Piastri is the fastest on Saturday morning
Clear. Dry. Air +32...28C, highway +39...41C
Autumn had begun in Australia, but the weather in Melbourne was different every day of the weekend. A comfortable Friday was replaced by a hot Saturday, and on Sunday it will get colder – the forecast promises a rain race.
The morning Formula 3 race was full of accidents, and Saturday's Formula 1 practice began with red flags. Haas F1 rookie Oliver Berman caught on the grass during braking and flew into a gravel trap, from which he could not get out himself.
The car was not seriously damaged, but it had to be evacuated, so the training for the young Briton, who had caused an accident the day before and then replaced the engine, ended as soon as it began. Working with young people has its own characteristics.
If Red Bull usually skipped the first ten minutes of the third practice session, this time they left right away – the car left a lot of questions on Friday. But even on Saturday, not everything worked – Lawson immediately returned to the pits and did not leave again due to problems with the pneumatics of the power plant.
Most of the riders spent the session on Soft tires, assessing their resource and setting up cars for qualifying, while the rest chose Hard tires and worked in long series solving other tasks. Many of the fast laps were hampered by traffic.
Oscar Piastri showed the best time, completing a lap in 1:15.921, losing one hundredth of last year's pole time. Behind him, the results were solid – the entire top ten fit into six tenths. Qualifying is ahead, where we will be able to assess the balance of power for the first time this season.
The third part of the free races
Pilot
The Time Team
Difference
Circles
1. About.Piastri
McLaren
1:15.921
-
16
2. D.Russell
Mercedes
1:15.960
+0.039
17
3 . M.Verstappen
Red Bull
1:16.002
+0.081
18
4 . S. Leclerc
Ferrari
1:16.188
+0.267
22
5 . K.Antonelli
Mercedes
1:16.206
+0.285
20
6 . K.Sainz
Williams
1:16.252
+0.331
23
7 . A.Elbon
Williams
1:16.258
+0.337
21
8 . L. Hamilton
Ferrari
1:16.378
+0.457
21
9 . Yu.Tsunoda
Racing Bulls
1:16.455
+0.534
17
10. L. Norris
McLaren
1:16.597
+0.676
20
11. The city of Bortoleto
Sauber
1:16.707
+0.786
18
12. P.Gasli
Alpine
1:16.719
+0.798
22
13. A.Hajjar
Racing Bulls
1:16.732
+0.811
18
14. L. Stroll
Aston Martin
1:16.948
+1.027
22
15. D.Duane
Alpine
1:16.993
+1.072
18
16. N. Hulkenberg
Sauber
1:17.146
+1.225
15
17. F.Alonso
Aston Martin
1:17.270
+1.349
22
18. E.Okon
Haas
1:17.373
+1.452
18
19. O. Berman
Haas
Without time
2
20. L.Lawson
Red Bull
Without time
2
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