Australian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Norris puts McLaren in the lead, Aston Martin struggling

The strategy needs to be reviewed.

With the removal of a DRS zone, the one located along Lakeside Drive, the settings and strategies defined throughout the first two free practice sessions on Friday need to be revised.

This has therefore disrupted the initial plans scheduled for these FP3.

Alpine and Alonso in top form, Vettel struggling.

During the first 20 minutes, each team apprehends this new rule and tests themselves on long relays.

The track’s grip evolves significantly on this circuit that is only created for Formula 1, once a year.

It is under these conditions that Alonso’s experience speaks. He places his Alpine at the top of the timesheet until Sebastian Vettel causes a red flag.

The German driver is clearly struggling for his first race weekend of the year. After losing his engine in FP1, he was unable to drive in FP2.

Just 20 minutes into FP3, he crashes his Aston Martin. No injuries for the driver, but with significant damage to his car, the four-time world champion jeopardizes his qualifying session and of course, his race.

The interruption lasted 11 minutes. 11 crucial minutes wasted for all teams.

A second part of the session marked by numerous mistakes.

At the restart, it is Max Verstappen who gets caught out. Dealing with strong understeer since Friday in the slowest section of the circuit, he spins out in the final corner. Without any consequences, he quickly gets back on track. However, this loss of control reveals Red Bull’s difficulties in slower sections that generate less downforce.

The Red Bull is not the only one suffering from this phenomenon, and many drivers miss their turn-in.

The track cools down as many clouds appear, with the ground temperature dropping from 39 degrees at the beginning of the session to 30 degrees at the end of the session.

The other problem encountered by many single-seaters is the instability of the rear end at the beginning of heavy braking. The Mercedes are the most sensitive. As the dolphins’ dance (referring to the unstable movement) is not mastered by the Silver Arrows, their drivers constantly have to counteract oversteer during braking.

Shortened session end

Four minutes before the end, Lance Stroll crashes the second Aston Martin in a huge understeer. While the driver is unharmed, the mechanics of the English team will be highly sought after to ensure that both cars can participate in the qualifying session in two hours. This red flag immediately leads to the end of the session.

Just before this crash, Lando Norris managed to place his McLaren at the top of the timesheet. Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez complete the podium, pushing Alonso’s Alpine into fourth place.

Max Verstappen, who came into the pits frustrated, is only in 7th place, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The Dutch driver seems to be struggling with his setup. His car is very unstable.

Finally, the drivers only completed an average of about fifteen laps during this crucial session for the upcoming qualifications and race.

Free practice 3 ranking