Alonso leads wet Free 2 for Australia

Fernando Alonso led the second free practice of the Australian F1 GP. Sounds good and that’s what the time table shows. But the truth says otherwise. The Spaniard set a good time in the first part of the session on the soft rubber, but has many direct rivals who still do not use that compound. And there, with a lot of fabric to be cut, the rain came to end the work programs of all the teams. The times didn’t move and that made the Spaniard finish FP2 on top, but it wasn’t representative. Max Verstappen, who led the first Free Practice sessions with great authority, is the great favourite. Of course, the Aston Martin It continues to be very good, in line with the previous Grand Prix and that is the best news for Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard is seeking his third podium in three races, something he only achieved in 2005 and 2006, where he was champion.

Aston Martin needs to confirm their car’s performance on another track. In Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, very different layouts, the second best car in the race. And at the always difficult Albert Park, the Spaniard once again showed good speed on day one. But it is too early to draw conclusions.

The water fell on Free 2, a more representative session because it was held on asphalt with more rubber and in conjunction with this Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race, prevented the teams from showing their cards. The teams had to take advantage of FP2 to carry out qualifying and race simulations, showing their long speeds and their tire wear. But the rain blinded everyone.

All teams will have to tighten their seatbelts in Free Practice 3 to perform their tests before an important classification this Saturday in the always difficult Albert Parkwhich already reminded the pilots of their additional difficulties in the few Free 1 where many track exits and lots of traffic were seen. That last element marked the first part of Free Practice 2, with all the teams trying to get things going in the first minutes knowing that the rain was about to fall. And fell.

blind

Before that, from the Top-10 they put soft tires Fernando Alonso, Leclerc, Sainz, Ocon, Pérez, Norris and Gasly, some of them without setting a time in that compound. This made it clear how unrepresentative the results of Free Practice 2 were. Leclerc was 2nd, 0″445 behind the Spaniard, with Verstappen in third position at 0″615 using only the medium tyre, unable to turn due to traffic. Few doubt that if the Dutchman had been able to attack on the soft rubber he would have finished first after dominating with an iron fist and when not sweating the first free.

Russell was 4th on hard rubber, Sainz was 5th at 0.808 on soft and he needed to improve Free Practice 3 by a lap to get the most out of his SF-23’s early season power. , his Ocon was 6th in Alpine, which was fast last year in Australia, and Pérez finished 7th, without time to set a good time, with many traffic problems that prevented the him to close out what looked like a good comeback

A transferred classification

Facing the classification this Saturday (7:00 am) and the race on Sunday, some doubts have been cleared. Despite this, of course Red Bull are favourites, with Verstappen starting a step ahead of the ‘Czech’, after failing to win in Jeddah. Max doesn’t want to lose another victory, let alone give his partner wings. Aston Martin is still leading and Alonso should be a clear contender for the podium and be the second best car in the race.

The Ferrari can be better in a corner than the green cars, although in the race it will be another story. And Hamilton, who was second in Free Practice 1 with Mercedes, could be in that chase fight with his teammate Russell in the ‘qualy’. The scenario seems to have changed little compared to the first two rounds, except for Ferrari, who had a better first feeling than in Jeddah.

Qualifying looks exciting, especially because of the many nerves that can be on a track that leaves no room for error and where the traffic is crazy. Furthermore, everyone will come with fewer conclusions. Alonso said it: “At Albert Park anything can happen”. Nothing more to add.