Summary

  • Hamilton fastest in second practice, but top teams appear close

  • Rain expected across qualifying and the race

  • Bottas, Ocon & Alonso all go off track

Live Reporting

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  2. Carlos Sainz finding the extremes of the circuit with a very lairy lap.

    He keeps it together to go seventh quickest with supersofts on the Renault.

  3. A few more drivers heading back out now. Carlos Sainz is one of them, and so is Stoffel Vandoorne! Hopefully McLaren have got to the bottom of the exhaust issue.

    Carlos SainzGetty Images

  4. How low can you go?

    Andrew Benson
    BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Melbourne

    Not a great start to the season for McLaren, to say the least. Fernando Alonso said yesterday this weekend would be their "lowest level". He surely can't have expected it to be this low, this early

  5. And Valtteri Bottas goes second quickest, just 0.046s off Lewis Hamilton's time.

    So at the moment it is a Mercedes one-two - words we could be seeing more of once again this season?

  6. Valtteri Bottas rescues us from this mid-practice quiet spell by bursting back out onto the track. He's out on a fresh set of ultrasofts.

  7. Get involved #bbcf1

    Meanwhile, the discussion over Sebsatian Vettel's new haircut continues...

    Rod Peel: is SV5 new hairdo anything to do with aerodynamics (or earodynamics)?

    .Getty Images

  8. There's load of school kids in attendance today and they are passing this mid-session lull with some enthusiastic dancing and waving at the television cameras.

    As school trips go, popping along to Australian Grand Prix practice is up there with the best. Most I got to do was go and look at some frog spawn in the big pond down the road.

  9. Times so far

    .F1.com

  10. Issues leaving McLaren drivers exhausted?

    Jennie Gow
    BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter

    The reason Stoffel Vandoorne hasn't set any meaningful time yet is they are worried he has the same issue with the exhaust as Fernando. Both cars could have the same exhaust issue.

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  12. A close shave for Sergey Sirotkin as he kisses the wall on his way into the pits.

    Once again, the track is silent after 18 of the 20 drivers clocked times.

    No times yet from either McLaren with 45 minutes of the session gone.

    Fernando AlonsoGetty Images

  13. 'Australia will be our lowest level'

    While Lewis Hamilton was in a mildly uncooperative mood on Thursday, Formula 1’s other biggest star was much more amenable.

    Fernando Alonso gives good news conference, and here in Australia it was no exception, the Spaniard saying that it was “an important year” for McLaren, the car was a “good baseline” but that this race weekend would be “our lowest level”.

    "During the season, we will improve a lot,” he said. “I expect the second half of the season a very strong McLaren. I understand we are not at the level of Mercedes or Red Bull or Ferrari now. Or this is what we think after winter testing. We are not in that leading group yet. But we should be there in a coupe of races time or in the second part of the championship because we are McLaren.”

    Many people are fascinated to see at what competitive level McLaren’s major upgrade for this race puts them - and just as many are willing Alonso to be back at the sharp end after too long away.

  14. Top 10 times

    Here's the top 10 times so far all set om ultrasofts apart from Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, with both Ferraris on softs.

    No times yet from either of the McLaren drivers...

    .F1.com

  15. Andrew Benson
    BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Melbourne

    Verstappen responds and moves back to the front. The Red Bull looks very fast out here but both drivers have had moments on the transition 8/9.

  16. Jolyon Palmer
    Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

    Red Bull look pretty handy at the moment.

  17. The Red Bull lads are flying.

    A few cheers as local favourite Daniel Ricciardo goes quickest with 1:25.462 but the Australian is swiftly replaced at the top of the order as Max Verstappen does a 1:24.959.

    Daniel RicciardoGetty Images

  18. Andrew Benson
    BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Melbourne

    Hamilton’s just gone fastest and you could see it coming out on track. At Turns Eight/Nine it looked on a separate level from any previous lap. Only 0.3secs up on Verstappen though

  19. And Lewis Hamilton goes quickest with 1:25.694, also on ultrasofts.

    Lewis HamiltonGetty Images

  20. Right, while I was screen grabbing Fernando Alonso in a Hawaiian shirt there's been a whole host of new times on the board.

    Valtteri Bottas has a spell on top with 1:26.044 before Max Verstappen does a 1:25.9. Both on ultrasofts.

    Lewis Hamilton is out on track now, too.

    Max VerstappenGetty Images