F1 Australia 2026: What Friday Practice Told Us About the Pecking Order
The 2026 Formula 1 season is underway, and for some, it’s off to a rocky start. Friday practice at Albert Park brought drama, surprises, and more questions. After pre-season testing in Bahrain, two sessions in Melbourne gave the first real look at the pecking order. Here’s what we learned.
McLaren rebounded from a troubled first practice session to top FP2, second practice session, with Oscar Piastri leading in laps among the two Mercedes drivers. The home favorite had a difficult start to his weekend, reporting a loss of power early in FP1, first practice session, but recovered well to end the day as the fastest driver on the circuit. However, reigning champion Lando Norris missed most of FP1 due to a reliability issue, leaving McLaren short on data. Zak Brown conceded McLaren fell short of its expected learnings from the day, given Norris missed most of FP1. There is clearly pace in the car, but a clean Saturday will be essential to see if they still have what it takes to be champions for the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Turning to Ferrari, they led the way in the opening practice session of the 2026 Formula 1 season, with Charles Leclerc setting the pace ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. It was an encouraging start for Ferrari, with both drivers looking comfortable and confident in the new machinery. Notably, Hamilton was the only driver from any team to feature in the top four in both sessions, underscoring the team's early consistency. However, FP2 saw a shift as Piastri went fastest, followed by Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, resulting in a Mercedes-powered top three and highlighting Mercedes' strong pace relative to Ferrari. Mercedes clearly had more to give, and they gave it when it mattered.
Meanwhile, Red Bull faced challenges of their own. Max Verstappen's session came to an early, dramatic close after a significant moment off the track caused serious damage to the floor of his car, one of the most critical aerodynamic components on a modern Formula 1 machine. The incident left the Red Bull garage with a significant repair job on their hands and, more importantly, a major shortage of useful data heading into Saturday. For a team still trying to understand a brand-new car under the sweeping regulations for the 2026 Formula 1 season, losing track time at this stage of the weekend is far from ideal.
The biggest loser of Friday practice was undoubtedly Aston Martin. Adrian Newey confirmed that Honda had only two working batteries left and that the engine was severely down on power. Fernando Alonso did not appear in FP1 at all. With no spares available and the Australian Grand Prix just around the corner, the 2026 Formula 1 season looks bleak.
Friday in Melbourne delivered exactly the kind of unpredictable opening chapter that the 2026 season promised. Front-runners, surprise packages, and two teams already in damage control. McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari all showed genuine pace. Yet, Red Bull and Aston Martin left the day with serious work to do. Qualifying on Saturday will tell us a great deal more about who to watch out for in the 2026 Formula 1 season.
