57
05:59
End of 3rd training session
The 3rd practice session on the Albert Park Circuit has ended under red flags. Meanwhile, a repetition shows that not everything went smoothly for Lando Norris either. A replay shows that there were obviously technical problems. Norris is asked not to go full throttle and make certain adjustments. Behind the top 3 is Fernando Alonso ahead of Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo. Verstappen is only seventh after a difficult practice session after failing to complete a lap on the soft. Hamilton, Bottas and Tsunoda complete the top ten.
57
05:59
Lando Norris wins the 3rd practice session of the Australian Grand Prix
The best time in the 3rd practice session goes to Lando Norris. The McLaren driver was able to get the most out of his car in the final stages and posted a 1:19.117. He was 0.132 seconds faster than Charles Leclerc. Sergio Pérez was third.
57
05:57
Session is not restarted
Unsurprisingly, the announcement from the race director came a little later that the session would not be started again. There are just over three minutes left on the clock.
56
05:57
Red flag
Red flags! After Vettel flew off at half-time, team-mate Lance Stroll is now in the wall.
55
05:55
Improvement at Leclerc
Leclerc now has the improvement. He comes 0.132 seconds behind Lando Norris. Sainz is fourth in the second Ferrari.
54
05:54
Verstappen breaks off again
At Verstappen it doesn’t quite fit together yet. He struggles with his balance and after oversteering in Turn 1 he breaks off again straight away. But even at Ferrari there was no improvement in the first soft laps.
51
05:51
Error by Verstappen
Max Verstappen has to abandon his first lap on the soft after a mistake. He drives through the pits once before returning to the track.
49
05:50
New best lap by Lando Norris
Lando Norris is one of the first pilots to be on the qualifying test. With a 1:19.117, he initially moves up to first position. Teammate Daniel Ricciardo is almost half a second behind his teammate.
47
05:47
It goes on fresh softs
In the final phase of the 3rd training session, the first pilots go back onto the track with fresh softs. Now there is the first pointer in the direction of qualifying.
44
05:44
New best lap by Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz sets a new best lap time with a 1:19.419. He was almost 0.039 seconds faster than Pérez. Mick Schumacher is in 16th place.
43
05:43
Pit radio George Russell
“The car is a little off the roll,” says Russell over the radio. Again and again he is off the track. At least it’s enough now to move up to fifth place.
41
05:41
Improvement at Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton manages to improve, but the Briton cannot penetrate at the front. Hamilton is eighth, 0.9 seconds behind the leaders.
40
05:40
New best lap by Sergio Pérez
Unlike Verstappen, Sergio Pérez seems to be getting along with his car at the moment. With a 1:19.458 he takes the lead with a lead of 0.2 seconds.
38
05:38
New best lap by Fernando Alonso
While George Russell had to go off the track after braking, Fernando Alonso set a new best time. He needed 1:19,660 minutes for his lap.
37
05:37
New best lap by Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez sets a new lap best with a 1:19.720. 0.186 seconds behind is Alonso, whose setup seems to fit today as well. Things are very different with Hamilton. He’s only 18 at the moment.
36
05:36
Pit radio Max Verstappen
“I have no idea why I turned,” says Verstappen over the radio. “At the moment it’s difficult to feel the balance of the car.”
34
05:35
Turner by Verstappen
Verstappen loses the rear in the last corner and with a half spin it goes briefly into the grass. He catches the car again and continues the drivers again. At the same time, the race director announces that there is no investigation. Verstappen’s exit at the restart was okay.
33
05:32
Verstappen under observation
Verstappen is currently under the observation of the race control. The Dutchman was in too much of a hurry when driving out and had already overtaken one of his competitors in the pit lane to be the first to leave the track.
31
05:31
Route reopened
The track has been reopened and the drivers are now in a hurry to get back on track quickly. They lost a good ten minutes as a result of the accident.
30
05:25
Vettel back in the pits
Sebastian Vettel is now back in the pits with his helmet on. The car is already behind the crash barrier. So it should continue soon.
21
05:23
Red flag
There are red flags so the car can be safely recovered.
21
05:22
Accident of Sebastian Vettel
Just as Hamilton is getting back on the track, Vettel also slips in turn 10. With more speed, he hits the guard rails with full force. “Sorry, I lost the car,” he radioed from the destroyed Aston Martin. Of course he can’t use something like that after a lot of time was lost yesterday because of the defect.
20
05:21
Yellow flag
There is a short yellow phase. Hamilton slipped through the gravel bed and grazed the wall. But he can continue.
18
05:18
New best lap by Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso can still improve and delivers a 1:20.119 on the softs. Sebastian Vettel is now back on the track.
17
05:17
A lot of movement in the time monitor
There is currently a lot of movement in the result list and there were plenty of fast laps in the last minute. The new leader is Carlos Sainz with a 1:20.390, followed immediately by Daniel Ricciardo in front of Sergio Pérez.
16
05:15
Three riders still without a lap
After 16 minutes, three drivers are still without a lap. Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda have been in the pits since the start of the session.
13
05:14
It fills up
The track is slowly getting busier and more and more pilots are opening their sessions. Verstappen is back in the pits. Vettel is also back in the garage after a few rounds of installation.
11
05:11
New best lap by Sergio Pérez
First Verstappen improves Norris’ time, a little later his mark is topped by Sergio Pérez. But his 1:21.024 is still far from what we saw yesterday.
8th
05:08
Vettel starts
Now Sebastian Vettel is going out on the track for the first time. After a defect at the end of the 1st practice session yesterday, he lost a lot of time which he now has to make up. Red Bull also drove out.
7
05:08
First lap time driven
Now there is the first lap time. Lando Norris continues and puts in a 1:21.247 at the start of practice.
6
05:06
So far only installation rounds
It remains quiet in Melbourne. At the beginning of the session, everyone has only done a few installation laps and then come back to the pits. Only Lando Norris is currently on the course.
4
05:02
Not much going on yet
There is still no rush in the 3rd training session. So far, only five of the 20 drivers are on the road and none of them have set a time.
2
05:01
Schumacher is already driving
Mick Schumacher is already driving his Haas. Things didn’t go well for him yesterday and there was still a lot of work to do for Haas, who suffered a significant setback after a good start to the season on Friday and ended up in the back of the field.
1
05:00
One DRS zone less
Before today, the race control made one change to the route. The DRS zone on the long back straight was removed again for safety reasons.
1
05:00
Start 3rd training
The traffic lights are green, the 3rd training session in Melbourne has started. Guanyu Zhou is the first driver to take to the track.
04:55
The conditions
Before the 3rd practice the track temperature is 32 degrees in Melbourne. The track temperature is 24 degrees. In contrast to Friday, the wind has increased.
04:50
Vettel braked by a technical defect
After Sebastian Vettel missed the first two races of the season due to a corona infection, the Heppenheimer lost further valuable driving time on Friday. In the first practice, Vettel had to park his Aston Martin with the rear smoking. The team tried everything to quickly use a new power unit, but nothing helped and Vettel had to stand by in the 2nd practice session. Vettel didn’t just make headlines because of the failure. At the end of practice 1, Vettel drove back to the pits on a Marshall scooter. However, according to the sporting regulations, the track is a restricted area for five minutes after a session and accordingly there was a hearing and a fine for the Heppenheimer on Friday afternoon.
04:45
Mercedes continues to search
The mood at Mercedes must have been completely different. The Silver Arrows are still looking for form and not much was possible in the 2nd practice session, either on the fast lap or in the long runs. George Russell was 1.2 seconds behind the leader in twelfth place, while Lewis Hamilton was 1.5 seconds behind Leclerc in 13th place. Even Haas, who was extremely strong in the first races, didn’t do much yesterday. Kevin Magnussen was only 16 and Mick Schumacher couldn’t do better than 18th place.
04:37
McLaren on the up
After a tough start to the season, McLaren showed an upward trend on the first day of practice and had both drivers in the top ten in the second practice session. AlphaTauri and Alpine also show good results in the midfield.
04:30
Ferrari with best times on Friday
Ferrari positioned themselves in Melbourne on Friday. After Carlos Sainz had won the first training session, Charles Leclerc struck in the second training session. With a 1:18.978, Monegasque left Verstappen behind by 0.245 seconds. Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez were third and fourth respectively. Fernando Alonso was surprisingly strong in fourth place.
Good Morning!
The second day of the Australian Formula 1 weekend is on the agenda. At 5:00 a.m. the 3rd training begins.