F1 Australian GP: Leclerc leads second practice from McLaren pair, Hamilton fifth

Charles Leclerc led McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in second observe for Method 1’s Australian Grand Prix, with Ferrari lastly exhibiting extra of its new automobile potential.

Within the different SF-25, Lewis Hamilton completed fifth behind Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda, with a 0.4s hole to his session-leading team-mate.

Tsunoda, Norris and Williams driver Carlos Sainz loved transient spells on the prime of the instances early within the one-hour session, earlier than Leclerc’s 1m16.794s greatest effort on the medium tyres set a brand new benchmark.

At this stage across the one-third mark, Hamilton had slotted into second, though with a 0.4s hole to Leclerc on the identical medium rubber.

As the sector then trickled out for the mid-session qualifying simulation efforts, it was Tsunoda who lastly toppled Leclerc with a 1m16.784s, because the McLaren drivers took longer to rise up to hurry with the gentle tyres the pack had now switched too.

Simply after Max Verstappen had deserted his first softs run in a wayward Purple Bull, Norris moved forward with a 1m16.580s, as Piastri’s first flier on the red-walled rubber put him third.

With underneath half-hour remaining, Leclerc put in his first run on the softs and moved again to the highest – setting FP2’s greatest time at 1m16.439s.

Hamilton had posted his softs flier simply earlier than, however he couldn’t get forward of Tsunoda and each have been then shuffled down by Piastri’s achieve on a second qualifying simulation effort to leap to second and path Leclerc by 0.124s, with Norris’s greatest an extra 0.017s behind.

One other late gainer was Verstappen, who moved as much as sit seventh behind Isack Hadjar within the different RB, who appeared to have an impeding second with Norris in the beginning of the mid-session efficiency runs.

Verstappen had deserted his first lap after going very deep at Flip 1 after which sliding at Flip 3, because the RB21 continued its recalcitrant begin to the marketing campaign.

Nico Hulkenberg emerged from a heavy early journey by means of the Flip 6 exit gravel to take eighth for Sauber, forward of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and lead Mercedes driver George Russell.

Within the different W16, Andrea Kimi Antonelli ended FP2 forward of Liam Lawson within the different Purple Bull, whereas FP1 shunter Oliver Bearman missed all the session after Haas couldn’t full the repairs in time.

The session concluded with the same old late-FP2 race-data-gathering lengthy runs, which handed with out main incidents – though Russell had a visit down the Flip 13 escape street late on.

F1 Australian GP – FP2 outcomes