Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso topped the timesheets forward of Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc in a rain-hit second follow on the Australian Grand Prix on Friday, however world champion Max Verstappen went quickest for the day. The Spanish veteran adopted up his podium finishes on the first two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia with one other eye-opening run. He powered across the bumpy Albert Park circuit underneath darkening clouds earlier than rain fell in a greatest time of 1 minute 18.887 seconds amongst his 13 laps, bettering his fourth place within the first one-hour session.
“The afternoon was clearly impacted by the rain, so there may be nonetheless some work to do tomorrow,” stated Alonso.
“We have to be taught extra in regards to the tyres and the long-run tempo of the automotive as a result of there was not a lot time for that at present. Thus far although the automotive appears to behave nicely.”
Leclerc, who gained in Australia final yr, got here an encouraging second after Ferrari’s early season reliability and tempo points, practically half a second adrift however forward of Verstappen.
The Crimson Bull pilot, the early championship chief, clocked a 1:18.790 within the first follow when he had an out-of-character spin, which was higher than Alonso’s second session greatest.
However the Dutchman had no first rate alternative to enhance on it on a moist observe, saying it was slippery and he had low grip.
“It was tough to inform how the automotive felt as we by no means obtained a window the place I assumed we had been on prime of the tyres,” he stated.
“We’ll look over the information tonight and see what now we have to do tomorrow. The situations ought to be clearer for the remainder of the weekend, so we will deal with that.”
– Not so good –
Crimson Bull try to attain a 3rd consecutive 1-2 end for the primary time within the group’s historical past in Melbourne after their dominance in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Verstappen’s teammate and Jeddah winner Sergio Perez got here seventh.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was a shock second within the opening follow however might solely handle a disappointing thirteenth in FP2.
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