Australian Grand Prix: Piastri leads second practice session, Russell finishes in third place
George Russell commenced his quest for the world championship by securing third place in practice for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
After a significant revision of the sport’s regulations, Russell’s Mercedes team has been identified as the frontrunner, and the British driver will enter Sunday’s race in Melbourne as the favorite according to bookmakers.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri topped the new era of Formula 1 at a sunlit Albert Park, finishing 0.214 seconds ahead of Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli.
Russell concluded three tenths behind, holding a position just one thousandth of a second ahead of Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.
Charles Leclerc, who was the quickest in the initial session, placed fifth in the other Ferrari, while Max Verstappen and reigning world champion Lando Norris had to settle for sixth and seventh positions, respectively.
Norris, who could only complete seven laps in the day’s first session due to a gearbox issue with his McLaren, finished a full second off the leading pace, marking a disappointing beginning to his title defense.
Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey dramatically asserted on Thursday that drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll might experience nerve damage due to a vibration issue with their car.
Alonso and Stroll finished 20th and 21st out of the 22 participants, with only Cadillac’s Sergio Pérez—who did not set a competitive lap—behind them.
Mercedes is expected to have an edge over competitors Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren this season, but Piastri’s performance indicates they may face stiff competition.
Piastri, a local from Melbourne, is the crowd favorite, with attendance anticipated to reach 500,000 over the weekend. He led the championship for a longer duration than anyone last season but ultimately finished third behind Norris and Verstappen.
Commenting on his team’s status as pre-season favorites, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff stated: “Even if we started the season exceptionally well, I’ve never felt confident enough to assert that we will be faster, and that we will be on the podium at the conclusion of the race weekend.
“That remains unchanged this year. I won’t make that claim because we simply do not know.
“We must approach the work step by step, proceed calmly, and then hopefully be quick enough to contend for a podium or a victory on Sunday, but that is not guaranteed.”
Verstappen ran off into the gravel at Turn 10 during the final moments of the session as he attempted to adapt to the requirements of the new regulations. He finished six tenths behind Piastri by the end of the session.
Source: espn.com
