Leclerc ahead of Verstappen in the second hour of free practice for the Australian Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc from Ferrari was the fastest in the second practice session for the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix. Leclerc, who had great success at this circuit in 2022, set a time of 1:17.277s on the soft compound, finishing 0.381s ahead of his competitors. Carlos Sainz, who returned after his appendicitis surgery, was behind his teammate, with Max Verstappen splitting the Ferrari cars. Only 19 drivers took part in the practice session due to Alex Albon’s accident in FP1, which ruled him out of the session. Williams faced a challenge as they did not have a spare chassis, raising doubts about Albon’s participation in the weekend. Verstappen also had some setbacks as Red Bull had to change the floor of his car. However, he still managed to set the second fastest time. Lance Stroll, aiming for a recovery after an accident in Jeddah, had a minor setback but ended up leading his teammate Fernando Alonso in the time sheets. Several drivers struggled with the circuit, including George Russell, who had a moment at Turn 1. Despite this, he finished sixth overall. Sauber brought updates and Zhou Guanyu finished 11th, followed by Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull. Logan Sargeant in the remaining Williams had a spin and a trip through the gravel. Lewis Hamilton had a disappointing performance, finishing 18th and expressing his concerns over the team radio. Kevin Magnussen was the last driver to set a time in FP2, using the medium tire instead of the soft one.