Charles Leclerc bested Oscar Piastri to prime spot in a easy second apply on the Australian Grand Prix.
After a cagey first apply hour punctuated by two purple flags, Ferrari and McLaren emerged because the leaders, assembly pre-season expectations. Leclerc broke by means of as quickest from this tight battle, setting the bar at 1m16.439s.
Piastri led the best way for McLaren at his dwelling race, the Australian 0.124s adrift, whereas teammate Lando Norris, who was quickest within the first session, was an extra 0.017s behind.
But it surely was Yuki Tsunoda for Racing Bulls, not Lewis Hamilton within the second Ferrari, who locked out fourth within the order. The Japanese driver was 0.345s off the tempo, and equally spectacular was rookie teammate Isack Hadjar, whose quickest lap was solely 0.235s slower, placing him sixth within the order.
Sandwiched between them was the lukewarm Hamilton, who complained he was fighting understeer from the early minutes of the session, repeating his suggestions of the primary hour. By the tip of FP2 he had closed to inside 0.42s of his session-topping teammate, although this was an enchancment on his 0.67s deficit from earlier within the day.
Max Verstappen struggled to seventh, his Pink Bull Racing machine wanting each bit as unwieldy because it had in FP1, spitting him vast on the first flip and snapping with oversteer by means of Flip 3. The Dutchman ended up 0.624s off the tempo, although that was markedly nearer than new teammate Liam Lawson, who was seventeenth and 1.2s slower than Leclerc.
The 2 vehicles we operating in cut up specs in pursuit of a deeper understanding of the RB21, which the crew is assured could be honed into its candy spot with extra observe time.
Nico Hulkenberg was a formidable eighth for Sauber regardless of an early high-speed off by means of the gravel at Flip 6, solely 0.098s behind Verstappen. Lance Stroll adopted for Aston Martin, whereas a scrappy George Russell accomplished the highest 10 for Mercedes at 0.843s off the tempo.
Williams teammates Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, ship and sixth in first apply, dropped to eleventh and twelfth in FP2 with similar instances, each lapping precisely 0.863 off the tempo.
Fernando Alonso adopted for Aston Martin forward of Alpine teammates Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly, the Australian beating the Frenchman by 0.099s.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli had one other quiet session, ending sixteenth in his Mercedes forward of Lawson, Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto and Haas driver Esteban Ocon, who was greater than 1.5s off the tempo.
Haas rookie Oliver Bearman failed to participate within the session after his large crash earlier within the afternoon. The Briton smacked each right-hand corners in opposition to the limitations exiting the super-fast Flip 10, necessitating an influence unit and gearbox change that proved past his crew within the break between periods. It leaves the newcomer severely missing mileage forward of qualifying, having crashed a bit of over half-hour into FP1.
