Charles Leclerc kept himself and Ferrari on top in cloudy FP3 of F1 Australian GP by close margin against Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.
It was not hugely hectic in FP3 of F1 Australian GP unlike what was seen on Friday, but the weather was cloudy to cool down the track temperature. It was slightly bizarre situation towards the end of the session, especially on the soft compound.
Drivers did multiple fast laps on the soft compound but never stitched everything together which made it a close field. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc kept himself on top after a late lap of 1m16.714s which was set after the chequered flag was dropped.
He pipped Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who only improved few seconds ago than Leclerc, with only 0.020s between them. In fact, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in third was only 0.077s behind, while fourth-placed Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton only 0.092s aloof.
Interestingly, Sainz couldn’t beat his best time that he set on the medium tyre despite multiple attempts on the soft compound. Mercedes’ George Russell was fifth but not far behind, as the Brit encountered his teammate far too often on track.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was sixth from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez after both made improvements late in the session, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in eighth, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll ninth and McLaren’s Lando Norris rounding the Top 10.
The Top 8 were inside half a second of Leclerc’s time in a closely packed field, with Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda in 11th finishing under a second. Stake F1 Team’s Valtteri Bottas did well in 12th ahead of the lone Williams of Alexander Albon.
The Thai took over Logan Sargeant’s chassis amid a big decision by Williams, with the American not part of the weekend anymore. The other Stake F1 Team car of Zhou Guanyu was 14th from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and the Haas pair.
It was Nico Hulkenberg ahead of Kevin Magnussen, as Visa Cash App RB’s Daniel Ricciardo was only 18th from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly to round out the 19 runners. Amid the new PU elements situation, it was largely Verstappen and Albon on the list.
Both of them took their second Internal Combustion Engine along with their second MGU-H and MGU-K. Here: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Australian%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20New%20PU%20elements%20for%20this%20Competition_0.pdf
Here’s what was said after Friday in F1 Australian GP
Here’s news on Williams decision
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