Hometown hero Piastri fastest in second Melbourne practice, better signs for Aston Martin

[p]Hometown hero [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/piastri-oscar/MqKAIeUf/"]Piastri[/a] lapped Albert Park in one minute, 19.729 seconds on a sunny afternoon, 0.214 seconds ‌ahead of Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/russell-george/xxF56RaN/"]George Russell[/a].[/p][p]Piastri ran sixth quickest with a compromised run plan in the first practice (FP1) session ‌after being hit with power unit calibration issues before completing a lap.[/p][p][b]"There are just so ‌many things to get to grips with," [/b]he said of F1's new engine era.[/p][p][b]"It’s very different to what we had ‌last year, but I think FP2 as a session was pretty smooth."[/b][/p][p]McLaren teammate and defending ‌champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/norris-lando/WSVABbVF/"]Lando Norris[/a] also suffered reliability issues, with a transmission problem costing him lap-time in FP1.[/p][p]He placed seventh in FP2 after being 19th in FP1.[/p][p]Ferrari's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hamilton-lewis/tI5Vpe1h/"]Lewis Hamilton[/a] was fourth quickest in FP2 ahead of fifth-placed teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leclerc-charles/KlCOSRub/"]Charles Leclerc[/a], who topped the first ‌practice (FP1) in 1:20.267.[/p][embed guid="d5884f7c-c3e6-433f-8367-c022b13bbb3a" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2029803574234853745" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Minor pit lane drama[/h2][p]The new hybrid engines, which feature a ⁠much larger share of electric power than in the previous ‌era, have proved a steep learning curve for drivers, placing a greater onus on managing energy deployment and regeneration.[/p][p]The ​virtual safety car was triggered twice in FP1, and the mishaps continued in FP2, with immediate drama in the pit lane.[/p][p]Russell needed a minor fix to the front of his car ​after colliding with Racing Bulls' 18-year-old rookie [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lindblad-arvid/bgk1rl5a/"]Arvid Lindblad[/a] when pulling out of the garage.[/p][p][b]"This guy's just hit my front wing,"[/b] Russell said over the team radio.[/p][p]Both drivers were set to face stewards.[/p][p]Alpine's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/colapinto-franco/GzFqySBA/"]Franco ⁠Colapinto[/a] will also be investigated for abruptly slowing in the pit lane, forcing Hamilton to swerve.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verstappen-max/UV3mgeXB/"]Max Verstappen[/a] stalled in the pit lane straight after exiting the Red Bull garage, and later took a heavy skid through gravel after locking up at turn 10.[/p][embed guid="41957591-fe5b-4674-a7a4-da07848ebc5b" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2029800566847623680" social-type="twitter" /][p]The four-time champion and last year's runner-up sat out nearly half the session before returning to post the sixth-fastest time.[/p][p]Lindblad, ‌the sole debutant starting the season and youngest-ever British F1 racer, impressed with his poise.[/p][p]He was fifth quickest in FP1 and eighth in FP2, putting teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lawson-liam/nap8RjeO/"]Liam Lawson[/a] in the shade.[/p][p]Turn three proved hazardous - pre-season favourite Russell, Hamilton, and Leclerc all locked up there and slid into the gravel.[/p][h2]Better signs for Aston Martin[/h2][p]With Aston Martin's FP1 all but wiped out by reliability issues, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alonso-fernando/rVRhR90U/"]Fernando Alonso[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/stroll-lance/I3p9zz4s/"]Lance Stroll[/a] combined for 31 laps in FP2, posting the 20th and 21st fastest times.[/p][p]Stroll's fastest lap was six seconds adrift of Piastri's, but it was a better session for the team after Alonso missed FP1 entirely and Stroll managed only three laps.[/p][p]Both drivers are on limited laps due to the risk of permanent nerve damage from vibration in the ‌car, and the team's race weekend is on a knife-edge due to battery failures.[/p][embed guid="6d359c70-a2c8-4b49-877d-59524999d7ac" url="https://x.com/AstonMartinF1/status/2029799629919760455" social-type="twitter" /][p]New team Cadillac had an ​underwhelming start to Formula 1, with veteran driver [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/perez-sergio/foV8RteD/"]Sergio Perez[/a] 20th quickest in FP1 and ‌missing most of FP2 due to a sensor issue.[/p][p]When the Mexican emerged late in the second session, he was unable to post a lap.[/p][p]His Finnish teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bottas-valtteri/bRJJqiGb/"]Valtteri Bottas[/a] was also slow, falling to 19th in FP2 from 17th in FP1.[/p][p][b]The teams have a final practice session on Saturday before qualifying starts.[/b][/p][p]Questions remain over how F1's new engine regime will stand up in race conditions.[/p][p]Early signs ⁠are that the cars are slower, with Piastri's best ⁠lap in FP2 more than three seconds ‌shy of Leclerc's corresponding time (1:16.439) at Albert Park last year.[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/motorsport-australian-grand-prix-formula-1-flashscore-s-best-preview-content-ahead-of-the-new-formula-1-season/numKVmz0/"]Catch up on our best F1 season preview content here![/a][/h2]