Australian Grand Prix: Rain causes unknowns as Fernando Alonso tops FP2 after chaotic FP1 in Melbourne

Fernando Alonso was fastest in a rain-affected second practice for the Australian Grand Prix. Alonso beat Charles Leclerc by 0.445 seconds, with Max Verstappen a further 0.170 further adrift, although all the best lap times were set on the medium tyres as rain meant the normal qualifying simulations were not conducted. Ad George Russell was fourth for Mercedes, while Lewis Hamilton struggled with setup so was down in 13th place.

Formula 1Mercedes ‘will take a year’ to catch Red Bull, says Hamilton16 HOURS AGO «It was a good Friday for us and nice to be back in Australia,” said Alonso. “In FP1, we concentrated on some test items and ran through our programme smoothly. »The afternoon was obviously impacted by the rain, so there is still some work to do tomorrow.

We need to learn more about the tyres and the long-run pace of the car because there was not much time for that today. «So far, though, the car seems to behave well. The forecast tomorrow looks dry for now, and we would welcome that given we only experienced these conditions in the previous two races.» Alonso’s FP2 time was slower than the fastest lap in FP1, which was set by Verstappen.

The championship leader had a trip through the gravel in a manic first practice, as well as a big spin at Turn 4. Team-mate Sergio Perez also went into the gravel, with Hamilton having a massive moment at the high-speed left-hander at Turn 11. Mercedes ‘will take a year’ to catch Red Bull, says Hamilton ‘Physically limited’ Verstappen felt like he was ‘missing a lung’ as Saudi Arabian GP Yuki Tsunoda got away with a big spin at the first chicane as he just avoided the barriers, and there were also two red flags for a GPS system problem and an electrical issue for Logan Sargeant.