Charles Leclerc topped the second practice for the 2025 Australian Grand Prix, but McLaren confirmed they are the team to beat.
McLaren, the reigning Formula 1 constructors' champions, were second and third with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri respectively as they set their fastest times on Soft tyres before Leclerc did.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 within the session, McLaren CEO Zak Brown said: "I feel good. So far so good.
"Everyone is still learning about their car as we are. We have to understand how to optimise it. One step at the time. But we are happy," he added.
Leclerc clocked a 1:16.439 to go fastest, 0.124s clear of Norris in second and 0.141s clear of Piastri in third.
The Racing Bulls seem to be in a good position going into this weekend down under as Yuki Tsunoda was fourth fastest, albeit over three tenths off the pace while his teammate Isack Hadjar was sixth fastest.
Splitting the Racing Bulls was Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time F1 champion still trying to get comfortable in his Ferrari. He was 0.420s off the pace of his teammate.
Max Verstappen continued to struggle with his RB21 and finished the session seventh fastest while Liam Lawson was down in 17th.
Red Bull Racing were running two different specifications of their car, the Dutchman running the new shorter nose and floor, the Kiwi running the Bahrain pre-season testing specification.
But to be honest none of these two packages seem to be doing the job. Can some overnight analysis change the situation for the Milton Keynes squad? Are those Honda power units turned down?
In all cases it would not be smart to write Max off yet.
Nico Hulkenberg was eighth fastest for Sauber while his rookie teammate Gabriel Bortoleto was down in 18th.
Lance Stroll was ninth fastest in the Aston Martin, 0.840s from the top and ahead of George Russell who was in tenth after another scruffy session from the Briton.
Stroll's teammate, Fernando Alonso, was 13th while Russell's teammate and rookie Kimi Antonelli was down in 16th almost three tenths off the pace of the #63 Mercedes.
While showing some improvement, Williams were 11th and 12th with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon respectively.
Jack Doohan was the only rookie faster than his teammate as he was 14th while Pierre Gasly was 15th.
Haas were bottom of the pile with Esteban Ocon in 19th while Oliver Bearman did not take part as his car was not ready on time.
Buildup towards FP2
Although practice times are always tricky to assess, you can't but notice a good car and Norris confirmed what everyone predicted following Bahrain pre-season testing. The McLaren is the best car in the field.
The Briton was fastest in FP1 while Red Bull and Mercedes had a tricky session somehow while Leclerc was on it in the Ferrari as Hamilton is yet to get up to speed in his new surroundings.
Williams will have reason to be cautiously optimistic with Sainz's performance and even Albon was mixing it with the top teams.
The rookies had a tough time, especially Bearman who binned his Haas and gave his mechanics some work to do ahead of FP2.
Here's a reminder of what happened to the rookie:
Haas had to change the power unit and the gearbox on the car.
So let's see how things turn out in the second practice session for the Australian Grand Prix.
FP2 Session Highlights
The session started in the same clear conditions the prevailed in the first practice session but the temperatures increased as the track registered 42 degrees Celsius while the ambient temperature was 25.
The drivers didn't waste any time and went out on track as soon as the green lights at the end of the pit lane were on with the two McLarens, the Red Bulls, and Russell leading the way.
There were some early competition for track position.
Aside from the Mercedes pair who bolted on the Hard tyres, the other drivers were on the Mediums.
Bearman, on the other hand, remained in the Haas garage with his car still up on the stands with he mechanics working on it.
Soon, Hulkenberg reported that the safety plug from his fire extinguisher loose, so he boxed to sort it out.
Verstappen had a wobble while Hamilton reported that he was still suffering from understeer in his Ferrari early on.
Norris soon has a huge oversteer moment at Turn 3 while Hulkenberg went for a gravel excursion at Turn 6 and asked to team to box and check his car.
Gasly also had a moment in the gravel as he struggled to slow his car down at Turn 3.
It seems the impact was big on Hulkenberg's car as it was soon up on the stands as the team started checking it.
20 minutes into the session, the Soft tyres started making their appearance in FP2.
Hadjar had a moment with a McLaren on track and voiced his frustration over the team radio.
Gasly also commented that "no one is looking into the mirrors". The guys are still rusty after the winter break it seems...
Verstappen did not seem happy with his RB21 as he had to abort his first lap on the Soft tyre after two moments of understeer in Turns 1 and 3.
Stroll, on the other hand, had a run through the grass going out of Turn 1 into Turn 2.
Doohan later gave his Alpine a beating on the kerbs coming out of Turn 10 and asked his team to check the floor.
As the session entered the final 20 minutes, some teams filled their cars with fuel and sent their drivers out for some long runs. Some went on Mediums, others on Hards.
With five minutes remaining, Russell locked up going into Turn 13 and ended up in the run-off area.
The long run went until the end of the session which was concluded with the practice starts.
Australian Grand Prix FP2 Classification
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