Sainz Leads Leclerc in Opening Australian Grand Prix Practice at Revised Albert Park

Carlos Sainz Jr. started the Australian Grand Prix weekend on the front foot as he topped the first free practice session around the revised Albert Park circuit on Friday morning.

All twenty drivers were experiencing the updated track for the first time after modifications since Formula 1 last raced there in 2019, and it proved tricky for many, particularly on the exit of the widened turn three.

Scuderia Ferrari had the edge on the rest of the field, with Sainz leading team-mate Charles Leclerc at the top of a twice red-flagged session, the first for debris from the Oracle Red Bull Racing RB18 of Sergio Pérez and the second for an engine issue for Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team’s Sebastian Vettel.

Sainz was the only driver to dip below an eighty second lap time during the session, with the Spaniard setting a time of 1:19.806, while a trip across the gravel trap for Leclerc meant he ended up more than half a second down.

Despite causing the red flag, Pérez ended the session third fastest, just 0.022 seconds back on Leclerc, with the Mexican’s team-mate and reigning World Champion Max Verstappen a further two-tenths of a second back in fourth as the battle at the front again looks to be one between Red Bull and Ferrari, as it has been in the opening two rounds.

Lando Norris was the best of the rest for the McLaren F1 Team in fifth, the British racer more than a second down on Sainz’s best time, and with team-mate Daniel Ricciardo up in eighth, it might be a sign that the Woking-based team are beginning to understand more about their MCL36.

Esteban Ocon was sixth fastest, proving again that the BWT Alpine F1 Team have a handy car in 2022, and he was backed up by team-mate Fernando Alonso in ninth, although the Spaniard had a moment at turn three that saw him running through the gravel trap.

Lewis Hamilton ended seventh fastest, but it was apparent that the issues that affected the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team in the opening two races were still prevalent as he ended 1.221 seconds down on Sainz, although he was better off than team-mate George Russell, who ended up down in twelfth.

Rounding out the top ten was Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN’s Valtteri Bottas, while Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda missed out on the top ten by just 0.042 seconds. 

Vettel, who missed the opening two races of the season after testing positive for COVID-19, ended twelfth fastest, but his session ended prematurely after the Mercedes engine at the back of his Aston Martin developed an issue.  It caused the second red flag of the session as he ground to a halt at the exit of turn ten.

The second AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly ended fourteenth ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, with the second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll down in sixteenth.  Alexander Albon was seventeenth for Williams Racing ahead of the unwell Kevin Magnussen – who was suffering with nausea before the session and missed media duties as a result – of the Haas F1 Team, while their respective team-mates – Nicholas Latifi and Mick Schumacher – rounded out the field.

Albert Park Free Practice One Result