In the first practice of Australian Grand Prix of Formula 1, which takes place at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, took first and second place, respectively, on Friday.

In the best laps, the 27-year-old Spaniard, who has finished on the podium in the past two races and remains second in the provisional overall classification, set the time of one minute, 19 seconds and 806 thousandths with Pirelli’s softest tire, so he only dropped below 80 seconds.

571 thousandths was just the best lap of his teammate and current World Championship leader, Leclerc, while the last spot on the podium went to Red Bull opponent Sergio Pérez, who lost part of his bodywork and caused a red flag . The Mexican scored last time 593 thousandths more than Sainz.

The other driver of the Austrian team, Dutchman Max Verstappen, current motorsport elite champion, was fourth in the Spanish 820 thousandths, while British Lewis Hamilton, seven-time F1 World Champion, finished seventh in 1 second and 221 thousandths. of Sainz.

For his part, Fernando Alonso, from Alpine, finished the session in ninth place and stopped the stopwatch 1,423 seconds in optimal time, although he was overtaken by his teammate Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who finished sixth. .

This Friday the second free practice will also take place, while on Saturday there will be another practice and the classification before the race on Sunday at 2 am (Argentina time).

After two consecutive years of being canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Australian GP is back in the Formula 1 World Championship after remodeling the track, which, due to fewer curves and parabolic straights, promises more speed. and overtaking.

the whole table

1. Carlos Sainz-Ferrari: 1: 19.806
2. Charles Leclerc-Ferrari: 1: 20.377
3. Sergio Perez – Red Bull: 1: 20.399
4. Max Verstappen-Red Bull: 1: 20.626
5. Lando Norris-McLaren: 1: 20,878
6. Esteban Ocon – Alpine: 1: 21.004
7. Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes: 1: 21,027
8. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren: 1: 21.155
9. Fernando Alonso-Alpine: 1: 21.229
10. Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo: 1: 21.247
11. Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri: 1: 21,289
12. George Russell-Mercedes: 1: 21,457
13. Sebastian Vettel-Aston Martin: 1: 21.661
14. Pierre Gasly – AlphaTauri: 1: 21.821
15. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin: 1: 21,869
16. Alexander Albon-Williams 1: 22,754
17. Kevin Magnussen-Haas: 1: 23.186
18. Nicholas Latifi-Williams: 1: 23,924
19. Mick Schumacher-Haas: 1: 24,349

With information from EFE

DB