- oldest first
- newest first
“Positive”: Audi at the front of the midfield
While Alpine sorted itself a bit further back in the midfield, Audi is satisfied with P12 and P14. He is “quite happy,” says Gabriel Bortoleto, for whom Friday was “positive.”
Of course, one has to wait and see if the other teams can still improve on Saturday, “but honestly, it doesn’t look bad at all,” the Brazilian explains with cautious optimism.
“We are happy that we now have a baseline,” he says, explaining that the result is not that important. One has to look at oneself and make further progress.
Just ahead of Audi today were Haas and the Racing Bulls at the top of the midfield.
Read more Laurent Mekies: FIA should only ban what it can also control
“Many problems” slowing down Alpine
Only P16 and P18 today for the French team. In Bahrain, things went much better for Alpine, which makes them one of the disappointments of the day. “We stopped 20 minutes before the end in FP2, and we also had many problems in FP1,” reports Pierre Gasly.
He therefore didn’t have as many laps as hoped, and it was “a very difficult Friday.” “We found that we need to fix some problems that we didn’t really discover during testing,” said the Frenchman.
“Half of it was probably to be expected. […] The other half was quite unexpected and definitely requires further investigation, and I just feel like we are still very far from what we achieved in Bahrain,” said Gasly.
“The most important thing is to get the car into a window where we can push and exploit the full potential. We are still quite far from that,” he admits, explaining that it was simply “not a good Friday.”
Hadjar: Every lap is different
The Formula 1 drivers still have to get used to the new cars. Isack Hadjar explains after today, for example: “The reliability was good, but in terms of consistency, every lap in FP2 was quite difficult.”
He explains: “You have to constantly adjust your braking points because you never arrive at the same speed. The dynamics of the car also change, so it’s very tricky.”
Oscar Piastri even explains: “I think [FP1] was by far the most difficult and complicated session I’ve ever experienced.” In FP2, however, things went a bit better, according to the local hero.
Alonso: Could race
The Spaniard makes it clear that he could theoretically drive the race on Sunday. “We can do it. The question is more whether Honda has enough parts,” said the Spaniard with regard to the tense battery situation at Sky.
He also makes it clear that the atmosphere behind the scenes is not as bad as it is portrayed by the media. “We are facing a big challenge, but everyone in the team is happy to take on this challenge,” he emphasizes.
Progress is definitely being made, “so we hope that this will be reflected in the lap times as soon as possible,” said Alonso.
Read more Opinion: Should drivers be allowed to criticize Formula 1?
Hydraulic problem at Cadillac
Sergio Perez only managed two laps in FP2 and then rolled to a stop. The team reports that there was probably a problem with the hydraulics. Apart from that, Cadillac left a very solid impression.
Valtteri Bottas finished in P19 and was 3.9 seconds behind Piastri’s best time. For a completely new team, that’s not such a bad result – especially since he was able to leave both Aston Martin drivers behind him.
The biggest question there is probably whether they will even break the 107 percent mark tomorrow. Alonso managed that today with a 1:24.662, although he was 4.9 seconds behind the best time.
The 107 percent time in FP2 was 1:25.310.
Aston Martin: Also in danger for 2027?
Expert Timo Glock explains on Sky that it has been “a disastrous start” for Aston Martin and Honda this year. And even worse: he fears that this could already have an impact on 2027.
“It’s a fundamental problem that you have these vibrations […] and that you’re simply miles behind the other manufacturers. And you won’t catch up on that this year under any circumstances,” says Glock.
“And next year you’ll already be on the back foot,” he fears, explaining that the whole situation is “a complete disaster” for Aston Martin.
ADVERTISEMENT: The Formula 1 season opener live on Sky!
Are you wondering what’s next for Aston Martin and Honda? And whether McLaren will also be ahead in 2026 after Piastri’s best time? Then get Sky now and don’t miss a session of the new Formula 1 season!
Only on Sky can you see all the practice sessions of the premier class, all qualifying sessions, sprints and of course all races without commercial breaks. In addition, there are exciting interviews, analyses and background reports.
Get your personal Sky offer here!
Read more FIA intervenes in Melbourne: What changes in qualifying now
Overview FP2
Report
Result
Overall result Friday
