Recap of Dramatic Moments in Australian Grand Prix Free Practice 2: Verstappen, Albon, and Pérez

2024-03-22 06:04:14

The second free practice of the Australian Grand Prix had many stories, although none of them started the way those involved would have liked.

Max Verstappen had problems with his car and it took him a long time to get out on the track, while Alex Albon left Williams without one of the cars after crashing for the second time.

Checo Pérez was one of the first to leave

Checo Pérez was one of the first drivers to go out to the Melbourne circuit for Free Practice 2 of the Australian GP and in his first attempt he achieved 1:20.434, a record that at that time put him high, but with the averages per lap that they set in the first session, which was around 1:18, it was difficult to think that he would maintain that position.

Max Verstappen could not start at the start of FP2

In itself, in the first free practice the Dutchman had a difficult situation with the radio and his hearing aid, so they had to remove the nose, the second session was also a torment for the current world champion.

In addition to removing the nose, the team also removed the Dutchman’s seat. FOX Sports journalist Diego Mejía reported on the situation, although Red Bull did not offer more details about Max Verstappen’s breakdown.

Despite this dilemma, Max Verstappen prepared to go out on the track, since the car would have no problems going out on the ocean track.

With just over half an hour left to finish the session, he was able to ride on the track.

Read more: Checo Pérez ‘scares’ his fans while playing a driver in a commercial | VIDEO

😱 PROBLEMS IN THE RB20!#F1xFSMX | Max Verstappen still does not go out to Free Practice 2; They had to remove his seat due to some details in his car 🏎️ pic.twitter.com/XByNGSMt9u

— FOX Sports MX (@FOXSportsMX) March 22, 2024

Albon got Williams into trouble

Alex Albon suffered an accident during the second session, but that was not the problem; in the first Free Practice he had also suffered an accident that damaged the car.

In fact, Albon caused a red flag in the initial test in Australia.

This situation forces Williams to only compete with one car for the remainder of the weekend, that is, Alex Albon will be the only one who will be active for the team in the third free practice, qualifying and the race.

Logan Sargeant, the other Williams driver, will be the one left out for the remainder of the weekend in Melbourne.

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😱 PROBLEMS IN WILLIAMS!#F1xFSMX | The team only has a single car for the Australian GP and its two drivers have already had accidents; They will have to choose who will race on the weekend… pic.twitter.com/KM8m9zH3ux

— FOX Sports MX (@FOXSportsMX) March 22, 2024

Checo Pérez in race simulation

With less than 10 minutes left, Checo Pérez jumped onto the track in what they call “race simulation”, that is, the Mexican took a pace similar to what the RB20 is expected to be on Sunday.

The Red Bull driver did not have his best record and finished in eighth place. One of the causes was that when he was at race pace, in one of the sectors he met Oscar Piastri and the two tried to avoid each other, which caused their times to rise.

Charles Leclerc, until that moment, was the one who dominated the session with a time of 1:17.277.

Max Verstappen came from behind and achieved second place by being 381 thousandths behind the Monegasque’s Ferrari.

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