Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso dazzled in a rain-interrupted second observe on the Australian Grand Prix on Friday, clocking the quickest lap time forward of Ferrari sensation Charles Leclerc, with defending world champion Max Verstappen shut behind in third.
The Spanish veteran adopted up his podium finishes on the first two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia by topping the Melbourne timesheets.
He powered across the bumpy Albert Park circuit underneath darkening clouds and earlier than the 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.
Leclerc, who gained in Australia final 12 months, got here an encouraging second after Ferrari’s early season reliability and tempo points, practically half a second adrift however forward of Verstappen.
The Red Bull pilot, the early championship chief, clocked a 1:18.790 within the first observe when he had an out-of-character spin, which was higher than Alonso’s second session greatest.
But the Dutchman had no first rate alternative to enhance on it on a moist monitor.
Red Bull are trying to attain a 3rd consecutive 1-2 end for the primary time within the workforce’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 observe however might solely handle a disappointing thirteenth in FP2.
His teammate George Russell was fourth forward of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon sixth.
McLaren’s Lando Norris, Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly within the different Alpine rounded out the highest 10.
Williams’ Logan Sargeant, who had {an electrical} downside through the first observe, failed to finish a lap.
As in FP1, Sainz was first out and set the early tempo earlier than Verstappen, who made his debut on the 2015 Australian GP as a 17-year-old, shortly took over to energy clear.
But his reign on the high was temporary, with Alonso posting a scorching lap and Leclerc additionally bettering him earlier than gentle rain started falling and the umbrellas went up within the grandstand.
Virtually all of the automobiles headed again to the pits with 40 minutes remaining after Norris ran onto the grass at Turn 1 when his grip failed and Lance Stroll tapped a wall in his Aston Martin.
The drizzle eased and several other automobiles headed again out, together with Sainz and Leclerc with plumes of spray behind their automobiles.
But they did not final, with Leclerc saying on the workforce radio “there’s no point driving like this.”
Others ventured out to check the waters later, primarily to collect knowledge in case there’s extra rain on Saturday, however nobody improved their instances.
As it stands, the forecast for Sunday’s race is dry.
In an eventful first observe, Haas’s Kevin Magnussen and Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda each skidded into the gravel with the Japanese star hitting it backward and narrowly avoiding the boundaries.
There have been additionally some shut calls with that session red-flagged for security causes due to GPS points, with groups not in a position to monitor automobile place and shutting pace correctly.
It was halted once more when Sargeant stopped on the monitor with simply minutes remaining.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
