Dutch max. Verstappen (Red Bull) was fastest in first free practice this Friday The Australian Grand Prix is on the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne in a session with two red flags that ended early. Verstappen, current world champion and never winning in Australia, is at the best of his laps one minute, 18 seconds and 790 thousandthswith a soft tyre, the only tire down from 1:19.
Dutch 433k faster than second Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)The third-best timer from Verstappen at 503k – with intermediate wheels on his best laps -. Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) finished the session in fourth place, stopping the clock on hard tires in 527 thousandths of the best time, while compatriot Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) finished sixth in Red’s 715th of a thousandth. Bull.
After the second half of the training session, the session was interrupted for about 10 minutes with a red flag for security reasons due to a problem with the GPS tracking system. These problems caused heavy traffic in some sectors of the track, but the expertise of drivers such as Chinese Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) prevented an accident.
With less than 5 minutes left in practice, America’s Logan Sargeant’s Williams stopped working due to mechanical problems and stalled on the grass near Turn 11. they raised the red flag again and marked the end of the session.
The 5,303-kilometer-long Albert Park settlement has been classified as a fast track since its reconstruction last year, which removed some of the slower corners. The Australian GP, which traditionally opens the World Cup, is the third test of 23 races on the calendar this season since 2022.