2026 F1 Australian Grand Prix - Friday Practice Results

Oscar Piastri ended the opening day of the 2026 F1 season at the top of the timesheets for McLaren at the Australian Grand Prix.

The home hero enjoyed a stronger day than team-mate Lando Norris in Melbourne, with the reigning champion suffering a reliability problem in FP1 before making up for lost time in the second session and finishing seventh fastest.

Mercedes picked up in FP2 while Ferrari also looked strong - George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completing the top five. Across the two sessions, Hamilton was the only driver to feature in the top four in both outings.

Max Verstappen was sixth, but his session came to an early close after a major off caused significant damage to his floor.

Aston Martin recovered somewhat from a difficult FP1, and completed 31 laps between Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.

Ferrari 1-2 to open 2026 F1 season

Leclerc led the way in the opening session of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Australian Grand Prix, leading team-mate Hamilton in a session where reliability issues struck multiple teams. 

Leclerc's late 1:20.267s effort put him 0.469s clear of Hamilton and the chasing pack, with Red Bull providing the biggest threat across the one hour session. Verstappen was third fastest, closely followed by new team-mate Isack Hadjar and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad. 

Piastri was sixth-fastest as McLaren battled with reliability concerns, which forced both drivers to return to the pits. But while Piastri was able to return to the action, Norris was restricted to the garage as the team investigated a potential gearbox issue, leaving his 19th and without a representative time.

The Mercedes and Audi pairings completed the top 10, with Russell heading the quartet.

Aston Martin endured a session to forget, with Alonso failing to take to the track at all, while Stroll completed a single timed effort before ending his track time. Both exits were blamed on suspected Honda power unit issues, adding further questions on the team's ability to reach the flag on Sunday.

Williams also suffered a reliability blow, with Alex Albon stopping on-track midway through the session after suffering a loss of hydraulic pressure, which cut his power steering.