soon after, Antonelli became the first driver to break the 80-second barrier with a lap of 1:19.943. Meanwhile, Leclerc’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton initially posted the fastest first sector before eventually finishing 0.176 seconds behind Antonelli.
Leclerc struggled slightly more on his soft-tyre attempt, setting a time of 1:20.291 before Piastri ignited the home crowd with a leading lap of 1:19.729, which ultimately remained unbeaten for the rest of the session.
The session also featured several other notable moments. Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing had a dramatic excursion through the gravel late in the session but still finished sixth fastest.
Reigning world champion Lando Norris ended the session seventh after limited running in FP1 due to a clutch issue. Lindblad continued to impress by finishing eighth, narrowly ahead of Verstappen’s team-mate Isack Hadjar.
Further down the order, Williams driver Carlos Sainz completed only ten laps and ended the session more than two and a half seconds off the pace.
Cadillac also encountered difficulties as Sergio Perez suffered a sensor issue before later stopping on his out lap due to a hydraulics problem.
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso, who missed FP1 because of a power unit issue, managed to complete 18 laps in FP2 but finished almost five seconds slower than Piastri. His Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll completed 13 laps and ended the session even further behind.
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