McLaren's Piastri fastest at home Grand Prix, Aston Martin battle

MELBOURNE, March 6 : Oscar Piastri delighted home fans by putting McLaren top of the timesheets in the second free practice for the Australian Grand Prix on Friday as struggling Aston Martin had a minor win by nursing both cars through laps.

Hometown hero Piastri lapped Albert Park in one minute, 19.729 seconds on a sunny afternoon, 0.214 seconds ahead of Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

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.

"There are just so many things to get to grips with," he said of F1's new engine era.

"It’s very different to what we had last year, but I think FP2 as a session was pretty smooth."

McLaren teammate and defending champion Lando Norris also suffered reliability issues, with a transmission problem costing him lap-time in FP1.

He placed seventh in FP2 after being 19th in FP1.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was fourth quickest in FP2 ahead of fifth-placed teammate Charles Leclerc, who topped the first practice (FP1) in 1:20.267.

PIT LANE DRAMA

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.

The virtual safety car was triggered twice in FP1 and the mishaps continued in FP2, with immediate drama in the pit lane.

Russell needed a minor fix to the front of his car after colliding with Racing Bulls' 18-year-old rookie Arvid Lindblad when pulling out of the garage.

"This guy's just hit my front wing," Russell said over the team radio.

Both drivers were set to face stewards.

Alpine's Franco Colapinto will also be