Norris clocked a session-best 1m15.624s, finishing 0.291s ahead of Piastri, with the McLaren duo again outpacing the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in third.

Both drivers had off-track moments during the session, along with a close call between them late on.

Piastri ran wide exiting Turn 7, kicking up a plume of grass and gravel, while Norris had a more dramatic moment entering the final corner, dropping two wheels into the dirt and narrowly missing the wall after being thrown off-line.

Later, Norris locked up into Turn 1 while exiting the pits, coming close to Piastri as the pair converged at the corner.

Despite the incidents, McLaren dominated the session and again look to be the team to beat this weekend.

Aston Martin were the surprise of FP2, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso impressing in fourth and fifth.

Stroll found immediate pace after switching to soft tyres, improving again on his second lap to finish within half a second of Norris’s benchmark.

Alonso, returning to the cockpit after sitting out FP1 with back soreness, was right on the pace—just a tenth behind Stroll and ahead of the second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton.

George Russell placed seventh for Mercedes, followed by Isack Hadjar for Racing Bulls, who was again the fastest of any Red Bull-affiliated driver. Yuki Tsunoda followed Hadjar, finishing five spots ahead of teammate Max Verstappen, while Kimi Antonelli rounded out the top ten for Mercedes.

Verstappen spent much of the session voicing frustration with the handling of his RB21 over team radio, continuing a trend of Friday discontent.

He was also involved in a bizarre incident during one of his out laps, appearing to throw a cloth from the cockpit onto the track, an incident that will see him meet with the stewards to explain after the session.

Cars return to the track tomorrow for FP3 at 12:30pm local time (8:30pm AEST).