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

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in conversation before an F1 race — Photo: © IMAGO

Australian Grand Prix

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

All the times from FP1 and FP2 at the Australian Grand Prix

Chris Deeley

Friday 6 March 2026 07:06 Updated: 11:19

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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.

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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.

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Australian Grand Prix FP2 times

Australian Grand Prix FP2 results
Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:19.729
2	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.214s
3	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.320s
4	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.321s
5	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.562s
6	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	+0.637s
7	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.065s
8	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+1.193s
9	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	+1.212s
10	Esteban Ocon	Haas	+1.450s
11	Oliver Bearman	Haas	+1.597s
12	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.622s
13	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+1.629s
14	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.939s
15	Alex Albon	Williams	+2.118s
16	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+2.438s
17	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+2.524s
18	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+2.890s
19	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+3.931s
20	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+5.210s
21	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+6.087s
22	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	NO TIME

Australian Grand Prix FP1 times

Australian Grand Prix FP1 results
Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:20.267
2	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.469s
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	+0.522s
4	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	+0.820s
5	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+1.046s
6	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.075s
7	George Russell	Mercedes	+1.104s
8	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+1.109s
9	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.429s
10	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.702s
11	Esteban Ocon	Haas	+1.894s
12	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+2.056s
13	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+2.346s
14	Oliver Bearman	Haas	+2.415s
15	Alex Albon	Williams	+2.863s
16	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+3.058s
17	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+3.755s
18	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+3.768s
19	Lando Norris	McLaren	+4.124s
20	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+4.353s
21	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+30.067s
22	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	NO TIME