Ferrari sets the pace, Mercedes lags in Melbourne practices.
MELBOURNE, Australia—Setting the top times in both sessions, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. proved in Friday practice that both Ferraris will be contenders at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit. Leclerc topped the sheets overall with a time of 1:18:978. Max Verstappen placed second in the afternoon, splitting the two Scuderia entries as Sainz Jr. dropped to third.
Alpine had a well-deserved session in the afternoon, placing Fernando Alonso fourth and Esteban Ocon fifth. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, took fourth. Valtteri Bottas finished seventh in the Alfa Romeo. McLaren put two cars in the top ten, with Lando Norris eighth and home driver Daniel Ricciardo tenth. Pierre Gasly took ninth in the Alpha Tauri.
The biggest surprise was the two Mercedes. Never reaching the top 10, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton placed 11th and 13th, respectively.
The new track gave most of the drivers a lot of bouncing on the straights, but it was more evident for the Ferraris as both drivers were observed in this manner. As far as any incidents in practice, only a red flag period occurred in the afternoon for 11 minutes. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll ran over a curb at turn 12, breaking off pieces of his front wing. This incident produced a red flag for only a few minutes while a marshal retrieved the part away from the circuit.
The most important news came not from the top drivers but from Sebastian Vettel, who just returned from a bout of Covid-19, and missed the first two races. But his debut was not a good sign.
Following an engine failure in the opening session, Vettel managed to find a moped and rode it back to the pits. That maneuver is not in accordance with Formula 1 rules and he was fined $5000 pounds (about $6500 U.S.). It wasn’t any better for the four-time world champion in the afternoon. ERC problems sidelined him and the Aston Martin driver never took part in Practice #2.
Saturday is expected to have clear skies, but rain is possible for Sunday’s race as drivers get used to the new cars on this rebuilt circuit. Qualifying will be televised by ESPN very early Saturday at 2 am on ESPN2.
