What the teams said – Friday in Australia

McLaren

It was not the ideal opening session for McLaren, who had Piastri going slow on track with a loss of power in the first few laps. While he did get going and completed the session, Norris only managed seven laps before being called back to the garage for a precautionary gearbox change.

But the second session went much better for the reigning World Champions. Piastri was very quick on the soft tyres, topping the session to send the home fans wild. Norris was a little further back as he played catch up from missing that lap time in FP1. But they certainly look in the mix at the pointy end – something Piastri had not been so sure about when asked on Thursday.

Lando Norris – FP1: 1:24.391, P19; FP2: 1:20.794, P7

"A tricky first day, but it’s good to be back in the car for the start of a new season. We didn’t get as much running done as we wanted to this morning, due to some reliability issues, so we’re a little bit behind in terms of running and learnings. With these new regulations, time in the car is very important, so we’ve got a bit of work to do this evening to recover. We’ve got some good bits of data to go over from the second half of FP2, and there’s plenty we can learn from what our competitors have been doing. We’ll work hard tonight and try to close that gap before we get back in the car for FP3 tomorrow."

Oscar Piastri – FP1: 1:21.342, P6; FP2: 1:19.729, P1

"That’s the first day done. A lot of learnings but overall, a reasonably good day. FP1 was tricky and we had a few power unit calibration issues at the beginning, but we resolved them during the session. FP2 ran smoothly and we were able to find a bit more consistency and the car behaved more as we expected, which was good. We’ll review what we’ve learned today so that we can find more tomorrow ahead of the first Quali of the year."

Rob Marshall, Chief Technical Officer & Chief Designer

"A positive day overall, with some trickier moments, but lots of learning across all aspects of these new regulation cars. In FP1, we investigated a problem on Lando’s car which confirmed a transmission control issue which we resolved ahead of the next session. FP2 ran a little more smoothly, with the drivers finding more consistency and gaining more valuable data across varying runs including qualifying simulations.

"We’re in a reasonable position in regard to getting the car dialled in, but overnight we’ll review where we can keep making steps forward, focusing across all aspects of car setup, tyres and power unit management and optimisation. With limited practice time before Qualifying, everyone is still refining their approach, and we saw improvements from FP1 to FP2 across the board. Going into Qualifying tomorrow, we hope to be in the fight - precision matters more than ever and it will be important to ensure we execute the preparation perfectly with the expected traffic. We look forward to getting back on track."

Mercedes

There were no obvious reliability concerns for Mercedes in FP1, but neither driver troubled the top spots on the leaderboard. What they did do was push each other close, Antonelli winding up just 0.005s behind his more experienced team mate. In the second session though, Mercedes unleashed some more pace. Both drivers spent time at the top, with Antonelli winding up pipping Russell by a tenth. Although Piastri was fastest overall, P2 and P3 is a good return for the Silver Arrows.

But Russell had one moment, where he clipped Lindblad’s Racing Bulls car trying to squeeze into the fast lane in the pits. The stewards investigated the incident, and handed Russell a reprimand.

George Russell – FP1: 1:21.371, P7; FP2: 1:20.049, P3

"We didn’t have the smoothest first Friday of the season. FP1 was a tough session where we were struggling to optimise our battery harvesting and deployment. That demanded most of our attention and we therefore couldn’t get stuck into our set-up work until much later in the hour. When we did, the car had a lot of understeer, and we also didn’t have the time to put together a long run.

"Thankfully, we made a positive step for FP2 and had a much better session. The car felt more put together and we completed a good amount of single lap and long run work. That puts us in a decent position for the rest of the weekend. The front of the field looks very competitive and we will have to take another step overnight if we are to be in the fight for pole position. Let’s see what we can do."

Kimi Antonelli – FP1: 1:21.376, P8; FP2: 1:19.943, P2

"It was a difficult start to our day in FP1, where we had to focus predominantly on improving our battery deployment. That left less time to work on set-up, and the car balance didn’t feel fantastic with lots of understeer. We worked hard between the sessions though and enjoyed a much stronger FP2.

"I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend. We are hopefully in the mix at the front, but everyone is learning so much with every session and every lap that what is true now, might not be true tomorrow. We will keep pushing hard to make sure we get the most out of the car and see where that leaves us tomorrow in Qualifying and Sunday for the Grand Prix."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"Overall the day finished in a decent place, but our first session was very messy. We had a few configuration issues on the power unit side that took a couple of runs to unpick. On top of that, the balance of the car wasn't great for either driver. That affects our cornering speeds, which in turn impacts the deployment.

"We had a good recovery ahead of FP2; the power unit was working as intended and the car was responding a lot better after a few set-up changes. Having finished the morning somewhat on the back foot, we were able to put together a solid programme with decent long runs from both drivers. That's given us good information ahead of the race on Sunday but there are still a few areas that we need to make progress on overnight. We're into that work already and hopefully can find a bit more pace to deliver a strong team result in Qualifying tomorrow."

Ferrari

Ferrari were quickest in the opening session courtesy of Leclerc, although Hamilton occupied the top spot until his team mate went for a very late flying lap. Both had very decent sessions, and both looked happy and comfortable in the car. That largely continued in the second session, although they dropped behind the Mercedes cars and Piastri on pure pace.

Hamilton had a big moment, coming across a slow-moving Colapinto whilst on a hot lap. He had to take avoiding action, something the stewards did look at after the session.

Charles Leclerc – FP1: 1:20.267, P1; FP2: 1:20.291, P5

"It was a positive start to the weekend. FP1 was solid, and we tried a different set-up in FP2 that didn’t pay off but was a good learning.

"Little by little, we are starting to see all teams revealing their true form and I think that there is more to come, especially in the race. I think it will be quite close in Qualifying tomorrow and we will work hard to put ourselves in the best condition tonight."

Lewis Hamilton – FP1: 1:20.736, P2; FP2: 1:20.050, P4

"It's been a really good day. It's great to be back on track and properly get going. It’s amazing to be here. I feel incredibly grateful to be able to do what I love and it's incredible to see so many fans here today. It was challenging at times on track, but we maximised our laps and executed to the best of our ability, getting some good information. Lots of work to do but I’m looking forward to getting back in the car tomorrow."

Red Bull

It was a strong first practice session for Red Bull, who managed plenty of laps between their drivers. Both looked quick too, flirting with the top spot before finishing just behind the Ferraris. And the best news for the team was how close Hadjar pushed his experienced team mate. The second session did not start as well, with Verstappen stopping at the end of the pit lane and missing some running.

Once he did get going, the Dutchman had a big moment at Turn 10, a snap of oversteer sending him into the gravel at speed which led to a damaged floor. Hadjar also had a trip over the grass, but other than that gave a decent account of himself once again.

Max Verstappen – FP1: 1:20.789, P3; FP2: 1:20.366, P6

“In FP1 we did get in a good number of laps and in FP2 we found that we ran into a few issues. We are working on getting the set up right with the car and were struggling a bit with grip and also went into the gravel. We didn't have a full day of clean running but, pace wise, we are where I expected us to be. There is still a lot of work to do and we will analyse what worked and what we can improve on overnight and that is the reality at the moment.”

Isack Hadjar – FP1: 1:21.087, P4; FP2: 1:20.941, P9

“For our first session of the season everything went well. The reliability of the power unit was good and it was solid throughout the day. We faced a little more issues in FP2 where we struggled with the deployment, which made putting in consistent laps quite tricky. It's never going to go smooth on day one, so we're going to look into it and work it out ahead of tomorrow."

Paul Monaghan, Chief Engineer

"Today we ran two cars with our own power unit for the first time at a race weekend, so we have done a fantastic job given both car were competitive in FP1. As it is all new, we are consistently gaining knowledge: it is easy to get things wrong and difficult to be perfect, so we will take lessons into tomorrow and make sure we are ready for Qualifying. The balance was good and there were a couple of issues in FP2. The electronic control box played up in the pit lane on car 3. We got it back and then couldn’t get it out of gear but we sorted it and then sent the car out again. Max also had a moment running into the gravel, however it is all repairable and we will be ready in plenty of time for FP3 tomorrow morning. It’s difficult to say who will be up at the front tomorrow and it is not in our control what others do. All we can do is get the best out of our car and see where we end up. Our main objective is sorting out how we get in as many laps as possible whilst maximising the performance of the car in Qualifying."

Racing Bulls

Lindblad was one of the standout performers on the opening day of the season at Albert Park. He mixed it with the top teams in FP1, finishing fifth, and backed that up with eighth in FP2. The only incident of note for him was a small collision with Russell in the pit lane, his engineer telling him he had right of way in the fast lane as the Mercedes tried to push in.

As for Lawson, he had a much quieter day but got a good haul of laps. But while the New Zealand racer had no real reliability concerns to speak of, Lindblad's car did stop once in FP1 - luckily near the end of the pit lane, enabling the team to wheel him back to the garage.

Arvid Lindblad – FP1: 1:21.313, P5; FP2: 1:20.922, P8

"It’s been a good first day here in Melbourne. This morning, before getting in the car, there was a bit of nerves as it was going to be my first day as an official F1 driver in a Grand Prix. I really enjoyed it, and throughout the day, we’ve been able to work through the programme with the team, trying some short runs, as well as some high fuel ones, to be prepared for tomorrow. It was a positive day and I’m now really looking forward to tomorrow for my first Qualifying."

Liam Lawson – FP1: 1:22.613, P13; FP2: 1:21.358, P13

“We had a very productive day today. We pretty much completed our run plan and overall I feel happy with our speed. Of course, we're trying to improve as much as we can, but to come to Australia with a strong car developed from simulations and limited running puts us in a promising position. The analysing of these new cars feels much deeper and there's a lot we have to do behind the wheel this year compared to previous years, so we're continuously learning. Arvid has had a positive day today too, giving us really helpful data across both cars which we've been working on. Huge thanks to the team who have done a brilliant job in producing a strong package and getting the car to where it is today."

Alan Permane, Team Principal

“It’s been a straightforward Friday for us and to be able to run a normal program with a brand new car has been good. We brought a new floor and rear wing to Melbourne, which we’ve been assessing alongside the tyres and seeing where we are on balance and pace. We lost some time this morning in FP1 with Arvid due to a software glitch, but it didn’t seem to faze him, he took it all in his stride. We've still got work to do to improve the balance, but the car is responding well to changes and I'm sure we'll make some more over night to assess in FP3.”

Haas

Haas kept out of the limelight on Friday, managing to navigate both sessions with what looked like relative ease. No big moments for their drivers, no obvious reliability issues and plenty of laps completed. The good news for the American outfit is that both drivers improved their lap times from FP1 to FP2, to land in or around the top 10.

That raises hopes they might be in a fight with Audi for Q3 slots come Qualifying, and like Ferrari, their practice starts looked fairly rapid too.

Esteban Ocon – FP1: 1:22.161, P11; FP2: 1:21.179, P10

“It was a positive day in the sense that we learned a lot and found out a lot of things on a track which is very different from what we were used to in Bahrain. There are a lot more things to focus on, and I think we made progress, which is the goal. Now, it’s important tonight to consolidate everything and make sure we make a step for tomorrow – that’s the target.”

Oliver Bearman – FP1: 1:22.682, P14; FP2: 1:21.326, P11

“There’s a lot going on, a lot of details and information to take in. It’s been interesting to go on a different track and see how the car feels. The balance feels okay, there are some small details to fix, but it’s not miles off. We need to optimise the energy delivery as there’s a lot to gain there, and it’s not that easy at the moment, however, it’s all up for grabs if we manage to maximise it with the engineers. So let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“Well, first Friday with the brand-new regulations – I think operationally it was as tough as we expected it. We knew after pre-season testing that things that would previously take a day to solve, we now needed to solve within 15 minutes. So, in FP1 and FP2, operationally we were far from where we need to be, so we just really need to simplify everything, focus and prioritise – and get the high priority items correct. As we spend so much time on energy management, we actually haven’t worked that much, let’s say, on car performance – but the good thing is, car performance is decent, and both drivers were reasonably happy with the car. We have to really focus on the energy management, but we definitely made progress from FP1 to FP2, and our high-fuel run was okay too. We’ll focus on qualifying performance in FP3 tomorrow, that’s what it’s for, and that’s after we look at all the things we can learn tonight and give ourselves the best preparation for Saturday.”

Audi

It was a good opening day for Audi, as they began their F1 journey. Both drivers managed a good haul of laps in the first session and finished in the top 10 to boot with Bortoleto just pipping his team mate. They dropped back slightly in FP2, but still look in the mix for a Q3 berth come Qualifying. As to which team mate will be quickest, that is anyone’s guess with the two evenly matched throughout the day.

Nico Hulkenberg – FP1: 1:21.969, P10; FP2: 1:21.351, P12

“It was mostly clean running, and we managed to get through a good number of laps, which is always important early in the weekend. There were a couple of small issues here and there that we need to tidy up, but that’s part of the process.

"It’s our first time here with the new car, so there’s a lot of information to go through tonight. We’ll analyse everything and see what we can improve for tomorrow, but it’s a solid starting point.”

Gabriel Bortoleto – FP1: 1:21.696, P9; FP2: 1:21.668, P14

"FP1 was very solid and smooth, which gave us a good baseline from which to start. In FP2, I struggled a little more with a couple of things that we need to address for tomorrow, but that is part of the process with such a new set of regulations.

“At this stage, we are focused on improving the basics, building the foundations before moving to the finer details. There are still many areas to refine with the car and the power unit, and that understanding will only come with time and data. It is still very early in the season, so the priority is to keep learning and improving ourselves.”

Williams

There were a few reliability concerns for Williams on Friday in Melbourne. Albon stopped out on track in FP1, before sportingly helping the marshals push his car out of the way. The Thai driver had a better time of it in FP2 though, albeit not troubling the top 10.

As for Sainz, he had the lion’s share of reliability luck in the first session – but that ran out in the afternoon, and he went for an early shower after parking up in the garage, missing out on the soft tyre runs.

Alex Albon – FP1: 1:22.130, P15; FP2: 1:21.847, P15

“The first race weekend with the new regs was always going to be a challenge and so it wasn't our smoothest day. We got a bit caught out struggling with some data and getting in tune with the car but we will review our learnings from both free practice sessions and how we can apply that to tomorrow. We have some work to do in understanding the deployment around this track and what’s the most efficient way to deploy and harvest. We’re going to spend a lot of time overnight working with the simulator team and find simulation tools to try and come up with a better setup for tomorrow. There’s a lot we can improve ahead of qualifying and it is all part of the learning curve."

Angelos Tsiaparas, Chief Engineer

“Melbourne poses particular challenges in terms of energy and deployment with the new regulations - it is one of the 'energy poor' circuits, as we call it - so a lot of the focus on the engineering side has been on driving styles and techniques we can come up with to maximise energy harvesting and deployment, and we have another free practice tomorrow to try and optimise that ahead of qualifying. What we observed in Bahrain testing remains the case - the top four teams are ahead and the midfield is close together, so our aspiration is to try and be at the top of the midfield weekend after weekend."

Alpine

Alpine had high hopes of moving up the order in 2026, but they have yet to show too much of their hand in Melbourne. Gasly was down the order in both sessions, but did not suffer any noticeable issues. As for Colapinto, he did have a problem – his car seemingly getting stuck in neutral early in FP2. As he attempted to recover the situation, he nearly collected a flying Hamilton from behind – the Argentine remaining on the racing line.

The stewards took a look, and opted to but took no further action.

Pierre Gasly – FP1: 1:24.035, P18; FP2: 1:22.167, P16

“It has been a very tricky first Friday of the season. We knew it would be challenging in some areas given there is so much to learn and understand on the new cars but today has probably been trickier than we expected. We had to stop early in Free Practice 2 as a precaution, which limited our run plan in that session. It is probably good to identify these issues now and we have some work to do overnight to fix those ahead of running tomorrow. Right now, we have a bit of work to do in order to have the car in a more consistent place. It has not been a clean day so I am sure once we get on top of a few things and maximise our running we will be in a much stronger position.”

Franco Colapinto – FP1: 1:23.325, P16; FP2: 1:22.619, P18

“We have not had the smoothest start to the weekend here in Melbourne, but I am sure we have learnt enough today to improve performance ahead of tomorrow. It is only practice, though, and we have seen a few key areas where we know we have things to fix and many things to improve, which I am confident we can do ahead of tomorrow. We have to expect some challenges especially coming to a unique track like Albert Park with a completely new car and new systems to understand. We did a good number of laps, which gives us a lot to look at and hopefully we can find some improvements overnight. On my side, I had a little issue with some dry ice and debris in my eye at the end of Free Practice 2! Fortunately, it was not too serious and no real cause for concern.”

Cadillac

It was a mixed first day for Cadillac in Australia. Both cars lost a mirror in FP1, and Perez spun in slightly strange circumstances, but they did both gets some laps in. In the afternoon session, the Mexican was confined to the pits for 50 minutes with a sensor issue. He got out in the final 10 minutes, only to stop out on track with a suspected hydraulics problem. As for Bottas, he managed 28 laps in FP2 which is a decent showing for the first brand-new team in F1 for 10 years.

Valtteri Bottas – FP1: 1:24.022, P17; FP2: 1:23.660, P19

“First of all, great to be out there, and thank you to the whole team for getting the car ready. We had some challenges with the car build, but without the curfew, the team made the most out of it. So, that's why it felt great to get out there and personally, as well, to be back on an F1 race weekend, and for us to complete our first ever day as Cadillac Formula 1 Team at a Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend. So, all in all, not a trouble-free day but we learned from each lap. We have lots of good data with day one done, and we’ll try to be better tomorrow.”

Sergio Perez – FP1: 1:24.620, P20; FP2: No time set, P22

“Today is just the start. I was very proud to be out on track in the first-ever practice session for Cadillac Formula 1 Team. While there are a lot of small details that we need to clean up, overall it was a big step for the team to get two cars out there, running, and building up the mileage. With the spirit and the experience this team has, I am certain we will progress. For now, we are aiming to take it step by step – starting with having a more straightforward day tomorrow to build into qualifying.”

Graeme Lowdon, Team Principal

"Tomorrow will be the one-year anniversary of Cadillac Formula 1 Team receiving our entry into F1. I have a very grounded appreciation of just what it takes to build a team – particularly in this short time – and to now field two cars against the best in the world. It is a huge testament to the work of the entire team in Indianapolis, Charlotte and Silverstone. I am fortunate to have had a front-row seat to see just what’s been achieved by everybody, and I’d like to thank not just everybody in the team, but everybody behind them; the family members and friends. That’s the rock that we build our team on.”

Pat Symonds, Executive Engineer

“Today has marked a moment in history for the team. A very proud moment for an awful lot of people who put a lot of faith into the project, and an incredible amount of hard work. We had a challenging day with Checo with two totally unrelated problems this afternoon. One of which was in the fuel system, which we had to take the energy store out to get at it, so we were very late going out. Then we went out and unfortunately had a hydraulic leak. Teething troubles but we'll get through them. We had a pretty good day with Valtteri. We were able to learn more about the car and tires. We did the work we needed to do and got the answers we needed to get. We go into tomorrow with a lot more knowledge.”

Aston Martin

Alonso was unable to take part in FP1 due to an issue with the power unit in his car. Stroll did take to the track, but could not complete many laps as his car too developed a suspected PU problem. But the second session was more successful for the team. Both drivers completed timed laps on the soft tyres, with Alonso managing 18 laps and Stroll 13. That will give the team some data to work with overnight, but Newey did confirm in the press conference that the team only have two batteries and no spares here – so the drivers need to keep their sessions clean.

Fernando Alonso – FP1: No time set, P22; FP2: 1:24.662, P20

"We didn't complete many laps today as we suffered with PU issues. We need to learn as much as possible about this car and we need more laps to be able to do this. We have a big challenge to improve our reliability and performance, but everyone is working flat-out to improve our situation."

Pirelli

Simone Berra, Pirelli Chief Engineer

"Track evolution will certainly be a factor to consider during the first Formula 1 race weekend. Despite the initial low grip, it was evident that conditions have already improved compared to the first measurements taken by our technicians earlier this week, and they will continue to do so until Sunday, inevitably impacting car performance.

"While the first hour of activity served primarily to evaluate car behaviour on this track—also regarding energy management for the new power unit—some teams focused on high-fuel runs for race simulations during the second hour.

"Graining, a well-known phenomenon in Melbourne, appeared again this year across several sets of all three compounds selected for the weekend, generally proving more evident on the front axle. From our initial findings, no specific options seem particularly penalised, meaning the entire trio remains in play for potential race strategies.

"Lap time differences are in line with simulations. The gap between the C3 and C4 stands at about 0.3–0.4 seconds, while the gap between the C4 and C5 is approximately half a second. Degradation appears limited and perfectly manageable for the drivers."