Second Practice of the Day at the Australian Grand Prix

By: Daniel Feuerstein | March 6th, 2026 | Melbourne, AUS

Back on the Track For Another Practice Run

The second practice run for all drivers of the 2026 Formula One Season quickly got back on track on Friday in Melbourne, as drivers once again tested their cars and ensured they ran smoothly on the race track to prepare for Qualifying and the race itself. All the drivers are looking to get the kinks out of their cars and move forward toward their final practice run, and then toward where they will start on the grid on race day. But once again, when some drivers had smooth runs, their cars stalled and had to be reworked.

Practice 2 Recap

Once again, Nico Hülkenberg led the drivers out of the pit lane to get the practice time started again. Yet some drivers couldn’t get out of the garage right away as their cars had to be reworked. George Russell of Mercedes had a front nose/wing issue, and his team had to push it back into the garage to fix the issue. Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen started to drive toward the exit of pit lane, but his car stalled and stopped. He had to get his car pulled back into the garage to fix the issue. Lance Stroll of Aston Martin had an issue with his car and had to be pulled back in for repairs. Later in practice, these drivers were able to get back on the track and complete their laps, except Sergio Perez was the only driver unable to get practice laps in because his car was still being worked on.

There was a moment at the start of the second practice that we could’ve had a horrible accident, as a McLaren car was slowly moving along the outside of the track, and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was speeding up quickly from behind. With quick thinking by Hamilton, he turned away from the McLaren car in front of him and continued to drive on for his practice laps. The McLaren car finally sped up and began taking practice laps.

The Danger turns on the track

Throughout both practice runs, turn three of the race track looks to be the most difficult turn for the drivers. The pebble bed could give drivers some trouble when they try to make a turn or when entering that area. We have seen Hamilton and several other cars enter that turn and still exit the pebble bed without issue. Still, it would be a terrible sight to see one of the cars stall or get a pebble stuck in the chassis, and it could ruin the cars. Turn 14 could also pose an issue, as the pebble bed is there with the grass after it. As you saw, Isack Hadjar went through the entire section but was able to get back on the track and continued his run.

The Hometown Hero with the fastest time

After the checkered flag was flapping around, Oscar Piastri of McLaren had the fastest time in practice two at 1:19:729, with Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes in second, his teammate George Russel in third, Hamilton in fourth, and his teammate Charles LeClerc, who was the fastest in the first practice, finished in fifth in the second practice. Verstappen finished in sixth, while his teammate Hadjar finished in ninth. One more practice run, then qualifying to determine who starts on the grid for the race. Race fans and Formula One fans are getting excited for this season to begin.

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