Melbourne: Australia’s Oscar Piastri set the pace on the opening day of the 2026 Formula 1 season, finishing fastest in Friday’s practice sessions at the Australian Grand Prix. The Formula One driver led a competitive field as teams grappled with the sport’s sweeping new regulations and engine systems.
Driving for McLaren, Piastri clocked a best lap of 1:19.729 in the second practice session to edge out Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes by 0.214 seconds. Antonelli’s teammate George Russell finished third, while Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc placed fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari.
Defending champion Lando Norris ended the day seventh for McLaren after a gearbox issue disrupted his first practice session. Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing was sixth, though his pace was affected by difficulties during soft-tyre runs and a brief off-track moment at Turn 10.
The competitive order remains uncertain after the first day of running, with teams still trying to understand the optimum use of the sport’s new hybrid power units. Under the latest regulations, power is split almost equally between the internal combustion engine and electric energy, making energy management a decisive factor.
Mercedes, however, appeared particularly strong on long race-simulation runs. Russell’s pace over extended stints suggested the Silver Arrows could hold a significant advantage, with some estimates putting him as much as six-tenths of a second per lap quicker than rivals during race-distance simulations.
Leclerc acknowledged the challenge ahead for Ferrari. “P1 looked positive but in P2 other teams started to show more pace. Mercedes look very strong, especially on high fuel, and the gap is a bit more than I would have liked,” he said.
Piastri, meanwhile, was encouraged by McLaren’s early performance at his home race. “If you can operate the car roughly how you expect it to, you find a huge amount of lap time. We felt we were not far from Mercedes and Ferrari — maybe just a small step behind,” he said.
While the fight at the front was intense, the spotlight also fell on the struggles of Aston Martin. Veteran driver Fernando Alonso endured a difficult day, missing the entire first session due to engine vibration issues linked to the team’s Honda power unit.
Alonso managed only 17 laps in the second session and finished 20th, nearly five seconds off the pace. Team principal Adrian Newey admitted the situation was worrying, revealing that vibrations from the engine were damaging the car’s batteries and leaving the team with only two usable units.
“That, given our rate of battery damage, is quite a scary place to be in,” Newey said, adding that Alonso was currently in a “hard mental place” because of the ongoing reliability concerns.
Elsewhere, rookie Arvid Lindblad impressed by finishing eighth for Racing Bulls. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Haas driver Esteban Ocon completed the top 10.
With teams running different programmes and setting their fastest laps at varying points in the session, the headline times may not fully reflect the true competitive order. The picture is expected to become clearer during qualifying and the race on Sunday.
The season-opening Australian Grand Prix will take place on March 8, with teams aiming to master the new technical era that could reshape the Formula 1 pecking order.
Source: BBC, F1
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