Oscar Piastri takes the fastest time on home soil in the second free practice, followed by Antonelli and Russell. Verstappen has to settle for P6, but the Dutchman has little to complain about in a session that was largely characterized by chaos.
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George Russell gets a new front wing because he hits Arvid Lindblad’s car while entering the pit lane. Lewis Hamilton almost crashes at full speed into Franco Colapinto, who is driving very slowly down the straight due to a problem, and Max Verstappen grinds to a halt while exiting the pit lane. Well, the first five minutes of the second free practice are over!
The teams and drivers are clearly not all ready for the new F1 season yet. This was already evident during the opening session of the year, here in Melbourne. World champion Lando Norris got no further than P19, four seconds behind, Lance Stroll was thirty (!) seconds short, and Fernando Alonso did not even see any action at all.
The Spaniard is now getting behind the wheel of the troubled AMR26. After disastrous test weeks, every meter they can drive at the team is vital for gathering extra data. Things are not going well for newcomer Cadillac either. Sergio Pérez spends almost the entire session in the pit box watching his mechanics busy working on his car to solve a sensor problem.
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Verstappen off the track
At the other end of the spectrum is Mercedes. After twenty minutes, the team is at the top of the timesheets, being the only ones on the soft tire. Russell briefly slides through the gravel in his hunt for his teammate’s fastest time.
With just under half an hour to go, the competition also has the red tires fitted. In this qualifying simulation, as many had already predicted, Mercedes and Ferrari seem to be calling the shots. But the crowd gets a boost when local hero Oscar Piastri rushes to the top.
Max Verstappen is best of the rest in his Red Bull and sits in P6. However, he does briefly go off the track. Some parts fly off the car, but he can continue his way. That does not apply to Pérez. Just as he is finally allowed onto the track, he is told by his team to park his car on the side. And so the Mexican is the only driver who does not record a time in this session. Piastri eventually finishes the second free practice as the fastest, followed by Antonelli and Russell.
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Results
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Read everything about the Australian GP here
