Australian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Ferrari and Sainz dominate a session marked by two red flags

A start to the session to prepare the track.

The asphalt of Albert Park is known to be very dirty at the beginning of the weekend.

So the teams must carry out a maximum of rounds in order to gradually clean the tarmac.

That’s what’s done during the first 20 minutes. Each driver, each team finds their bearings on a track that has changed since the last meeting in 2019.

A corner has been removed, making the track much faster. Simulations predict a 5-second improvement per lap.

It’s Red Bull that quickly takes the lead with Verstappen. The latter did a few laps at the beginning of the session with aerodynamic test grids. With a time of 1.20:909, he’s already getting close to Valterri Bottas’ pole position time in 2019.

While each team tries to gain support on the rear end, Ferrari is attempting to remove it. The upper end of their rear wing is sanded down during the session. Paraffin is added afterwards to observe the effects of these modifications.

It is Sergio Perez who stops the session after 21 minutes. A component located at the rear of his Red Bull has detached and is becoming a hindrance on the track. To secure the intervention of the track marshals, the first red flag has been waved.

The session is stopped for 4 minutes and the Hass team still hasn’t completed a single timed lap.

Progressive search for performance

Shortly after the restart, each of the drivers gradually switches to the soft tires in order to push the limits of the track. And above all, to understand the performance difference between the red and yellow tires. Indeed, for the Australian Grand Prix, the softest compounds are the C2, while the yellow ones are the C4.

Moreover, during an attempt to test the start of the race from the pit exit, Charles Leclerc gets caught off guard at the first braking zone and has to recover his car in the gravel trap.

It is interesting to note that Ferrari was a bit behind Red Bull when testing the medium tires. The trend reverses with the soft tires. And it is Carlos Sainz who shines ahead of his teammate and then Verstappen before the second red flag.

Reliability issues, piloting errors.

The first interruption of the session was due to a part that came loose from Sergio Perez’s Red Bull, and the second, 14 minutes before the end of the session, was caused by Sebastian Vettel. The engine of his Aston Martin abruptly cut off on track.

Pierre Gasly also experienced a small issue at the beginning of the session, with his DRS remaining stuck in the open position.

Many drivers search for and gradually push the limits of their cars. This is why we see a lot of wheel lock-ups.

Fernando Alonso seems to be pushing a little harder than the others and is caught off guard twice with understeer but also a spin. In the process, he brought a lot of gravels onto the track.

But Kevin Magnussen, Charles Leclerc, and Carlos Sainz also make small mistakes.

A last quarter of an hour to fine-tune one’s strategy

At the restart, all the drivers perform start tests. This allows us to notice the difficulties faced by several teams in finding grip during this exercise.

The last quarter of an hour is more devoted to the preparation of the race and longer runs.

To the understanding of soft tires as well. Lap times are not improved, but teams are gathering a wealth of data that will be used for the preparation of the second testing session of the day, which will take place in two hours.

From a performance standpoint, the hierarchy observed after the first two Grand Prix seems to be confirmed, with Ferrari and Red Bull battling for victory. Meanwhile, Mercedes, Alpine, and Alfa Romeo are falling behind.

The good news comes from the McLaren team, which managed to place both of its cars in the top 10. To be confirmed for the remainder of the weekend.

Session rankings