Ferrari took the lead again in the second free practice session of the 2022 Australian GP, with Leclerc taking first place with the fastest time of the day, a 1m18.978s. The Monegasque was the only one to break the 1:19 barrier, and managed to win against Verstappen and Sainz , his two main rivals.
Those of the Cavallino seem slightly ahead of Red Bull Racing, and beyond the more than two tenths between Leclerc and Verstappen, there was the feeling that the red cars manage to get the times easier than those of energy drinks.
Sainz was third, 0.398 behind his teammate, and Fernando Alonso completed a totally Spanish virtual second row, with fourth place with the Alpine, beating Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull. The Spaniard, this time leaving aside the hard tires with which he had insisted so much in FP1, finished 0.559s behind Leclerc, and more than a tenth ahead of the Mexican.
Esteban Ocon confirmed Alpine’s good pace with sixth place overtaking Valtteri Bottas, and McLaren kept both of its cars inside the top 10, but in eighth (Norris) and tenth (Ricciard) position. Among them, with the AlphaTauri, was Gasly.
Vettel missed the session after his breakdown in FP1 forced his Aston Martin team to change his Mercedes engine, and his teammate Stroll caused the only red flag of FP2 by losing a left front tire deflector, a piece that remained in track.
Mercedes, meanwhile, seems to not find the rhythm yet, and formed a sandwich with the AlphaTauri, with George Russell 11th and Lewis Hamilton 13th, with Yuki Tsunoda 12th.
F1 Australian GP 2022 Free Practice 2 Results: Times & Positions
| pos | # | Pilot | Equipment | Engine | Weather | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | charles leclerc | ferrari | ferrari | 1’18,978 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Red Bull | 1’19.223 | 0.245 |
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | ferrari | ferrari | 1’19,376 | 0.398 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | Renault | 1’19.537 | 0.559 |
| 5 | eleven | sergio perez | Red Bull | Red Bull | 1’19,658 | 0.680 |
| 6 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | Renault | 1’19.842 | 0.864 |
| 7 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | alfa-romeo | ferrari | 1’20.055 | 1,077 |
| 8 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Mercedes | 1’20.100 | 1.122 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | Red Bull | 1’20.142 | 1.164 |
| 10 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | Mercedes | 1’20,203 | 1,225 |
| 11 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | Mercedes | 1’20.212 | 1.234 |
| 12 | twenty two | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | Red Bull | 1’20.424 | 1.446 |
| 13 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 1’20.521 | 1.543 |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | Mercedes | 1’20.611 | 1.633 |
| 15 | twenty four | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 1’21.063 | 2.085 |
| 16 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Ferrari | 1’21.191 | 2,213 |
| 17 | 23 | Alexander Albon | williams | mercedes | 1’21.912 | 2.934 |
| 18 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | Ferrari | 1’21.974 | 2.996 |
| 19 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | Mercedes | 1’22.307 | 3.329 |
| 20 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | Mercedes |
Summary of the free practice 2 of the Australian GP 2022 of F1
Before an overcast sky and threatening rain, FP2 started with Lando Norris as the first driver to start, followed by many other cars that wanted to start work as soon as possible on the final day on Friday.
The medium was the compound of choice for almost everyone, and the Ferraris moved into the top two on their first try, with Leclerc ahead of a Sainz who ran into traffic at the end of his lap.
Fernando Alonso was third on his first lap, 0.355 behind Leclerc, although Ricciardo slipped into second and dropped him to fourth place. While the Red Bulls were yet to set times, Valtteri Bottas put Alfa Romeo in front.
Verstappen had to abort his lap after a whiplash at turn 9 caused him to miss turn 10, and as the track improved, Alonso took second for a few moments, until the Ferraris put things back in place and Sainz was first.
Hamilton went off the track in the gravel at Turn 13, while a double investigation into incidents between Hamilton and Stroll and Sainz and Stroll was announced. The first laps of the Red Bulls left Verstappen seventh and Pérez eighth, behind the Ferraris, the McLarens, Bottas and Alonso.
Mick Schumacher went off at turn 11, having to take advantage of asphalt loopholes to rejoin. After 23 minutes, Leclerc took the lead on softs, but Sainz responded with a record in the first and third sectors to regain first place, also with the red Pirelli.
At about the same time that Norris passed Bottas and Gasly was right behind him, the Finn missed the first chicane. Before reaching the first half of FP2, with 31 minutes on the clock, Alonso put the Alpine first, with a time of 1:19.537. However, that situation was short-lived, and first Leclerc and then Sainz left the Asturian third.
Verstappen improved, but was four tenths behind the Ferraris and in fact also behind Alonso. Leclerc took a step forward to put Sainz almost four tenths, and Verstappen to overtake Alonso.
The world champion was on his way to setting a record, staining the first two sectors purple, but he went wide in the last corner. At the second attempt, Verstappen looked like he was on a similar lap, but eventually dropped to second.
From there it was time for longer runs and more fuel, but the session was halted with 12 minutes to go when Lance Stroll crashed over a curb and lost part of the front left tire deflector. The piece remained on the track and forced to neutralize the activity so that a commissioner came out to remove it. A local commissioner who left another of the anecdotes of the day when, running to get out of the circuit as soon as possible, he fell.
There were still eight minutes left when the traffic light came back green, but there was no change in the time table, and that was the end of the second and final session on Friday.
