06 March 2026

2026 Australian Grand Prix - Friday

We completed its first ever day of practice with a busy Friday at the Australian Grand Prix.

This was FP1.

Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto put their R26s through a full programme in two undisrupted sessions at Albert Park: their work provided the team with a good amount of data, which the engineers in Hinwil, Neuburg and Bicester will analyse ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying.

Audi Driver Development Programme inductee, Freddie Slater, also made his first appearance on track in the FIA F3 Championship, qualifying in P3 for Sunday’s season opener in Melbourne.

Nico Hulkenberg

R:1 Melbourne

Practice 2

1:21.351

+1.622

P12

Practice 1

1:21.969

+1.702

P10

Gabriel Bortoleto

R:1 Melbourne

Practice 2

1:21.668

+1.939

P14

Practice 1

1:21.696

+1.429

P09

1 / 0

Gallery

The first FP1 is done

Gabi is taking his helmet on and gets ready for FP1

Nico is taking his helmet on and gets ready for FP1

A Team member is checking the progress in the pit

A Team member is watching through the progress before FP1

A Mechanic is in front of the car and the pit crew is setting up the car

The R26 is leaving the pit for the first FP1

Mattia Binotto is smiling through Gabi after FP1

Nico talking to a team member after FP1 in the pit

1 / 0

Gallery

The first FP2 is done

A mechanic standing in front of the pit looking at the pitane

A mechanic is working in front of the pit

Top view in front of the pit where the crew practicing a pit stop

"Overall, it was a decent first Friday of the season."

Nico Hulkenberg

Quote

“It was mostly clean running, and we managed to get through a good number of laps, which is always important early in the weekend. There were a couple of small issues here and there that we need to tidy up, but that’s part of the process.

It’s our first time here with the new car, so there’s a lot of information to go through tonight. We’ll analyse everything and see what we can improve for tomorrow, but it’s a solid starting point.”

"It was a positive first day, although there is still a lot of work ahead of us."

Gabriel Bortoleto

Quote

"FP1 was very solid and smooth, which gave us a good baseline from which to start. In FP2, I struggled a little more with a couple of things that we need to address for tomorrow, but that is part of the process with such a new set of regulations.

“At this stage, we are focused on improving the basics, building the foundations before moving to the finer details. There are still many areas to refine with the car and the power unit, and that understanding will only come with time and data. It is still very early in the season, so the priority is to keep learning and improving ourselves.”

Friday in Melbourne