Lewis Hamilton paced both Friday practice sessions ahead of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix but Ferrari and Red Bull appear to have strong long run pace, setting up an interesting opening weekend of the season.
Starting where he left off in 2018, Hamilton ensured that his name sat atop of the pile at Albert Park but at no point did this give off any concerns that the weekend as a whole was now a foregone conclusion.
In both sessions, the second place driver was less than half a tenth behind – in practice one this was Sebastian Vettel and in practice two it was his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. Charles Leclerc had also showed well in practice one but struggled to hook it all up in the second session as Ferrari were seemingly running with more fuel onboard than the Silver Arrows. A spin late in the day for Leclerc put a small blemish on his day but aside from that one moment, the Monegasque driver can be pleased with how his debut is going so far.
Red Bull and Honda began their relationship well with both drivers ending the day in the top-four. Memories of Honda’s fragility had almost vanished when all of a sudden, as the checkered flag fell, Pierre Gasly came over the radio to report that he had no power.
Whether the issue was anything to do with the Honda power unit or was something completely separate remains to be seen but for the moment, it can be said that the car has pace and is looking good.
Alfa Romeo had shown strongly in winter testing and Kimi Raikkonen proved that this was no flash in the pan as he finished both practice sessions in sixth place. The Finnish F1 veteran was typically quiet in the way he went about his business, slipping under the radar until the session ended and the results could be seen.
The real test for his team will come on Sunday when their top-10 credentials will really be put to the test.
Down the bottom of the order was, predictably, Williams.
It’s only the first race of the season but it is impossible not to have an element of sympathy for Robert Kubica but especially for George Russell. Sergey Sirotkin, Stoffell Vandoorne and Jolyon Palmer are all recent examples of drivers making the step up from GP2/Formula 2 into F1 but have been given a car that provides no opportunity to showcase their talents, eventually costing them a career in the sport.
In practice one, Williams were over four seconds off the pace and this was only closed to 3.8 seconds in practice two. Unless something drastic happens overnight, the back row of the grid looks set to comprise of the two Williams cars.
Practice Two Results
Pos.
Driver
Constructor
Tire
Time
1
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
S
1:22.600
2
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
S
+0.048
3
Max Verstappen
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
S
+0.800
4
Pierre Gasly
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
S
+0.842
5
Sebastian Vettel
Scuderia Ferrari
S
+0.873
6
Kimi Raikkonen
Alfa Romeo Racing
S
+0.972
7
Nico Hulkenberg
Renault F1 Team
S
+0.974
8
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault F1 Team
S
+1.044
9
Charles Leclerc
Scuderia Ferrari
S
+1.154
10
Romain Grosjean
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
S
+1.214
11
Daniil Kvyat
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
S
+1.333
12
Kevin Magnussen
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
S
+1.388
13
Lance Stroll
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
S
+1.411
14
Carlos Sainz Jr.
McLaren F1 Team
S
+1.533
15
Antonio Giovinazzi
Alfa Romeo Racing
S
+1.693
16
Sergio Perez
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
S
+1.801
17
Alexander Albon
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
S
+2.075
18
Lando Norris
McLaren F1 Team
S
+2.133
19
George Russell
ROKiT Williams Racing
S
+3.853
20
Robert Kubica
ROKiT Williams Racing
S
+4.055
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