Leclerc heads Verstappen in second F1 practice for Australian GP
Leclerc ended FP2 0.245s clear of reigning world champion Verstappen as Ferrari continued its strong start to the weekend in Melbourne, with the Monegasque posting a new benchmark time on a 1m18.978s.
The early 2022 championship leader is the only driver so far to have dipped below the 1m19s mark around the Albert Park track, which has been modified for F1’s return to Australia after an enforced two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Albert Park has been made faster through the removal of the previous Turn 9-10 chicane, while several corners have been widened in a bid to enable more overtaking opportunities and improve racing at the circuit.
It looked as though Ferrari would again finish 1-2 in second practice as Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz traded fastest laps for much of the session, only for Verstappen to split the pair in his Red Bull with a late improvement.
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was 0.559s off the pace as he set the fourth-best time for Alpine, a tenth clear of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
Esteban Ocon ensured both Alpine cars finished inside the top six as the last driver to get within a second of Leclerc’s session-leading time.
Valtteri Bottas put his Alfa Romeo seventh, while both McLaren cars finished inside of the top-10 with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo separated by AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
Tricky afternoon for Mercedes
George Russell was the highest-placed Mercedes driver in 11th, some 1.2s off the pace as the German manufacturer’s difficult start to the season looks set to continue in Australia.
Teammate Lewis Hamilton ended up behind Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri and could only manage a time good enough for 13th, a further three tenths behind Russell.
The seven-time world champion, who has claimed pole position at every Australian GP since 2014, took a trip through the gravel at Turn 12 at one stage as one of several drivers who ran off-track during another action-packed session.
Hamilton has also been summoned to see the stewards for an alleged impeding incident involving Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll in FP2.
Mercedes has not brought any new parts to its car to Melbourne as it continues to struggle with porpoising and balance issues, though it is expected to introduce upgrades at the next round in Imola.
Further down the order, Kevin Magnussen, who has been struggling with illness which forced him to skip Friday morning’s media duties, finished 16th for Haas, two places and seven-tenths clear of teammate Mick Schumacher.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was the slowest driver to set a lap time as he finished over three seconds off the pace.
Sebastian Vettel, making his return after missing the first two races of the season with COVID, did not take part in second practice due to Aston Martin carrying out an engine change following his FP1 stoppage.
