Formula 1 | Australia, EL3: Leclerc in lead, 4 drivers in tenths

EL3 of the 2024 Australian F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne was under very cloudy skies, in contrast to the very good weather. There were 19 of them at the start of this last free session, as Logan Sergeant was sacrificed by Williams after Alex Albon’s crash in FP1.

Sergio Perez set the first benchmark of the day in 1’19″206, while Max Verstappen complained of brake problems: “They don’t work, they don’t bite”he said before offering to test them instead of changing immediately.

An apparently decisive test since the three-time world champion beat his team-mate’s time in 1’18″591. Like Perez, he was equipped with a medium tyre, and only the two Red Bull drivers were riding at the start of the session.

The Mexican responded with a 1’17″927 to the delight of technical director Pierre Wache and director Christian Horner, who were laughing at the pit wall. Perez explained that the brakes were better on this second lap. Aston Martin F1 drivers as well as Carlos Sainz Then came to the track.

The Red Bull drivers improved, Verstappen regained the lead in 1’17″100, and Perez improved in 1’17″150. Carlos Sainz was 1.3″ behind, then improved by four tenths, while Charles Leclerc was six tenths back.

Lewis Hamilton came out on the soft tires as did George Russell, but the seven-time world champion was 1.5 seconds behind, including 1.1 seconds in the straight, much to his dismay. Sainz set a best time of 1’16″791, still in the mediums.

Lando Norris was fifth on the soft tire and Russell went sixth on the same compound. Leclerc improved in the middle but was eventually stopped in the last sector after a mistake. Albon did not improve in the last sector either, when Oscar Piastre took sixth.

Lance Stroll, on soft tyres, moved up to ninth behind Daniel Ricciardo, with Nico Hulkenberg eighth and Hamilton sixth. All these drivers were on soft tyres.

Russell moved into fifth place with soft tires that did not perform well in the conditions, which were cooler than the day before. Leclerc, still in the mediums, moved into second place 0″296 behind Sainz, this time without any mistakes in his last sector.

Leclerc was upset at being blocked by Aston Martin: “One thing’s for sure, and that’s that we always have an Aston Martin, at some point, in the middle of the track. All the time.”.

Elbon, one of the five drivers not to use soft tires so far, finished seventh, but said the rear tires “Dead After 9 Years”. Piastre overtook him in this position, while the Ferraris and Red Bulls had not yet fitted soft tyres.

Piastre set a third-best first sector, and he didn’t hesitate to take digs at himself in terms of his previous mistakes: “It’s crazy what happens when you stop being stupid in turn 1.”

Russell complained on the radio that he was regularly harassed by his teammates: “Guys, I always see Lewis at the track, every time!” Hamilton, on the other hand, slipped to second, while Verstappen put on the soft tyre.

The Dutchman set a fifth without bettering his best time in the mediums, while Russell finished third behind his teammate. Ricciardo also finished 12th and Tsunoda ninth.

Sainz improved on the first sector absolute best but was unable to better the previous best time achieved on the medium tyre. Verstappen improved in the second sector to finish fourth and close by a tenth of Russell Sainz. Leclerc finished third, 0.033 seconds behind his teammate.

Perez dropped to fifth, but it was without counting on Verstappen who improved to take the best time of the session in 1’16″734! Alonso took sixth, and Leclerc beat Verstappen in 1’16″714! Sainz is third ahead of Mercedes, Alonso, Perez, Piastre, Stroll and Norris.

Be careful though, Sainz is under investigation for not respecting the initial testing protocol. Ferrari will study the driver’s case after the race management session.