McLaren’s Oscar Piastri set the fastest time of Friday’s two practice sessions at Formula 1’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Mercedes and Ferrari also exhibited strong pace in Melbourne.
Piastri, driving at his hometown circuit, finished second practice two tenths clear of Kimi Antonelli, with the Italian’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell a tenth further back in third.
The timesheet represented a turnaround from the opening session, in which Ferrari had looked hugely impressive when Charles Leclerc led a one-two from team-mate Lewis Hamilton, with the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar having finished behind them.
Leclerc, who was almost half a second clear of the field in first practice, actually failed to improve his time as he finished fifth in the second session, which suggested Ferrari were unable to maximise their potential in the late afternoon conditions.
Hamilton’s fourth place, three tenths back from Piastri, meant he was the only driver to finish both of Friday’s sessions in the top four.
Verstappen was six tenths off the pace in sixth after being kept in the garage for almost half of the second session by a technical glitch that caused him to stop in the pit lane exit in the opening moments.
The Dutchman survived a major scare in the closing moments of the session as he avoided the barrier after running into the gravel at the high-speed Turn 10, but there did still appear to be considerable floor damage to his Red Bull.
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Max Verstappen has a ‘scary moment’ after a big off during P2 in his Red Bull at the Australian GP.
Reigning world champion Lando Norris was seventh for McLaren after also being struck by a reliability issue, in the form of a clutch problem that limited his running in first practice to just seven laps.
While he enjoyed largely uninterrupted track time in second practice, Norris only had one clean attempt at a flying lap on fresh soft tyres, which perhaps goes some way to explaining a one-second deficit to his team-mate.
Racing Bulls’ British rookie Arvid Lindblad completed an impressive debut full Friday practice display by backing up fifth in the first session with eighth in the second, edging out Verstappen’s new team-mate Hadjar in the latter.
More to follow…
Sky Sports F1’s Australian GP schedule
Saturday March 7
0.10am: F3 Sprint*
1.10am: Australian GP Practice Three (session starts at 1.30am)*
3.05am: F2 Sprint*
4.10am: Australian GP Qualifying build-up*
5am: AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING*
7am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
9.45pm: F3 Feature Race*
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As Formula 1 enters a new era, Tate McRae’s GRAMMY-nominated Just Keep Watching will become the new title track for Sky Sports’ F1 coverage this season and beyond.
Sunday March 8
12.20am: F2 Feature Race*
2.30am: Australian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
4am: THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX*
6am: Australian GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
7am: Ted’s Notebook*
7.55am: Australian GP race replay*
10am: Australian GP highlights (also on Sky One)*
*Also on Sky Sports Main Event
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
