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Melbourne – Double world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) set the fastest time in the first free practice session of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, while Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) took second , disrupted by rain, Friday in Melbourne.
The Dutchman and the Spaniard, who were the only ones to fall below the 1 min 19 sec mark, confirmed what we had seen during the first two Grands Prix of the season: Red Bull is largely dominating and the performances of ‘Aston Martin are unexpected.
Even if the results of Friday’s free practice are not always indicative of what will happen on Saturday in qualifying, lessons can be drawn, especially from the first session, because the second was truncated by the rain, which appeared only after 15 minutes.
Red Bull, which overflew the first two rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia by winning the two pole positions and the first two places in the race, seems well on its way to extending its overwhelming domination.
Indeed, Sergio Pérez was robbed of second place by Lewis Hamilton at the very end of the first session, and set the seventh fastest time in the second, just before the rain. Verstappen, who made a mistake in both sessions with a spin and then a short lap in the grass, set the first and third times and will be the favorite on Saturday in the race for pole position.
Alonso, 41, seems to be getting younger with each race at the wheel of his green single-seater, which never ceases to amaze.
“It was a good Friday for us. There is still work for tomorrow but for the moment the car seems to behave well. For the moment, it seems that it will not rain on Saturday and we would appreciate it if it is because we only had dry tracks in the first two races”, explained The “Taurus of Asturias”.
Encouraging day for Ferrari and Mercedes
The Ferraris, disappointing so far this season, had an encouraging day with second place from Charles Leclerc, winner here last season, in the second session of the day. He had set the sixth fastest time earlier in the day. His Spanish team-mate Carlos Sainz set the fifth fastest time twice.
“We made some variations in the settings and it was interesting because we seem to be going in the right direction. But that does not mean that we are as fast as our competitors, who always seem to be one step ahead of us, ”analyzed the Monegasque.
Mercedes can also be satisfied with their day with the second time taken by Lewis Hamilton during the first session and the fourth by George Russell at the end of the afternoon.
Alpine asserts itself on its side more and more as the fifth force of the plateau. After his disappointing 16th place in the first session, Frenchman Esteban Ocon obtained a good sixth place in the second, while his teammate and compatriot Pierre Gasly finished twice in the Top 10 (8th and 10th).
McLaren, in great difficulty during the first two Grands Prix, got its head out of the water thanks to Lando Norris (8th then 7th), while the Australian Oscar Piastri won 14th and 12th lap times in front of his home crowd.
After setting the 10th time in the 1st session, Quebecer Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) had to settle for 15th place in the 2nd.
The third free practice session is scheduled for 9 p.m. Friday evening (Quebec time), while qualifying will take place at 1 a.m. (Quebec time) on RDS and RDS.ca.
2nd free practice session:
Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:18.887 (13 tours)
Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 1:19.332 (10)
Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 1:19.502 (12)
George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 1:19.672 (19)
Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Ferrari) 1:19.695 (12)
Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault) 1:19.725 (12)
Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull) 1:20.083 (14)
Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:20.176 (19)
Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas-Ferrari) 1:20.194 (18)
Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine-Renault) 1:20.206 (11)
Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1:20.220 (17)
Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) 1:20.312 (21)
Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:20.323 (16)
Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:20.380 (23)
Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) 1:20.470 (21)
Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:20.579 (14)
Nyck de Vries (NED/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1:20.600 ( 8)
Alexander Albon (THA/Williams-Mercedes) 1:21.182 (18)
Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas-Ferrari) 1:21.266 (17)
Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams-Mercedes) 0.000
1st free practice session:
Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 1:18.790 (17 tours)
Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:19.223 (20)
Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull) 1:19.293 (19)
Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:19.317 (23)
Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 1:19.378 (16)
Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Ferrari) 1:19.505 (20)
Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:19.536 (16)
Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine-Renault) 1:19.646 (22)
George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 1:19.699 (23)
Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:19.766 (19)
Alexander Albon (THA/Williams-Mercedes) 1:19.766 (21)
Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:19.777 (22)
Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas-Ferrari) 1:19.806 (19)
Nyck de Vries (NED/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1:19.933 (25)
Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams-Mercedes) 1:20.074 (21)
Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault) 1:20.175 (20)
Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1:20.399 (14)
Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) 1:20.419 (21)
Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) 1:20.569 (22)
Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas-Ferrari) 1:21.147 (17)