2006 Australian Grand Prix winner, Fernando Alonso, had an excellent opening day at the Albert Park Circuit after finishing Free Practice 2 in a superb fourth place.
It was a great performance by the Spaniard, who was delayed slightly in Free Practice 1 after a few small issues. Alonso was ninth after the morning session but rose towards the front of the field in the afternoon, eventually ending up in fourth place. The Double World Champion ended the day just under six tenths behind pacesetter Charles Leclerc, who looked blisteringly quick Down Under.
Despite ending the day fourth, Alonso believes there is still more time to find, after reporting some balance issues at the end of the day.
“We had some minor things that delayed us a little in Free Practice 1, but we still managed a pretty normal day for us. We completed a good amount of running and got a lot of information from both sessions. There are some balance issues that we need to solve, especially on the higher fuel runs.
“I obviously saw the track yesterday, but I think the changes are positive and the lap is obviously much quicker now. I’m not sure if there will be more overtaking on Sunday, but let’s see. It’s definitely great to be back here in Melbourne.”
“A very positive day for the team” – Esteban Ocon
Esteban Ocon also had an excellent start to the first Australian Grand Prix since 2019, the Frenchman made it both BWT Alpine F1 Team cars in the top ten after ending Friday in sixth place.
With a best-time of a 1:19.842, Ocon ended the day almost nine tenths behind Leclerc, and three tenths behind his experienced team-mate.
Ocon is pleased with how his day went, although he knows that he can’t become complacent as the midfield is yet again incredibly close.
“First of all it was great to be back driving here in Albert Park and also getting a real-life look at the changes that have been made. Overall, a very positive day for the team where both cars finished in the top ten in both free practices. But we know it’s all about tomorrow and Sunday and we can already see that it’s going to be very tight like it was in Bahrain and Jeddah.
“The competition is close, especially in the midfield, so we will be working hard to put it all together for qualifying. It should be pretty exciting and hopefully the team can have another solid day tomorrow to be in a good position for the race.”
Credit: BWT Alpine F1 Team