World championship leader Max Verstappen fastest in chaotic opening session at Albert Park; Fernando Alonso tops timesheet for Aston Martin in rain-hit second practice; watch Australian GP Qualifying live on Sky Sports F1 at 6am on Saturday, with build-up from 5:15am
Friday 31 March 2023 16:11, UK
Max Verstappen set the pace for Red Bull in first practice at the Australian Grand Prix before Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso topped a rain-hit second session in Melbourne on Friday.
World championship leader Verstappen was fastest in a chaotic session to start the weekend in Melbourne, with the Dutchman one of several drivers to spin in challenging conditions at Albert Park.
Lewis Hamilton was second to Verstappen, but the Mercedes driver's lofty position was aided by the timing of the second of two red flags in the session, which brought a premature end to proceedings.
Verstappen's main competition once more appeared to be his team-mate Sergio Perez, with the pair having shared a victory apiece in dominant Red Bull one-twos at each of the opening two races of the season.
They are separated by just one point in the drivers' standings, and appeared tightly matched in Melbourne as they exchanged fastest lap times mid-way through the opening session, before Verstappen pulled almost exactly half a second clear with a 1:18.790.
However, the fact that Perez's best time came on the medium tyre, while Verstappen's was on the faster soft compound, suggests the pair are once more closely matched.
Their closest challenger this season has been Alonso, who has taken podiums in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in Aston Martin's much-improved 2023 car, and the Spaniard was fourth behind Perez in the first session.
The 41-year-old then claimed the honour of topping Practice Two, having set the fastest time when rain arrived after around 10 minutes of running, with conditions only worsening throughout the remainder of the session. Alonso's time was almost exactly a tenth slower than the mark Verstappen had set earlier.
There had been huge anticipation around Albert Park as Australian fans delighted in the return of Formula 1, and they were rewarded with a wildly entertaining opening session.
It quickly became clear that the windy conditions were challenging, with Hamilton surviving an early scare as he corrected a huge snap of oversteer at Turn 11.
The Red Bulls, so dominant in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, were also looking uncomfortable, with both Verstappen and Perez running onto the gravel.
AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda then upped the drama with a huge moment coming out of Turn 1, which resulted in him spinning across the gravel trap and fortunately coming to rest just short of the barrier.
With the drivers finding it hard enough to stay on track, their task was made even more challenging by the failure of the GPS system teams use to monitor where cars are on the circuit and at what speed they are travelling.
After a series of near-misses and frustrated messages over team radio, a red flag was thrown, and 10 minutes of the session was lost while the system was fixed.
Upon the resumption, Verstappen had a major spin at Turn 4, but escaped any significant damage, with his tyres the main victim of the momentary loss of control.
Hamilton moved up to second, pushing Perez, Alonso and Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz down the timesheet, while his Mercedes team-mate George Russell was ninth behind Alpine's Pierre Gasly.
McLaren's Lando Norris, who had been hampered by aero-sensor issues at the start of the session, also climbed to seventh, but few others had a chance to improve before the next interruption.
With just short of five minutes remaining, Williams' Logan Sargeant pulled up on track because of an electrical issue, bringing out another red flag and ending the session.
With clouds in the sky and showers forecasted, there was a rush to get out on track at the start of Practice Two.
Verstappen provided evidence that the track remained challenging as he ran wide onto the grass in the opening moments.
Even with the GPS system restored, the busy track created traffic issues as drivers attempted to make full use of the dry track.
Perez was thwarted on a lap where he looked set to go comfortably clear of Alonso, before the rain began to fall, ultimately leaving the Mexican down in seventh.
Leclerc was second for Ferrari, with Verstappen third despite his continued lack of comfort, while Russell appeared to find some improvement from setup changes between sessions as he jumped to fourth.
Hamilton was down in 13th, having swiftly returned to the garage - before the rain started - after changes he had made between sessions failed to provide the desired outcome.
Plenty of drivers went out on track for wet running, but it is unlikely to be a factor with no more rain forecast for the weekend in Melbourne.
