Max sixth in second free practice in Melbourne

Published on 06 March 2026 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen finished sixth in the second free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix. The four-time World Champion had a difficult start to the session due to technical issues but was still able to take part in the second half. McLaren driver Oscar Piastri set the fastest time of the day.

The second free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix gets underway at 16:00 local time. In sunny Melbourne, the drivers return to the track after the Formula 2 and Formula 3 drivers have completed their qualifying sessions of the season. Max does not have the best start to FP2. After a strong first practice session, he now comes to a halt while exiting the pit lane. As the car stops while still in the pit lane, the Oracle Red Bull Racing team is allowed to put Max’s car on the jacks and return it to the garage.

On the track, there’s also almost immediately an incident. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) drives slowly on the racing line, forcing a fast-approaching Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) to take evasive action. Fortunately, nothing happens, but Hamilton is clearly unhappy with the Argentinian. After the session, Colapinto is summoned to the stewards to explain the slow driving. Hamilton continues regardless and sets the fastest time in the opening phase on the hard tyres with a 1:20.9. That time is soon improved by George Russell (Mercedes), who heads out early on the soft tyres and records a 1:20.0. Not long afterwards most drivers follow suit and switch to the soft compound. Only Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli manages to improve the benchmark on his first run, posting a 1:19.9. At the halfway point of the session, the Italian leads ahead of Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton and Piastri.

With 33 minutes remaining on the clock, Max exits the pit lane on the medium tyres. His first lap is good enough for fifteenth place, but the four-time World Champion soon improves to P7 with a 1:21.0. At that point he is the only driver in the top ten not running on soft tyres. After five laps on the mediums, Max switches to the soft compound and immediately sets the sixth-fastest time on his first lap. The fastest time on soft tyres is later improved by Oscar Piastri (McLaren), who records a 1:19.7 to go more than two tenths quicker than Antonelli.

In the closing stages the drivers shift their focus towards longer runs. Max also heads back out on a set of medium tyres for a longer run. However, that run is cut short as the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver runs off the track. Max bounces through the grass but manages to keep the car under control and safely returns to the track. When the chequered flag falls, Max finishes sixth, six tenths behind the fastest time set by Piastri. Antonelli and Russell complete the top three. At the bottom of the timesheets is Sergio Perez (Cadillac). Much of the session is spent working on his car, but with seven minutes remaining he heads out onto the track. But just two minutes later, the Mexican is forced to pull over and stop the car due to technical problems.

Results second free practice Australia: