F1 2026 Australia GP live: FP2 updates, schedule, stream and qualifying start time – UK Times

It’s probably been the toughest of the three tests this time around for Red Bull, who shone last week with their straight-line speed and engine reliability.

This week has been less straightforward. Isack Hadjar missed a host of time on day one, while Max Verstappen was third on the timesheet despite a full day in the cockpit on Thursday.

However, the margins between the top four seem extraordinarily tight. Second on the list last week, fourth now. On the Melbourne street circuit? We shall see.

The world champions do not have the dominance they held throughout most of the last two years. But they’re in the fight.

Of course, the papaya are using the Mercedes power unit, deemed to be the strongest on the grid. The mileage racked up by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – who interestingly split all three days this week – was also strong and both were consistently in the top-three throughout their sessions.

McLaren proved how strong their development window was over the last few years and that’ll be a crucial element through the early months of the season.

This week was Ferrari’s week. And that’s something we’ve not said about the Scuderia for a long time.

They brought new parts to Bahrain, including a radical flip rear wing that rotates itself upside down on Lewis Hamilton’s car on Thursday.

Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of the whole testing period on Friday, the only man in the 1:31s, while Hamilton’s practice race starts on Thursday, surging to the front from a midfield spot, were eye-catching. Optimism is slowly building.

The favourites at the start of testing, Mercedes remain the team to beat.

Consistently at the top of the timesheet, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have completed a host of laps – 157 in total on Thursday – and while murmurs off track about their engine and fuel-use continue to rumble, they look the best all-round package at the moment.

“The gaps between those at the front are already incredibly small,” Antonelli said. “And down to a matter of hundredths.” If that remains, we’re in for a hell of a season.

Lewis Hamilton admits he “lost sight of who he was” amid a chastening first year at Ferrari but promised on the eve of the 2026 F1 season: “You won’t see that person again.”

Detailing his pre-season activities, the Briton said: “The break was really positive. It was my surroundings, it was the people that I was with. It’s not my first rodeo, so it’s understanding how to flip things.

“It’s not that easy to do each time, but I always talk about cultivating a positive mental attitude and that’s what I focus on in my winter.

“A lot of it came from training. I was training hard from Christmas Day. Also, knowing that I believe in myself, that I’ve put more work in than anyone around me, and I believe in myself. Rediscovering myself was a big part of it as well.

“As I said in one of my [Instagram] posts, I kind of lost sight for a second of who I was, and that person’s gone, so you won’t see that person again.”

• Free practice 3: 1:30am
• Qualifying: 5am

And what about Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton? The seven-time world champion endured a terrible debut year at the Scuderia, failing even to register a podium. However, the 41-year-old and teammate Charles Leclerc looked strong in pre-season testing and are right in contention this weekend.