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Disaster trip to Melbourne
Vettel’s qualifying start after the crash is uncertain
4/9/2022 6:26 am
The false start to the season is expanding for Sebastian Vettel. After a corona infection, he is finally at the third Grand Prix, then he first suffers engine damage and has to sit out. In the 3rd free practice session he will be there again. – until he crashes into the gang – and has to fear for qualifying.
An accident following a driving error spoiled Sebastian Vettel’s final practice session ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. The 34-year-old crashed his Aston Martin into the barriers in Melbourne after losing control on the Albert Park circuit shortly before. “Sorry guys,” radioed the four-time Formula 1 world champion from Hesse to his team.
The training session then had to be interrupted. The left front suspension of the car was badly damaged. It is still unclear whether Vettel will qualify (8 a.m. CEST/Sky and im ntv.de live ticker) can compete.
For Vettel, the crash was the continuation of a difficult trip down under. On Friday he had already completely missed the second practice session after suffering an engine failure on his car in the first session. This morning he was only able to complete five laps and is therefore extremely poorly prepared for his first qualification of the year. The Heppenheimer had missed the first two races due to a coronavirus infection and is now starting the season late in Melbourne.
Vettel’s teammate also crashes
The best time in practice was set by Brit Lando Norris in a McLaren ahead of world championship leader Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari and Sergio Perez in a Red Bull. The practice ended early after Vettel’s teammate Lance Stroll also had an accident. The Canadian also crashed into the gang. His car also had to be recovered.
World champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull missed the opportunity for a last fast lap after the Stroll accident and finished seventh (+ 0.692) ahead of record champion Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes (+ 0.779). Mick Schumacher finished 14th (+ 1.575) in his Haas racing car.
There was one change to the completely revamped course in Albert Park. One of the DRS zones on the long back straight was deleted for safety reasons, the zone before turn nine is affected. This reduced the number of DRS zones to three.
Before the third race of the season this Sunday (7 a.m. CEST/Sky and in the ntv.de live ticker) Leclerc (45 points) leads ahead of Carlos Sainz (33) in the second Ferrari and world champion Max Verstappen (25) from Red Bull.