Charles Leclerc P2, Carlos Sainz P5 in Melbourne second practice

After an eventful first practice session for the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, we were back for a second! Championship leader Max Verstappen topped the timesheets in FP1 earlier on today, with the Red Bull driver finishing four tenths ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes. The Dutchman’s team-mate Sergio Perez was third, with Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Charles Leclerc (Scuderia Ferrari) concluding the top five. The failure of the GPS system F1 teams use to monitor where other cars on track caused chaos in first practice at the Australian Grand Prix, before a red flag was eventually shown.

It was looking sunny ahead of the start of practice two, but there was a 40% chance of rain incoming at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne.

The cars headed out – including Lando Norris, who skidded as he left the pits in his McLaren. With the rain incoming, the drivers were keen to get going immediately, meaning a lot of traffic and a very busy start to the second free practice session at the 5.278-kilometre Albert Park Circuit.

Williams pair Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon plus Haas’ Kevin Magnussen were the only drivers remaining in the pits. On the track, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was the sole man on the soft tyres early on, while Max Verstappen set the early pace on the medium compounds with a time of 1:19.759. What a challenge this was for the drivers as the rain came down, taking away visibility as well as grip with those walls ever close.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz went quickest but then it was Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso who sat in top spot with a 1:18.887 on the medium compounds. F1 fans were hoping that Carlos Sainz and Maranello team-mate Charles Leclerc could rediscover their pace and challenge the Red Bulls this weekend. A few moments later, there was a fleeting mistake from the world champion as he ran wide onto the grass at Turn One, but it showed just how tricky it is out there today.

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McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was the home favourite this weekend with fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo now only a third driver at Red Bull. Oscar Piastri was in 11th place early in the session with team-mate Lando Norris up in seventh, over a second behind pace-setter Alonso. The Spaniard’s time of 1:18.887 remained untouched at this stage of FP2 with Charles Leclerc four tenths in arrears and Max Verstappen six tenths back. Sargeant’s Williams remains rooted in the pits as his team worked on a car that spun wildly in FP1, while the rain arrived at Albert Park Circuit.

Carlos Sainz was held up by the reigning world champion, who insisted that he didn’t know the Ferrari man was on a lap! It was all happening at Albert Park – expect for Sargeant, of course! McLaren’s Lando Norris was the man to slide off onto the grass as the wet track proved a problem.

We were heading towards the halfway point in this session, but we had an empty track as all the teams waited for the rain to pass. It was interesting to see who took the chance and head out first. Five minutes later, it was Ferrari man Carlos Sainz who emerged from the garage with a set of soft tyres on his car. The track, according to Jenson Button, was dry so the earlier shower didn’t appear to have been too session-altering. But just a few moments later, the track was once again barren with Carlos Sainz and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc heading back into the pits as the rain got heavier at Albert Park. There was not great visibility out there.

The Williams driver’s electrical issue at the backend of FP1 has kept him in the garage for the first half of FP2. Fernando Alonso, Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, George Russell and Carlos Sainz were the top five, in that order.

With 23 minutes to go, Max Verstappen was on track on the medium compounds in a soggy Melbourne. The rain was falling heavily, with Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff keeping dry under a hood as he watched on. With the rain still falling, the majority of the drivers were starting to follow the lead of George Russell by opting for the inters over the softs. Aston Martin man Lance Stroll encountered some issues with the damp track but managed to avoid crashing into the wall. Haas and Hulkenberg were pleased with the German’s ninth-placed spot in FP2, the 35-year-old sandwiched between Norris in eighth and Gasly in 10th.

And that signaled the end of a soggy FP2 here at Albert Park, with one of the last pieces of action George Russell seeing post a 1.32 on the intermediate tyres.

Here is the final timesheet after second practice:

1) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 1:18.887

2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, +0.445

3) Max Verstappen, Red Bull, +0.615

4) George Russell, Mercedes, +0.785

5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, +0.808

6) Esteban Ocon, Alpine, +0.838

7) Sergio Perez, Red Bull, +1.196

8) Lando Norris, McLaren, +1.289

9) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas, +1.307

10) Pierre Gasly, Alpine, +1.319

11) Yuki Tsunoda, Alpha Tauri, +1.333