Mercedes showed encouraging pace during Friday practice at the 2026 F1 Australian GP, finishing the day near the front of the field at Albert Park. The team began the opening session with both cars comfortably inside the top ten, before improving its performance later in the day.
In FP2, Kimi Antonelli set the second-fastest time of the session, while George Russell finished third, placing both Mercedes drivers inside the top three. The result marked a clear step forward from the first practice session and concluded a productive opening day of running for the Brackley-based team.
Mercedes overcomes early battery issues as Russell reports improved feeling in FP2
Russell described the Friday at the 2026 F1 Australian GP as a challenging start to the season for Mercedes.
The Briton explained that the team spent much of FP1 addressing issues with battery harvesting and deployment, which limited the time available to work on the car’s set-up. As a result, the W16 initially suffered from significant understeer and the team was unable to complete a representative long run during the opening session.
Conditions improved in FP2, however, as adjustments allowed Mercedes to run through its planned programme, including both qualifying simulations and longer stints, providing a clearer picture ahead of the remainder of the weekend.
“We didn’t have the smoothest first Friday of the season. FP1 was a tough session where we were struggling to optimise our battery harvesting and deployment. That demanded most of our attention and we therefore couldn’t get stuck into our set-up work until much later in the hour. When we did, the car had a lot of understeer, and we also didn’t have the time to put together a long run.
“Thankfully, we made a positive step for FP2 and had a much better session. The car felt more put together and we completed a good amount of single lap and long run work. That puts us in a decent position for the rest of the weekend.
“The front of the field looks very competitive and we will have to take another step overnight if we are to be in the fight for pole position. Let’s see what we can do.”
Antonelli says Mercedes improved through Friday at the 2026 F1 Australian GP but warns rivals look strong
Antonelli echoed Russell’s assessment that the team made clear progress as the day unfolded.
The Italian said the opening session proved challenging, but improvements to the car helped unlock stronger pace in FP2. He emphasised that each lap continues to provide valuable insight into the behaviour of the car and power unit around Albert Park, particularly at a circuit that places unique demands on energy management.
Despite the encouraging step forward, Antonelli noted that the competitive picture at the front remains tight, with Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull all appearing strong ahead of the season’s first qualifying session.
“Yeah I mean it’s been a difficult start in FP1 but then we got much better in FP2. Of course there is still work to do but we made a really good step in FP2 and, yeah, just looking forward to tomorrow.
“Yeah, I don’t know. Of course, it’s massive, massive learning every time we go on track, every lap, and we understand more about the car, about the PU, which is, you know, it’s tricky in this track. So, yeah, just obviously need to focus on tomorrow because, yeah, first qualifier of the year coming up.”
“Well, it looks like it’s a close fight with the top teams. So, yeah, it’s not going to be easy, of course. You know, Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, they all look strong. So, yeah, just need to keep our head down and keep focussing on ourselves in order to try and improve even further.”
Power unit configuration issues disrupt Mercedes’ opening F1 session in Melbourne
Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin confirmed that Mercedes F1 had endured a difficult opening session at the 2026 Australian GP before recovering later in the day.
He explained that several power unit configuration issues disrupted the team’s programme in FP1 and required multiple runs to resolve, while an unsettled car balance further limited performance for both drivers. Those factors affected cornering speeds and energy deployment, leaving the team initially on the back foot.
Adjustments ahead of FP2 improved the situation, however, allowing Mercedes to complete its planned programme with productive long runs from both Russell and Antonelli.
The data gathered during the session is expected to prove valuable for Sunday’s race, although Shovlin noted that the team still aims to unlock further performance overnight ahead of qualifying.
“Overall the day finished in a decent place, but our first session was very messy. We had a few configuration issues on the power unit side that took a couple of runs to unpick. On top of that, the balance of the car wasn’t great for either driver. That affects our cornering speeds, which in turn impacts the deployment.
“We had a good recovery ahead of FP2; the power unit was working as intended and the car was responding a lot better after a few set-up changes. Having finished the morning somewhat on the back foot, we were able to put together a solid programme with decent long runs from both drivers.
“That’s given us good information ahead of the race on Sunday but there are still a few areas that we need to make progress on overnight. We’re into that work already and hopefully can find a bit more pace to deliver a strong team result in Qualifying tomorrow.”
