Charles Leclerc set the pace for Ferrari in the second practice session ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.

The McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris slotted in closely behind for an ultra-competitive top three, a scene which Lewis Hamilton was unable to muscle his way into in the sister Ferrari.

Charles Leclerc tops FP2

Mercedes’ George Russell set the early pace, clocking a 1:17.565 on the hard rubber, while Hamilton continued to build up the speed after a challenging first session as a Ferrari driver.

No building up for the driver he replaced, Carlos Sainz, who continued to look strong at the wheel of his new Williams, lowering the benchmark to a 1:17.302 on mediums.

It was Ferrari one and two as the session approached halfway, Leclerc four-tenths up on Hamilton, but now the soft tyres were coming out to play.

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And even then, Ferrari were sitting pretty, Leclerc delivering a 1:16.439 on the red-walled softs, while McLaren’s Piastri and Norris lapped within a tenth-and-a-half to complete the top three, Piastri ahead of Norris.

Hamilton was down in P5 and four-tenths off Leclerc after his push lap on the softs.

And that top three would remain the same to the end, a boost for Ferrari going into what is set to be a dry qualifying day, before rain arrives on Sunday, making this testing time vital for finding the right compromise on setup.

A potential blow then for Haas’ Oliver Bearman, who missed the entirety of the session after his heavy FP1 shunt.

Full FP2 timesheet

1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:16.439
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.124
3 Lando Norris McLaren +0.141
4 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls +0.345
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.420
6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.580
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.624
8 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber +0.722
9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.840
10 George Russell Mercedes +0.843
11 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.863
12 Alexander Albon Williams +0.863
13 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.891
14 Jack Doohan Alpine +0.955
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.054
16 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +1.195
17 Liam Lawson Red Bull Racing +1.201
18 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber +1.408
19 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team +1.595
20 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team

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