Charles Leclerc finishes Friday fastest from Max Verstappen! Full results and report from FP2 | 2024 Australian GP. FP1: full results and lap times at Albert Park circuit | 2024 F1 Australian GP.

In the second practice session for the 2024 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led the field, outpacing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The Monegasque outperformed the current world champion by a margin of 0.381 seconds. The Dutchman experienced a less than ideal session, missing the first 25 minutes as his team attended to damage on his car’s floor. We know Verstappen was compromised in that session, but on the early evidence we can say Charles Leclerc has more of a chance for pole position than in Jeddah or Bahrain.

Max Verstappen was sidelined in the garage during the initial stages of FP2. Despite managing two attempts at a qualifying pace on the soft tyres later on, he failed to challenge Charles Leclerc’s strikingly fast time. His Maranello teammate, Carlos Sainz, making a comeback to F1 after an appendix surgery that sidelined him for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, secured the third fastest time, trailing by 0.430 seconds.

Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin secured fourth and fifth places respectively, with Mercedes’ George Russell landing in sixth place, 0.674 seconds behind.

Lewis Hamilton, another Mercedes driver, had a challenging FP2, finishing 18th with a time 1.5 seconds slower, after encountering issues with the rear stability of his W15. The seven-time world champion also reported damage to his vehicle following an off-track excursion and voiced concerns over his car’s performance, indicating something was amiss.

Oscar Piastri claimed the seventh spot, followed by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Piastri’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who had led the first practice session. Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top ten in his RB.

FP2 saw 19 participants, with Alex Albon absent after a crash in the first session severely damaged his Williams.

Williams is evaluating the damage to Albon’s FW46, lacking a spare chassis, which might limit them to a single car for the remainder of the weekend in Melbourne.