(Melbourne) Two-time world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) set the fastest time in the first free practice session of Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix, while Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) took the second, disrupted by rain, Friday in Melbourne.
The Dutchman and the Spaniard, who were the only ones to go below the 1min 19sec mark, confirmed what we had seen in the first two Grands Prix of the season: Red Bull is largely dominating and the performance 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, who cruised through the first two rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to claim both pole positions and the first two race finishes, look set to extend their crushing dominance.
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 so far the car seems to be doing well. At the moment it looks like it won’t rain on Saturday and we would appreciate it if it did, as we only experienced dry tracks in the first two races,” explained The Bull of Asturias.
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 set by Lewis Hamilton in the first session and the fourth by George Russell at the end of the afternoon.
Alpine is asserting itself more and more as the fifth force on the board. After his disappointing 16th place in the first session, Frenchman Esteban Ocon secured a fine sixth place in the second, while his team-mate 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 Australian Oscar Piastri won 14th and 12th times in front of his home crowd.
