The session in Melbourne was chaotic as the 20 Formula 1 drivers familiarized themselves with the Albert Park circuit. Many of them lost control of their cars at various corners, resulting in a series of accidents. Unfortunately, Alex Albon was the unlucky one who crashed, causing the session to be halted with a Red Flag.
Although Albon escaped unharmed, his Williams mechanics now face the daunting task of repairing his heavily damaged car, which suffered impacts from both sides.
After a two-week break following the season-opening double header in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Formula 1 now heads to Australia for the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
While another weekend of Red Bull and Verstappen dominance is expected, the sport has not been devoid of drama, albeit mostly off-track. The Christian Horner saga continues to unfold as we prepare for the race in Melbourne. Additionally, the FIA ethics committee cleared President Mohammed Ben Sulayem of allegations related to an attempt to manipulate the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The committee also investigated his involvement in obstructing the approval of the Las Vegas track. However, Susie Wolff has taken matters into her own hands and filed a lawsuit against the FIA in France. The lawsuit is based on the FIA’s brief investigation into a potential conflict of interest involving an F1 team principal and a Formula 1 One Management employee in December 2023. Christian Horner may find solace in the lawsuit, hoping that it diverts attention away from him temporarily.
In positive news, Carlos Sainz will return to his Ferrari this weekend after missing the Saudi race due to appendix surgery. However, he has made it clear that he will not push himself too hard and will call in sick if he doesn’t feel fully capable. Oliver Bearman is on standby as a backup option.
Both Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri will be thrilled to compete in their home race, particularly Piastri, who hails from Melbourne. While the McLaren youngster may have a better chance of putting on an impressive performance for the fans, Daniel Ricciardo’s current form and his VCARB may lead to disappointment.
This race presents yet another opportunity for Red Bull to assert their dominance as the fastest team, with Ferrari hot on their heels. The performance of McLaren, Mercedes, and Aston Martin behind them remains to be seen.
As for the tire selection, Pirelli has brought the C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), and C5 (Soft) compounds for this weekend’s race. These are softer selections compared to last year’s Australian Grand Prix.
The session commenced under clear weather conditions, with the track temperature at 31 degrees Celsius and the ambient temperature at 18 degrees.
The drivers wasted no time and soon Russell communicated through the radio about vibrations in the steering mechanism and a prolonged brake pedal. Hamilton also experienced a similar issue with his brake pedal.
Except for Perez and Leclerc, who opted for Soft tires, all other drivers chose to equip their cars with Medium tires. It is worth noting that the Medium and Hard tires will be the preferred choice for the upcoming race this weekend.
Around ten minutes into the session, Piastri’s McLaren momentarily lost control in Turn 9 while on a fast lap, but he managed to regain control.
More than ten minutes into the session, Verstappen initiated his first timed lap on Soft tires and secured the fifth fastest time, with Perez leading the pack and Leclerc in second place, but soon surpassed by Verstappen.
However, the reigning F1 Champion swiftly accelerated and achieved the fastest time, surpassing Leclerc by over four tenths of a second.
Therefore, after 15 minutes into the session, the order was as follows: Verstappen – Leclerc – Perez – Piastri – Tsunoda – Norris – Stroll – Magnussen – Ocon – Ricciardo.
It was only at this point that Alonso began his first timed lap, as a replay revealed the Aston Martin mechanics working on the #14 Green car and removing the aerodynamic racks.
After 20 minutes had elapsed, Sainz had already completed ten laps and secured the eighth fastest time. Meanwhile, Russell reported that his brakes were performing better and embarked on a timed lap, ultimately achieving the 11th fastest time.
Alonso encountered a significant moment in Turn 10 and ended up experiencing a bumpy ride in the gravel trap.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso had a nerve-wracking incident while exiting Turn 10!
The driver skillfully maneuvered through the gravel at high speed, narrowly avoiding a collision with the wall.
In the first practice session, there were concerns about the braking performance, with Albon in the Williams experiencing issues. He reported that his car was veering left and right when he applied the brakes. Norris also encountered trouble halfway through the session, as he bottomed out and asked his team to check the floor of his car. Hulkenberg had a similar situation earlier with the Haas team.
During the session, several drivers opted to use Soft tires. Norris, in particular, set the fastest time, beating Verstappen by one-tenth of a second. Stroll also used Soft tires and achieved the third fastest time.
Meanwhile, Alonso struggled and found himself at the bottom of the timing screens. He was stuck in the garage while his team worked on changing the floor of his AMR24 after he had gone off-track earlier.
With only 20 minutes remaining, Russell had a scary moment in the Turn 9/10 chicane but managed to maintain control of his car impressively. Bottas also had a spin in his Sauber at the same spot. Unfortunately, Albon was not as fortunate, as he crashed at the exit of Turn 8 after hitting the kerb too hard. This incident caused a Red Flag, but thankfully, Albon was unharmed.
The Williams mechanics faced a daunting task of repairing Albon’s car before the second practice session.
The session resumed with ten minutes left on the clock, and Ocon led the pack out on track. Hamilton had a moment of his own at Turn 1, with the rear end of his W15 stepping out. Verstappen also had a moment in the Turn 9/10 complex, and Perez had a scruffy lap, losing control of his RB20 on the penultimate lap.
Sainz reported an incident in the pitlane, where a Haas car tapped the rear of his Ferrari while waiting to exit the track.
Hamilton encountered another issue as he went over the kerbs at Turn 10, suspecting that he may have damaged the floor of his car. Verstappen expressed the same concern to his engineer.
The first practice session concluded with practice starts.
Report in progress…