The first day in Melbourne, where the first two free practice sessions for the F1 Australian Grand Prix were held on Friday, was over for Max Verstappen. After the Red Bull Racing driver finished FP1 in fourth, FP2 went a little better with a second place.
Verstappen enjoyed the practice sessions but was not completely satisfied, as in the past, the Dutchman was not happy with the balance of the RB18.
F1 Australian Grand Prix FP1 : Ferrari beats Red Bull with fastest time
Charles Leclerc was the fastest of the day in his Ferrari, while we find his teammate Carlos Sainz in P3. At the Albert Park Circuit, Fernando Alonso rounded out the top five in his Alpine and Max’ Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez.
“In the first free practice and the start of the second, the balance was not yet right”, Max said after the second free practice in Melbourne. “We changed the car a bit for the last run and it felt a lot better. We’re losing something at Ferrari, but we’re trying to narrow the gap a bit. They are fast again.”
F1 Australian Grand Prix FP2 : Leclerc fastest man at Albert Park
Max continues: “In the long run everything seems stable and good, and I’m happy about that. We’ve made some real progress today. That was necessary because in the beginning it was a bit tricky. We are moving in the right direction and I hope we can make some minor adjustments for tomorrow.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the weekend, Max says: “You don’t know what tomorrow will look like, but Ferrari seems fast again. We still have some work to do but we are more or less there.”
The world champion is also positive about the changes to the track: “Yes, it’s good, the grip is good, the bumps are less so you can attack the corners better. I enjoyed my laps today.”
Times standings and differences after round 2 Formula 1 season 2022
Saturday is the third free practice session and it will take place at 13:00 local time , the qualifying starts 3 hours later at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne where the many fans will again be present in the stands.