Australian F1 GP | McLaren, Piastri: "We're not at the same level as our rivals in terms of race pace."

Friday of the Australian Grand Prix 2026, the inaugural event of a new and long-awaited technical era of Formula 1, has delivered to the archives a hierarchy still in the process of being defined, but with extremely clear signals. The urban layout of theAlbert Park It provided the backdrop for a long-distance duel between different design philosophies: on the one hand, the feeling of a good McLaren on the one-lap, on the other the solidity of the Mercedes over the long distance, or what everyone, more or less, expected before the weekend in the land of the kangaroos.

Although free practice sessions should always be interpreted with caution due to the variables related to fuel loads and power unit mappings, especially in the early stages of this season, considering the energy variable, the data emerging from the simulations offer a first concrete indication of the values ​​on the track.

The absolute protagonist of the time rankings was the home idol, Oscar piastriThe Australian driver managed to be the only one to go under the 1:20 barrier, setting a new record. 1:19.729 with the softest compound in the Pirelli range, the C5. This record came after a complex morning, marked by several technical difficulties that slowed down the work in the Woking garage, in particular on the side of Land Norris.

The race pace puzzle: McLaren between light and shadow

Despite the sharp performance on the flying lap, the analysis of the long runs leads to a deeper reflection. If in qualifying configuration the McLaren seems to have found a good compromise, but we repeat, everything must be taken with a pinch of salt, the race simulation highlighted a rather marked degradation of the C5 compound. Piastri's pace stabilized at a 1:24 high, occasionally slipping on the1:25 low, a sign that the softer compound may not be taken into much consideration on Sunday, when the lights go out and the first Grand Prix of this curious season begins.

Precisely for this reason, the same Oscar piastri He preferred to keep a low profile in post-session interviews, aware that there is still a lot of work to do to transform pure speed into competitive consistency:

"I consider the second free practice session to be significantly more productive than the morning session, although there are still many details to fine-tune given that the car's behavior has changed significantly compared to last season. During the afternoon, everything went smoothly, allowing us to find good consistency and accumulate a significant amount of data that is crucial for our understanding."

I'm confident that each team will make a significant step forward over the course of the weekend, and we'll need to be equally effective in improving our performance. Our hope is to be able to fight for the top spots on the grid, even though we're not yet certain of being able to aim for pole position. As for long-distance pace, I'm not entirely confident we've matched our closest rivals, but at this stage, our primary objective remains to build solid operational continuity, ensuring every system works exactly as expected.

It's becoming increasingly difficult, this year more than ever, to clearly analyze the forces at play. Today was one of the most difficult Fridays to interpret, which is natural given the dawn of a new technical era, but we believe this will remain the medium-term trend.

Mercedes: The power of perseverance

On the other side of the barricade, the Mercedes Benz It confirmed the excellent impressions from winter testing, presenting itself in Melbourne as probably the most balanced car. While it didn't seek extreme performance on low fuel, with Kimi Antonelli and George Russell still posting excellent times in the low 1:20s, it was the pace on long runs that made it clear that the W17 was at least a good start to this new era.

The data analysis highlights how the Silver Arrows were able to maintain a higher time consistency than the competition, especially using the compound dhour (C3)While McLaren struggled to contain the rising lap times, clearly with a softer compound, Mercedes demonstrated linear wear and a balance that allows the drivers to attack the Albert Park corners without excessively penalizing their tires. This strategic advantage could prove decisive in a race that promises to be tactically complex due to the new power units and energy management.