Spanish
Australia. Australian driver Oscar Piastri set the fastest time in the second free practice session of the Australian Grand Prix after stopping the clock at 1:19.729 at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, the venue that opens the Formula One season.
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On board his McLaren, the local driver surpassed the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who was 0.214 seconds behind, and George Russell, third at 0.320, in a session marked by the intense fight between both teams for the initial dominance of the championship.
The current world champion, Lando Norris, Piastri's teammate at McLaren, failed to stay in the top positions and finished seventh, more than a second behind the best time of the day.
Ferrari, which had dominated the first session of the day, took a backseat during this practice. Lewis Hamilton recorded the fourth-best time, while Charles Leclerc placed in fifth position.
For his part, the Dutchman Max Verstappen, at the wheel of Red Bull, progressively improved after a complicated start and closed with the sixth best time. Behind him finished Norris, the Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and the Red Bull of the Frenchman Isack Hadjar.
In the middle of the table, Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) finished in fourteenth position, while Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr. finished 17th and Argentinian Franco Colapinto was 18th.
The session also left difficulties for Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin, who could barely complete a few laps due to problems with the single-seater and finished in last place among the drivers with recorded time.
Mexican Sergio Pérez, driving for Cadillac, only completed a couple of laps and failed to set an official time.
The training was marked by several incidents, including contact between Russell and Lindblad that forced the British Mercedes driver to change the front wing, as well as yellow flags caused by mechanical problems and off-track excursions.
In the final part of the session, Piastri achieved the reference time that ended up being definitive, consolidating the duel between McLaren and Mercedes as one of the main focuses at the start of the Formula 1 season.
