The final practice session at the Australian Grand Prix provided a glimpse of an exciting Formula 1 qualifying session. Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes are incredibly close in terms of lap times, separated by less than a tenth of a second.
Red Bull has been dominant in the first two stages of the season, securing two comfortable pole positions for Max Verstappen, the current world champion. However, the team faces a vulnerability in terms of pace over a single lap. Returning to a track where they faced brake and tire heating issues in 2023, Red Bull and Verstappen may face a real challenge in qualifying for the first time this year.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari led the final practice session, proving to be a strong contender with both medium and soft tires. Verstappen struggled with his brakes at the start of FP3 but managed to set an impressive lap time at the last moment, briefly putting him at the top of the standings. However, Leclerc responded by going even faster, surpassing Verstappen by just 0.020s. This demonstrates the power of Ferrari’s SF-24, even when the Red Bull RB20 is performing well.
Carlos Sainz, Verstappen’s teammate, finished in third place, just half a tenth behind Verstappen. This further emphasizes the competitiveness among the top teams. Additionally, Mercedes, which struggled on Friday, showed improvement in FP3. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished the session in fourth and fifth place, respectively, less than a tenth off Leclerc’s time.
The solid performance of Mercedes in the final practice session is a positive sign for qualifying. In previous weekends, the team started well in Friday’s practice sessions, but lost performance as the events progressed. Red Bull’s vulnerability in qualifying presents an opportunity for Mercedes to interrupt their one-two finishes in the grand prix.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull’s second driver, finished in seventh place, three tenths slower and 0.280s behind Verstappen. Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin and Oscar Piastri from McLaren also showed their competitiveness, finishing in sixth and eighth place, respectively.
The order of classification among the teams became clear early in the season, with five teams standing out as the fastest. Outside the top 10, attention turned to Alex Albon, who took over his teammate Logan Sargeant’s car after Albon himself had an accident in the final practice session. Williams decided to replace Sargeant with Albon, counting on him to secure points in the race.
In the final practice session, Albon finished in 13th place, trying to recover after missing FP2.
