By Matt Morlitz
Last Updated: 08/04/22 9:03 a.m.
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Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok compares the fastest laps of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen from Friday’s training session in Melbourne.
Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok compares the fastest laps of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen from Friday’s training session in Melbourne.
Charles Leclerc completed another encouraging day for Ferrari by pace ahead of Max Verstappen in Australia’s second GP training session, with Mercedes down on the pitch in a miserable start to the weekend.
Leclerc, the league leader, and Verstappen, the world champions, took part in two exciting races to start the season and continued their battle on Melbourne’s training day – although Ferrari seems a step faster than Red Bull’s closest rivals.
After Carlos Sainz reached the top of the first session, Leclerc doubled his speed in the second practice with 1: 18.978, two tenths faster than Verstappen, who cut a frustrated figure and could not complete a full lap.
“Ferrari looks a little untouched,” said Paul Di Resta of Sky Sports F1.
Sainz was third for the first leaders of 2022, ahead of Fernando Alonso’s surprise package at Alpine and Sergio Perez’s other Red Bull.
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Lance Stroll causes a red flag as he climbs the curb and loses part of his car.
Lance Stroll causes a red flag as he climbs the curb and loses part of his car.
Alpine, stirring up the front, also had Esteban Ocon in sixth.
These are the places you would normally expect from Mercedes, but the world champions are still confused and far from the pace.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished very low at 11th and 13th respectively in P2, after a second difference from Leclerc’s point of reference.
Sebastian Vettel also had a disappointing day on his return to F1 after a forced absence due to Covid. After stopping until the first training session, the four-time world champion did not go off the track at all with his Aston Martin in the second period.
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Sebastian Vettel runs to catch a fire extinguisher as his car engine starts to smoke.
Sebastian Vettel runs to catch a fire extinguisher as his car engine starts to smoke.
There was, however, a more encouraging day for McLaren with a Mercedes engine.
The Woking team showed flash in both training sessions on Friday and finished the day in eighth and 10th place through Lando Norris and home hero Daniel Ricciardo.
Ferrari one step ahead and what about Mercedes?
The return of F1 to Albert Park for the first time since 2019 saw some trends in early 2022 continue. Ferrari and Red Bull, Leclerc and Verstappen, seem ready to fight forward again, while Mercedes is still racing.
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Disappointed Lewis Hamilton says the new changes do not seem to improve the car.
Disappointed Lewis Hamilton says the new changes do not seem to improve the car.
Ferrari and Red Bull, who took the first real opportunity to upgrade their cars, did just that with a few tweaks, but Mercedes was one of only two teams to make no improvements.
And the results on the opening day in Melbourne were ominous.
While Ferrari in particular could easily connect fast laps, even when sealing, the Mercedes car was neither smooth nor fast, with Hamilton and Russell remaining low after the session.
“Nothing you change in the car makes a difference right now, that’s the hard part,” Hamilton said.
“You are very optimistic and make changes, and then you do not seem to want to improve. It is just a difficult car.”
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Max Verstappen says that Ferrari seemed faster in practice, but he is sure of the improvements that Red Bull has made.
Max Verstappen says that Ferrari seemed faster in practice, but he is sure of the improvements that Red Bull has made.
Mercedes is hoping for a solution later this month, though this weekend can be a painful touch.
Although in a much better position than Merc, Red Bull may also be concerned – seemingly a little further away from Ferrari in the first two laps, despite Scuderia claiming that this track fits them better.
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George Russell says they need to understand the car’s limitations before Saturday’s qualifiers.
George Russell says they need to understand the car’s limitations before Saturday’s qualifiers.
“Red Bull has work to do,” Di Resta said.
“They certainly do not feel comfortable and Max is on the verge of trying to reduce the lap time.”
The action continues on Saturday morning, with the final training live on Sky Sports F1 at 4am before qualifying at 7am.
Australia GP Two Internship Time Sheet
Drivers team time 1) Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1: 18.978 2) Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.245 3) Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.398 4) Fernando Alonso Alpine +0.559 5) Sergio Perez Red Bull +0.680 O.70.6) Alpine 6) Valterri Bott Alfa Romeo +1.077 8) Pierre Gasly Alpha Tauri +1.122 9) Lando Norris McLaren +1.164 10) Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +1.225 11) George Russell Mercedes +1.234 12) Al Yuki Tauri 4 +1 Mercedes +1. 14) Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.633 15) Guanyu Zhao Alfa Romeo +2.085 16) Kevin Magnussen Haas +2.213 17) Alex Albon Williams +2.934 18) Mick Schumacher …
