F1 Results Today: Mercedes fight back as Lewis Hamilton impresses for Ferrari

Mercedes and McLaren fought back after a middling FP1 session at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday, reestablishing themselves as the teams to beat in 2026.

Early free practice sessions are notoriously unhelpful for figuring out teams' true pace as they keep their engine tuned down and run different fuel loads, but FP1 saw Ferrari and Red Bull comfortably top of the timing boards.

FP2 was a completely different story, with Oscar Piastri going fastest ahead of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell to complete a Mercedes-powered top three at the end of the session.

The Ferraris slotted in behind that, with Lewis Hamilton ahead of Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen followed in sixth after some technical issues with his car cost him nearly half the session.

Fernando Alonso finally got out on track after being forced out of FP1 with a power unit issue, although he and team-mate Lance Stroll – whose session ended early with another issue – were some significant way behind the rest of the teams on track.

F1 HEADLINES: Newey to face the music as FIA announce Australian Grand Prix U-turn

Australian Grand Prix FP2 times

Australian Grand Prix FP1 times

Is there F1 today?

Practice continues tomorrow in Australia with FP3 on Saturday, March 7th at 12:30pm (local time) and 1:30am (BST). To read the complete breakdown of practice times and how to watch in select locations click here.

READ MORE: Aston Martin set to DNF at Australian Grand Prix as Alonso and Stroll fear nerve damage

Written by

Chris Deeley - Editor

View full biography

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

F1 News Today: Lewis Hamilton stuns at Monza as Leclerc confirms Ferrari exit talks

• 15 minutes ago

F1 Results Today: Ferrari dominate at Monza to start crucial weekend for 2026 championship

• 2 hours ago

Fernando Alonso fires warning to F1 and finally reveals what will make him stay at Aston Martin

• 3 hours ago

Kimi Antonelli set for ANOTHER engine penalty this season in Lewis Hamilton title boost

• Today 10:57

F1 2026 Italian Grand Prix weather forecast - latest from Monza after heat hazard declared

• 21 minutes ago

F1 Standings 2026: Amended latest points leaders after Monaco Grand Prix result changed AGAIN

• 1 hour ago