German Sebastian Vettel survived a nightmare Friday on his return to Formula 1. The four -time world champion, who missed the first two dates of the season due to Covid, the revised layout of Albert Park could hardly be turned onthe home of the Australian Grand Prix.

It was in the first training session, Vettel suffered a small fire in his car and have to stop in the middle of the runway. Desperate, the German made himself a fire extinguisher and was able to extinguish the fire to prevent further damage to his Aston Martin.

However, after the red flag, the mechanics did not fix the fault and lost the rest in Practice 1.

“The positive points are that I felt comfortable quite quickly and that we had a good balance in the car too. It’s embarrassing, however, I haven’t been able to do more laps,” he explained before making sure his Aston Martin would be ready for on Saturday .

The problem is Vettel, who eventually also missed Practice 2, decided to return to the pit lane on a motorcycle. He made it to the middle of the track and had no helmet on his head. And it didn’t end there: he even had the luxury of releasing the steering wheels of the motorcycle to greet the fans. Error.

That bold action was investigated by the FIA, which minutes later had no consideration and fined Vettel, who must pay $ 5,000. It’s a tickle for the pocket millionaires of their bosses. But it’s also a signal to no one to do insane things beyond driving at 330 kilometers per hour.

Leclerc and Ferrari, again

Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari was the fastest car on Friday in the second free practice for the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, ahead of reigning champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull.

Monegasque completed the fastest lap of the modified Albert Park circuit with a time of 1m18s978s. Verstappen was 245 thousandths behind and Leclerc’s teammate, Spaniard Carlos Sainz, was third after dominating the first session.

“Today has been very positive. The grip on the track is good and there is definitely an improvement in the bumps. It’s a bit smoother and makes the track better because you can actually attack more at corners.” Verstappen insisted.

He added: “We are still a bit behind Ferrari, but I think this weekend maybe we can close the gap.”

Local hope Daniel Ricciardo finished 10th for McLaren and Lewis Hamilton set the 13th fastest time in his Mercedes.

The new Albert Park

In a major circuit redevelopment in Melbourne, five of the corners of Albert Park were redirected and two more were removed. This led to an overall reduction of five seconds in times, compared to previous races and records.

Friday’s training took place 756 days after the last -minute cancellation of the 2020 Australian Grand Prix due to the coronavirus pandemic, with spectators lined up to enter the first session on Friday 13 March that day. anus.

Source: agencies