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
R01 | Melbourne
FP2
1:21.351
+1.622
P12
FP1
1:21.969
+1.702
P10
Gabriel Bortoleto
R01 | Melbourne
FP2
1:21.668
+1.939
P14
FP1
1:21.696
+1.429
P09
1 / 0
Gallery
The first Pracice Sessions done
"First Friday of the season done. Good running, important laps and a solid starting point with the new car."
Nico Hulkenberg
Quote
"Overall, it was a decent first Friday of the season. 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.”
"A good baseline in FP1, some lessons in FP2 - and that’s part of the journey with a new set of regs. We keep building, keep learning, keep pushing."
Gabriel Bortoleto
Quote
"It was a positive first day, although there is still a lot of work ahead of us. 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.”
The first first practise.
