An exciting end to the first day of practice as the Australian Grand Prix witnessed its highest-ever attendance on a practice day, marking a historic turnout for the event.
Grip levels proved to be a challenge for all drivers, a common struggle as the weekend progressed. With dust lingering from previous sessions and the promise of increasing grip levels throughout the weekend, each driver faced the task of finding the right balance between speed and control in today’s second practice session.
The majority of drivers opted to start the session on medium tires before transitioning to soft compounds – a strategic choice on circuits characterized by moderate to high tire degradation.
Williams, unfortunately, endured a day to forget as Logan Sargeant narrowly avoided disaster in the first half of FP2, spinning off into the gravel. With the team lacking a spare chassis following Alex Albon’s crash in FP1, the pressure was on Sargeant to deliver a solid performance and minimize risks ahead of the race. The team is facing the prospect of having only a single car during both qualifying and the race.
Following an incident in FP1, where Max Verstappen struck the exit curb of turn 10, he joined the practice session late. Ultimately – and unsurprisingly- securing a position in the top three of FP2 while Sergio Perez battled with the second Red Bull, landing in 8th place.
Both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were working hard in the Mercedes, lacking grip on the rear axle and going over the grass in the same turn.
The day proved to be particularly impressive for the Ferrari, as both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc demonstrated significant progress in narrowing the gap to the leading Red Bull cars. Despite undergoing recent surgery, Sainz exhibited remarkable resilience by maintaining pace with teammate Charles Leclerc throughout the session. The latter, however, did find himself in the gravel and then over the grass as the practice session closed, avoiding any damage to the car.
The session ended with Leclerc, Verstappen, and Sainz on top.