The experienced Aston Martin driver sets the fastest time in the second session, marred by the rain; Leclerc is close behind, with Verstappen third
After Max Verstappen conduct the first free practice sessions, Fernando Alonso proved that the aston martin also wants to surprise at the Australian GP in Formula 1, this weekend. The experienced Spaniard was fastest in the second session, which was marred by the rain. But he warned that he prefers a dry track in the race scheduled for Sunday morning, according to Brasilia time.
“I think the weather forecast says the track is dry. I think, ideally, we will prefer dry conditions because so far we have only driven this car in these conditions, in Jeddah and Bahrain,” commented the two-time F1 world champion. “A dry race would be very welcome to our team, but we will have to be ready for all conditions.”
Alonso set the fastest time of the second practice session in Melbourne right at the start of practice, with a time of 1min18s887. Subsequently, no rivals approached the brand. The Monegasque Charles Leclerc, of Ferrari, was the closest, trailing by almost half a second, with 1min19s332.
And then came the current two-time world champion Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver, championship leader after two hard-fought stages, set a time of 1min19s502. The Dutchman had been the fastest in the first free practice, held on a dry track.
The second session, on the other hand, had fewer emotions. Faced with the wet asphalt, the riders were more restrained and made fewer turns on the track. Alonso didn’t go beyond 13, for example, while Leclerc completed just 10 laps.
The Spanish driver has been the sensation of this start of the season in F1. At Aston Martin he finished on the podium in the first two races of the year. And he has shown that the team wants more.
“We have a lot of work to do for tomorrow (qualifying practice), mainly on the tires for the longer stretches, which we couldn’t test in the second practice session. But, so far, the car is good,” assessed Alonso.
The riders return to the Albert Park Circuit this Friday evening, Brasilia time. The third free practice is scheduled for 10.30 pm. The qualifying session will be at 2am on Saturday morning. The race will be at the same time on Sunday.
Watch the result of the second free practice of the Australian GP
1st – Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin), 1min18s887
2nd – Charles Leclerc (MON / Ferrari), at 0s445
3rd – Max Verstappen (HOL / Red Bull), at 0s615
4th – George Russell (ING/Mercedes), at 0s785
5th – Carlos Sainz jr. (ESP/Ferrari), at 0s808
6th – Esteban Ocon (FRA / Alpine), at 0s838
7th – Sergio Pérez (MEX / Red Bull), 1s196
8th – Lando Norris (ING / McLaren), at 1s289s
9th – Nico Hülkenberg (ALE / Haas), 1s307
10th – Pierre Gasly (FRA / Alpine), at 1s319
11 – Yuki Tsunoda (JAP/AlphaTauri), at 1s323
12th – Valtteri Bottas (FIN / Alfa Romeo), at 1s425
13th – Lewis Hamilton (ING / Mercedes), 1s436
14 – Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren), at 1s494
15 – Zhou Guanyu (CHN / Alfa Romeo), at 1s583
16 – Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin), at 1s692
17 – Nyck de Vries (HOL/AlphaTauri), at 1s713
18th – Alexander Albon (TAI / Williams), at 2s295
19th – Kevin Magnussen (DIN / Haas), at 2s379
20 – Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams), no time
Source: Terra
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