Charles Leclerc was quickest from Max Verstappen in second practice on a dramatic Friday at the Australian Grand Prix.
Leclerc was 0.381s ahead of Verstappen, whose day was far from straightforward after damaging his floor in first practice.
Verstappen led dominant Red Bull one-twos at the two opening events and leads the championship by 15 points from team-mate Sergio Perez.
Ferrari will also be encouraged to see Carlos Sainz in third after he returned from successful appendix surgery which forced him to miss the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The other key moment of the day was Alex Albon’s massive crash during first practice as he went off in the high-speed first sector and hit two walls.
Albon missed second practice but Williams do not have a spare chassis, so should his car require a new one, the team may only have one car for the remainder of the weekend.
“Alex Albon has damaged his chassis – that’s the survival cell, the tub around which the front and rear suspension and front suspension, the engine and nose cone actually go onto,” said Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz.
“The question is now, because they don’t have a spare chassis, whether they can repair that chassis. They don’t know that yet, they hope they can but if they can’t, they will have to face the question of whether they swap Alex Albon for Logan Sargeant and that’s a question they will struggle with throughout the evening.”
Several other drivers also had offs but managed to avoid the walls, including Lewis Hamilton who didn’t appear to be happy with his Mercedes as he finished ninth and 18th in the two sessions.
Hamilton went wide at Turn 10 on more than one occasion and also had a trip through the grass at the first chicane, underlining his dissatisfaction with his car.
The seven-time world champion failed to get a clean lap in on his soft tyre runs, before sustaining damage when running wide which broke the ‘cake tin’, which is an alternative title for the carbon fibre shroud that goes around the front wheel hub and the brake calliper and the disc.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Zhou Guanyu blocks Max Verstappen to his displeasure during a flying lap in Practice Two in Australia
Elsewhere in second practice, Aston Martin looked strong with Lance Stroll in fourth and Fernando Alonso in fifth.
George Russell was seven-tenths behind Leclerc’s leading time in sixth, with Oscar Piastri seventh on home soil, Sergio Perez eighth, Lando Norris in ninth and Yuki Tsunoda 10th.
Norris quickest in first practice
Earlier in the day, Norris was fastest in an eventful first practice in Melbourne from Verstappen with the top six cars split by less than one tenth of a second.
Norris set the quickest time of the session before Albon had his big crash at the fast Turns 6 and 7, rebounding off the wall which brought out a red flag with 20 minutes to go.
Several drivers made mistakes, particularly at the quick right-hander of Turn 10 with Alonso the first car to make a trip across the gravel and damaged his floor.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Fernando Alonso misses the apex and finds the gravel at Turn 10 in practice one
Hamilton and Verstappen also went wide at the same corner near the end of the session and both reported floor damage.
Verstappen’s second-place time was set as the chequered flag fell and he was only 0.018s slower than Norris.
Russell was third, ahead of Ferrari’s Leclerc, RB’s Tsunoda and the Red Bull of Perez but track conditions were unrepresentative as the circuit sped up during the session.
Sky Sports F1’s live Australian GP schedule
The third round of the 2024 F1 season takes place on Sunday, with lights out at 4am on Sky Sports F1
Saturday March 23
- 0.10am: F3 Sprint
- 1.10am: Australian GP Practice Three (session starts at 1.30am)
- 3.10am: F2 Sprint
- 4.15am: Australian GP Qualifying build-up
- 5am: Australian GP Qualifying
- 7am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
- 7.30am: Australian GP Qualifying highlights
- 8.30am: Australian GP Qualifying replay (Sky Showcase)
- 10.30am: Australian GP Qualifying replay
- 10pm: F3 Feature Race
Sunday March 24
- 0.30am: F2 Feature Race
- 3am: Australian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday
- 4am: THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
- 6am: Australian GP reaction: Chequered flag
- 7am: Ted’s Notebook
- 7.30am: Australian GP highlights
- 8.30am: Australian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday replay
- 9.30am: Australian GP race replay
- 10am: Australian GP highlights (Sky Showcase)
- 11.30am: Australian GP reaction: Chequered flag replay
Formula 1’s biggest ever season continues with the Australian Grand Prix this weekend, with Sunday’s race live on Sky Sports F1 at 4am. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – no contract, cancel anytime
Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp!
You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel!
