- Showed his car has pace to put the Aussie in good stead for qualifying
Oscar Piastri delivered a stunning 1:19.729 lap to top the timesheet in a chaotic Australian GP second practice at Albert Park as Lando Norris continued to struggle with a troubled car.
The 24-year-old Melbourne product set his benchmark with 22 minutes left after switching to soft tyres, finishing two tenths clear of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
George Russell completed the top three, with Lewis Hamilton fourth and Charles Leclerc fifth.
The result is a significant boost for Piastri heading into qualifying, coming after a frustrating opening practice session in which traffic on his final flying lap had left him languishing sixth and a full second off the pace.
FP2 suggested the Melbourne product is very much in contention for the front row, if not pole position itself.
While Piastri shone, it was a very different story for reigning world champion Lando Norris.
Australian hope Oscar Piastri recorded the fastest Lap time in the second free practice session in Melbourne
The Melbourne product showed that McLaren is capable of pace under the new rules in the 2026 season
The Briton, defending last season’s title, managed only seven FP1 laps and finished seventh in FP2, a full second off his teammate’s soft-tyre benchmark.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirmed the extent of the problems after the session.
‘He’s had a clutch issue through the opening session and a few issues during this second session too,’ Brown told broadcasters.
‘He’s had so little running, and you never know what various fuel loads people are using.’
With Norris having completed just a handful of laps across both sessions and finishing 19th in FP1, the McLaren camp will have significant work to do overnight if their champion is to mount a genuine challenge on Saturday.
The silver lining, if there is one, is that Piastri’s pace demonstrates the MCL42 is fundamentally quick – provided the reliability issues can be ironed out.
The second practice session was disrupted by multiple incidents that kept stewards and teams busy.
The most dangerous moment came when Alpine’s Franco Colapinto slowed dramatically on the main straight with a power issue, forcing Lewis Hamilton to swerve at nearly 300km/h to avoid a crash.
While Piastri found pace, his teammate and reigning world champion Lando Norris battled with the clutch of his McLaren
The incident drew criticism as Colapinto appeared to remain on the racing line, with stewards expected to review the footage.
In the pit lane, George Russell and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad collided while entering the fast lane, damaging Russell’s front wing.
Max Verstappen also briefly caused concern when his Red Bull stopped in the pit lane, though it did not block other cars.
Aston Martin endured a disastrous session, completing just three laps in total due to battery issues, leaving the team struggling to gather data ahead of qualifying.
Meanwhile fellow Aussie Jack Doohan – now serving as a reserve driver at Haas after losing his Alpine seat – appeared on the broadcast to reflect on his situation.
The 22-year-old confirmed he has no firm plans in place for 2026 but is actively pursuing opportunities outside Formula 1 in order to remain sharp behind the wheel.
‘I’m still chasing a race seat somewhere to keep race fit,’ Doohan said.
Free Practice 2 standings:
- Piastri (McLaren) 1:19.729
- Antonelli (Mercedes) 1:19.943
- Russell (Mercedes) 1:20.049
- Hamilton (Ferrari) 1:20.050
- Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:20.291
- Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:20.366
- Norris (McLaren) 1:20.794
- Lindblad (Racing Bulls) 1:20.922
- Hadjar (Red Bull) 1:20.941
- Ocon (Haas) 1:21.179
- Bearman (Haas) 1:21.326
- Hulkenberg (Audi) 1:21.351
- Lawson (Racing Bulls) 1:21.358
- Bortoleto (Audi) 1:21.668
- Albon (Williams) 1:21.847
- Gasly (Alpine) 1:22.167
- Sainz (Williams) 1:22.253
- Colapinto (Alpine) 1:22.619
- Bottas (Cadillac) 1:23.660
- Alonso (Aston Martin) 1:24.662
- Stroll (Aston Martin) 1:25.816
- Perez (Cadillac) No time recorded
