Leclerc strong in F1 training
Hamilton complains and Verstappen damages his car
March 22, 2024, 9:45 a.m
Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes farewell tour is not getting off the ground: the F1 record champion is struggling with his car during training for the Australian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen damages his Red Bull while Alex Albon totals it. Ferrari is happy about the fastest time.
Max Verstappen was condemned to watch for a long time – this time it wasn’t enough for his usual first place: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc set the clear best time in training for the Australian Grand Prix and relegated long-time winner Verstappen to second place by 0.381 seconds.
The three-time world champion, who is once again chasing his own records in Melbourne, also had Carlos Sainz breathing down his neck. The second Ferrari driver, who had just recovered from his appendix operation, was almost on a par with the Dutchman on his best lap and took third place (+0.430). Most recently in Saudi Arabia, he was replaced by the 18-year-old Brit Oliver Bearman, who would also step in if necessary this time.
Verstappen explained that he had “damaged the underbody and the chassis” in the first training session: “Overall it was fine. Ferrari is fast, but we can and must adjust the car even more finely.” Due to repairs and conversion work, Verstappen only took to the track after 22 minutes in the one-hour second training session and did not get close to the front. His teammate Sergio Perez also only finished eighth.
Lewis Hamilton was far behind. The record world champion, who is leaving Mercedes at the end of the year and will move to Ferrari, only finished 18th, one and a half seconds behind the Monegasque Leclerc. “There’s something wrong,” the Englishman complained over the radio – behind the 103-time Grand Prix winner Only Nico Hülkenberg’s Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen and Alex Albon were in the daily rankings. Williams driver Albon, however, had already crashed violently in the first training session and was unable to take part in the second session because of the repair work. Hülkenberg finished 16th in late summer conditions.
Verstappen won the first two races of the season ahead of Perez, and Red Bull impressively underlined its position as favorite. The Dutchman Verstappen has triumphed in 19 of the last 20 Grands Prix. If he also wins in Melbourne on Sunday (5 a.m. CET/Sky and in the live ticker at ntv.de), he will equal his own Formula 1 record from last year with ten wins in a row.