Charles Leclerc fastest in Australian GP practice as Lewis Hamilton struggles
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc saw off Max Verstappen in practice for the Australian Grand Prix – as Lewis Hamilton claimed “something was wrong” with his Mercedes after he finished only 18th.
Verstappen is bidding to match his record of 10 consecutive wins at this weekend’s race in Melbourne.
But Leclerc could pose a threat to the all-conquering Dutchman, following an impressive practice lap that put him nearly four-tenths clear.
Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz – back in his cockpit following British teenager Ollie Bearman’s stand-in drive in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago – ended the running in third, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso fourth and fifth, respectively, for Aston Martin.
George Russell took sixth for Mercedes, 0.674sec behind Leclerc, but team-mate Hamilton finished ahead of only Haas’ Kevin Magnussen on a troubling day for the seven-time world champion.
Hamilton, 39, ran off the road in the first running at a sun-cooked Albert Park, and his struggles continued into the day’s concluding session, with a best lap that put him 1.5 sec off the pace and nearly a second behind Russell.
“What times are people doing?” Hamilton asked over the radio. After he was informed of leader Leclerc’s pace, he replied, “Yeah, something is wrong.”
Later, Hamilton said: “It didn’t feel great out there today. We began the day on the front foot and in first practice, the car generally felt good. The first run was actually the best the car has felt so far this year.
“To continue our learning, we made some big changes into FP2 and unfortunately, that made the car worse. We will be working hard overnight to make improvements ahead of tomorrow.”
Only 19 drivers took part in the second session following Alex Albon’s high-speed crash in the opening session.
The London-born Thai driver lost control of his Williams on the exit of Turn 6 before smashing into the wall on the inside of the track and rebounding across the circuit.
Red Flag! 🚩
Alex Albon goes into the barriers but thankfully confirms he's ok over team radio 📻 pic.twitter.com/UE9p9fsJvq— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 22, 2024
Albon’s right-front wheel tore off his machine under impact, with debris from his Williams littering the track.
Albon came to a standstill and was able to get out of his cockpit. “Sorry,” he said over the radio before he was taken away in the medical car.
“Muchos debris,” said Lando Norris. “Is he alright? It looked pretty large.”
Albon, 27, was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks as the session was red-flagged to clear his destroyed machine.
Williams said he would not participate in the second practice due to the damage to his car, and it is uncertain if he will be able to take part in the remainder of the weekend with spare parts limited to the British team.
Elsewhere, home favourite Oscar Piastri finished seventh, two positions ahead of Norris in the other McLaren who had topped the time charts earlier in the day in front of a record 124,000-strong crowd.
Australian Grand Prix second practice, as it happened
06:30 AM GMT
Some interesting comments from Wolff there
Of course we do not know what is happening with Verstappen but Wolff certainly did not flat-out deny it.
06:25 AM GMT
Are Mercedes speaking to Verstappen?
If I would know! At the end Max is in the quickest car and this is what a driver is always going to look at. He is in a fantastic place in his career and it will be a decision that is up to him.
The trigger for him maybe thinking about other options is maybe because they have some wobbles going through their team and we’ve got to give him time to think how he wants to sort out of future without giving him a push from our side.
06:25 AM GMT
Wolff also spoke about the criminal action his wife, Susie, is taking against the FIA
First of all Susie is a strong woman, she doesn’t take anything from anyone and has always followed through on her convictions and values. She is very unemotional about it and pragmatic and feels wrong was done and the court needs to hear that. On the other side, it is the case and the fact that all year now we have been talking about cases of intransparency and various other factors that are just not great. We should talk about the greatness of the sport and where we are and not the other stuff but it needs to be pointed to.
Susie just started that process many months ago and has done it very diligently as far as I am concerned and will go all the way. I think it matters most for her to find out what happened... and things are not brushed under the carpet. I think as a sport we need to do that in all areas...
I don’t think there is such thing as a watershed moment I just think at a certain stage we shouldn’t be just getting those hits and accepting them in all areas to make this sport as transparent as it should be considering its place in the world.
06:23 AM GMT
Toto Wolff on a bad day for Mercedes
We’ve achieved experimenting but we haven’t unlocked performance. In the second session we have gone through a dramatic set-up change on Lewis and that has massively backfired. On the other side it was a bit better but we are lacking performance on a single lap but overall it wasn’t a good day.
If I would say that I am not frustrated it would not be the truth, certainly we are. we are trying so much in all directions but don’t’ seem to have found that silver bullet yet. We have to keep trying, we have seen performance in this car before. I don’t wan to to go back and say we are just not good in these regulations because we have everything we need to get on top of this and we will.
06:15 AM GMT
Verstappen speaks
Unfortunately a little bit messy because of what happened in FP1... damaged the floor and also the chassis. I lost like 20 minutes. I more or less completed the programme still, long run I would have liked a few more laps. I think it was alright, I think Ferrari is quick but from our side there are a few more things we can fine tune. Nothing crazy, nothing worrying.
06:12 AM GMT
I wouldn’t get too excited yet
But promising signs that Verstappen might have a fight on his hands for pole position. Still, he did not run as much as others after missing the first 25 minutes of the session, so it would hardly be a surprise if he took pole tomorrow. You can find that these things compound through the sessions. Ferrari might be able to dial in their performance for Leclerc a bit more whilst Verstappen, perhaps, struggles to find his. We can hope, anyway...
06:07 AM GMT
Another poor session for Hamilton
18th and 1.6sec off nearly. The reality of his 18th place is that he did not get his hot lap together on the soft tyres but it’s another messy practice for the Briton. Plenty of work to do for him and Mercedes.
A bit of a bogey track for Hamilton, this one. He has taken pole here plenty of times but just two wins here in 15 attempts.
06:03 AM GMT
FP2 - Classification
LEC 1:17.277
VER +0.381
SAI +0.430
STR +0.545
ALO +0.635
RUS +0.674
PIA +0.800
PER +0.813
NOR +0.878
TSU +0.911
ZHO +1.144
RIC +1.257
SAR +1.301
BOT +1.308
GAS +1.414
HUL +1.425
OCO +1.428
HAM +1.557
MAG +1.998
ALB (NO TIME)
06:01 AM GMT
FP2 ends - Leclerc fastest ahead of Verstappen
Verstappen’s improvement ended the Ferrari 1-2 but that is encouraging stuff from Charles Leclerc.
05:57 AM GMT
FP2 - Into the final five minutes
Leclerc is not going to be dislodged here. No update on whether Williams have been able to repair Albon’s chassis. I suspect it might be a while before we find out.
05:55 AM GMT
FP2 - The long runs are well under way
Piastri is 11 laps onto a medium tyre run and his last lap was a 1:24.261. Alonso on similar with a 1:23.348.
The track proving tricky today as Leclerc runs over the grass at turns one and two.
Off road with Charles Leclerc 🤕 pic.twitter.com/6CE7avBo0l
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 22, 2024
05:49 AM GMT
FP2 - Sargeant’s incident at turn one
The American jinks out from behind a car in front on the pit straight and outbraked himself, running over the grass.
05:48 AM GMT
FP2 - What’s going on with Red Bull then?
Verstappen is fourth, 0.430sec off Leclerc whilst Perez is 0.813sec off the lead time and in eighth. Verstappen had a bit of a disrupted session with a changed floor earlier on. But it looks like there is some set-up work for the team to do between now and FP3 tomorrow.
That said, Verstappen improves marginally to go only 0.381sec off Leclerc. Plenty of time to sort it out anyway so I wouldn’t be getting too carried away. In any case a Ferrari pole is one thing, a race win is another.
Looks like Sargeant has had another off...
05:43 AM GMT
FP2 - Verstappen is on the softs
He crosses the line 0.430sec off Leclerc. Exactly the same time as Sainz.
You know, I think Hamilton is going to have his work cut out at Ferrari next season. Leclerc is supreme over one lap.
05:39 AM GMT
FP2 - Current order
It’s a Ferrari 1-2.
LEC 1:17.277
SAI +0.430
STR +0.545
ALO +0.635
RUS +0.674
VER +0.704
PIA +0.800
PER +0.813
NOR +0.878
ZHO +1.144
05:34 AM GMT
FP2 - Hamilton abandoned his last hot lap
He is down in 16th but has not set a representative fast lap.
05:33 AM GMT
FP2 - Verstappen complains about being blocked by Zhou
Not sure it was that bad but Zhoy says he got the call too late. Definitely hampered the Dutchman who is now ninth in the order, having done five laps on the medium tyres having emerged late into the session.
Look who it is 👋
Max Verstappen has joined us, with 35 minutes to go in the session#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/sKUC9SqJgp— Formula 1 (@F1) March 22, 2024
05:32 AM GMT
FP2 - Norris not able to make it into the top three
Leclerc does, though, fastest of all by nearly four-tenths. Team-mate Sainz goes fourth, more than half a second down. Not sure what to make of that as Russell moves fourth and we wait for Hamilton to cross the line.
05:29 AM GMT
FP2 - Perez begins his first hot lap on the softs
He crosses the line to go fifth, 0.268sec down on Stroll. Alonso is on his seventh lap on the soft tyres - having run wide on them - and he does not improve but is only 0.2sec down on Stroll which shows that these soft tyres have plenty of life. Wonder if we might see soft and medium through the race. Probably.
05:27 AM GMT
FP2 - Russell has a moan about Sainz
Sainz was coasting on the fast section at turns eight...
Stroll goes fastest on his second run on the softs with a 1:17.822.
Max Verstappen is out in the Red Bull now. Not sure missing 25 minutes will hamper him all that much. Drivers finding it a bit tricky out there. Stroll ran wide at the penultimate turn before beginning his fastest lap.
05:25 AM GMT
FP2 - Alonso then does go fastest
However, we do not see it on TV in the UK as Sky Sports are taking one of their many, many ad breaks. During practice. At 5.25am.
05:22 AM GMT
FP2 - Alonso makes a bit of a mess of his lap
He runs wide in the middle of it and ends up nearly two tenths down on Leclerc’s fastest time.
05:19 AM GMT
FP2 - Leclerc has moved top now
0.265sec ahead of Lando Norris as Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso move onto the soft tyres to begin their qualifying simulation runs.
05:19 AM GMT
FP2 - Sargeant put a wheel on the gravel towards the end of the lap
He was fortunate not to end up in the wall but he returns to the pit lane.
Still no sign of Max Verstappen as the floor is replaced on his Red Bull. Gasly then runs wide at turn five and nearly clips the barriers on the outside.
05:16 AM GMT
FP2 - A spin for Sargeant...
He and his car is fine but that is not what Williams need this weekend. A difficult start to the season after a promising 2023 when they finished seventh in the standings.
Norris then moves fastest of all with a 1:18.201.
05:15 AM GMT
FP2 - Current top 10
Just about 15 minutes gone.
LEC
PER +0.430
ALO +0.540
RUS +0.632
SAI +0.704
NOR +0.711
STR +0.714
PIA +0.820
GAS +0.893
OCO +0.957
05:13 AM GMT
FP2 - Williams DO NOT have a spare chassis this weekend
That means that if Albon’s cannot be repaired then it’s either the end of his weekend or they choose to end Logan Sargeant’s. Hopefully they can repair Albon’s, then.
05:12 AM GMT
FP2 - Alonso now top
He’s heading up an Aston Martin 1-2. Ricciardo looking to be on a good lap here though. He is another man who needs to beat his team-mate and in front of his home crowd. If he carries on as he has done this year I am not sure he will be racing in 2025.
Anyway the affable Aussie moves into fifth, 0.4sec or so behind lead man Alonso.
05:08 AM GMT
FP2 - A bit of a moment for Hamilton at turn one
The rear end gets a bit loose but he keeps it going forward. He is in need of a good weekend. Well, he could do with beating Russell.
Piastri moves to the top of the charts with a 1:19.151, 0.261sec ahead of Fernando Alonso.
05:06 AM GMT
FP2 - Ted Kravitz with some interesting information on Albon
He says that Williams said there would be further updates about Albon later in the day, but what could those updates be? Surely they are just repairing his car, he says. He then supposes that Albon may have damaged the chassis in the crash and that Williams may not have a spare chassis here this weekend, which would end Albon’s participation...
The only spectator who doesn't want to be there ☹️
Alex Albon is sitting out FP2 due to the damage cause to his Williams earlier#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/OB8uZup5Jc— Formula 1 (@F1) March 22, 2024
05:05 AM GMT
FP2 - Perez is the first driver to set a lap time
It’s a 1:20.434 from the Mexican Red Bull driver. Second in the first two races so far this year which is pretty solid and probably the sort of thing he needs to do to retain his seat for 2025.
05:03 AM GMT
FP2 - A bit of a delay for Verstappen
He damaged his floor running over a kerb in first practice and the Red Bull mechanics are replacing that on his RB20. Will it affect his weekend much? A little.
Another unhappy spectator this afternoon 😖
Max Verstappen is also yet to venture out - his car is being fixed after damaging the floor in FP1#AusGP pic.twitter.com/wcexRHbV3x— Formula 1 (@F1) March 22, 2024
05:01 AM GMT
GREEN LIGHT: FP2 IS GO!
One hour of it, and no Alex Albon.
04:56 AM GMT
FP2 will begin in five minutes
Hopefully we will get a half-decent read on how it looks. We really, really could do with someone giving Verstappen at least a bit of a hard time this weekend. Or something to think about in the race. Not sure, though...
04:52 AM GMT
In case you had not noticed... Carlos Sainz looks to be sure to take part this weekend
He said he would see how it went after missing the last race due to appendix surgery. But he seems to have got on pretty well in FP1 earlier on.
04:47 AM GMT
That is very, very close between the top eight there
Even the top nine, really. The rest? Not so much. Strange. Would be good if it is remotely that close in qualifying but... I doubt it somehow.
04:41 AM GMT
FP1: Full times and classification
Lando Norris, McLaren 1min18.564sec
Max Verstappen, Red Bull +0.018sec
George Russell, Mercedes +0.033sec
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +0.035sec
Yuki Tsunoda, RB +0.057sec
Sergio Perez, RB +0.078sec
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +0.103sec
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +0.122sec
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes +0.207sec
Oscar Piastri, McLaren +0.354sec
Daniel Ricciardo, RB +0.710sec
Alexander Albon, Williams +0.879sec
Kevin Magnussen, Haas +0.925sec
Logan Sargeant, Williams +0.955sec
Esteban Ocon, Alpine +0.997sec
Nico Hulkenberg, Haas +1.040sec
Pierre Gasly, Alpine +1.058sec
Zhou Guanyu, Sauber +1.425sec
Valtteri Bottas +1.1450sec
04:34 AM GMT
Watch: Albon crashes in first practice
Red Flag! 🚩
Alex Albon goes into the barriers but thankfully confirms he's ok over team radio 📻 pic.twitter.com/UE9p9fsJvq— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 22, 2024
04:31 AM GMT
FP1 report: Norris fastest as Albon crashes at Albert Park
Alex Albon walked away from a high-speed crash in opening practice for the Australian Grand Prix.
The London-born Thai driver lost control of his Williams on the exit of Turn 6 before smashing into the wall on the inside of the track and rebounding across the circuit.
Albon’s right-front wheel tore off his machine under impact, with debris from his Williams littering the track.
Albon came to a standstill and was able to get out of his cockpit. “Sorry,” he said over the radio before he was taken away in the medical car.
“Muchos debris,” said Lando Norris. “Is he alright? It looked pretty large.”
The one-hour running was suspended for 10 minutes, with McLaren’s Norris topping the time charts.
The British driver finished just 0.018 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with George Russell third for Mercedes and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fourth. The top four were separated by less than half-a-tenth.
Russell hauled his Mercedes towards the front of the order in the closing moments, but team-mate Lewis Hamilton struggled with the handling of his Silver Arrows.
The seven-time world champion ran off the road at the opening bend on his first lap on the speediest soft tyres and ended the session only ninth. He has endured a difficult start to the season, both qualifying and finishing lower than his team-mate in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Carlos Sainz, back in his Ferrari after missing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with appendicitis, was eighth.
Williams later confirmed that Albon would be unable to take part in the second practice session at Albert Park.
“Further to Alex’s accident in FP1, we can confirm that he will not participate in FP2 while we continue to assess the damage. Alex was uninjured in the incident,” the team wrote.
The second practice session at Melbourne’s Albert Park will begin at 4pm local time (5am GMT).
