Ferrari got off to an excellent start in Melbourne. Now Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are often fast over one lap, but on the Albert Park Circuit the Italian team also managed to demonstrate an excellent race pace. How Ferrari’s pace compares to that of Red Bull Racing is difficult to assess, because Max Verstappen only did a four-lap race simulation due to time loss at the start of FP2, while many drivers, including Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, suffered from traffic.
Verstappen had anything but a flawless day in Melbourne. Due to floor damage sustained in FP1, Verstappen had to watch the first twenty minutes of the second free practice session from the sidelines. Because the Dutchman was able to start later than the other drivers, the 26-year-old completed a qualifying run on the medium tire, while the competition was already on the soft rubber. But even when Verstappen dropped a set of the softs in the last fifteen minutes, he could not keep up with Leclerc’s pace. The Monegasque’s pace over one lap was impressive. With a time of 1:17.211, he was 0.381 seconds faster than Verstappen, who finished in P2. The Ferrari man’s time is even more impressive when you consider that Verstappen set his fastest time later in the session.
Encouraging long runs Ferrari, Red Bull lags behind
For a change, Verstappen was not head and shoulders above the rest of the field in the long runs on the Albert Park Circuit. However, there was a reason for that. Due to valuable time loss at the start of the session, the reigning world champion only completed a four-lap race simulation. Nevertheless, Ferrari’s race pace was impressive, although Leclerc remains cautious. According to the Monegasque, many drivers were bothered by traffic during their simulation, while he himself admitted that he was not bothered much.
The overview of the lap times in the table below shows that Leclerc is on average the fastest driver. However, a few caveats must be noted. For example, a number of drivers were affected by traffic, but there is also a huge difference in the number of laps that everyone drove. What makes it easier is that all drivers completed their long run on the medium tire.
| Driver | Max Verstappen | Sergio Perez | Charles Leclerc | Carlos Sainz | George Russel | Fernando Alonso | Oscar Piastri | Lance Stroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| 1 | 24,575 | 23,122 | 23,016 | 23,451 | 24,173 | 23,819 | 23,517 | 23,431 |
| 2 | 23,503 | 22,732 | 22,832 | 23,210 | 23,840 | 23,678 | 22,810 | 23,210 |
| 3 | 23,947 | 22,596 | 22,990 | 23,171 | 23,321 | 23,509 | 22,319 | 22,842 |
| 4 | 23,068 | 23,200 | 23,006 | 22,667 | 23,707 | 23,555 | 22,405 | 23,133 |
| 5 | 24,234 | 23,047 | 23,849 | 23,758 | 23,488 | 22,751 | 23,006 | |
| 6 | 23,169 | 22,666 | 23,920 | 24,710 | 22,578 | 23,329 | ||
| 7 | 24,115 | 23,746 | 24,222 | 22,737 | 23,120 | |||
| 8 | 24,378 | 23,086 | 23,749 | |||||
| 9 | 24,891 | 23,797 | 24,400 | |||||
| 10 | 23,837 | |||||||
| 11 | 24,710 | |||||||
| 12 | 24,222 | |||||||
| Average | 1:23,773 | 1:23,604 | 1:22,913 | 1:23,431 | 1:23,760 | 1:23,854 | 1:23,231 | 1:23,358 |
Verstappen clearly could not make a fist this time, but the times of his teammate Pérez are also anything but constant. The overview above clearly shows that only Leclerc recorded particularly consistent lap times. But it is difficult to say to what extent Ferrari actually has a chance of beating Verstappen and Red Bull on Sunday. The Austrian team has already announced through both drivers and advisor Helmut Marko that there is still work to be done, something that is not often the case with the championship formation.
Remarkable times for McLaren, small differences between other top teams
By far the longest stint is in the name of Oscar Piastri. McLaren’s young talent completed no fewer than twelve laps on Pirelli’s medium rubber. It is striking that the Australian can stay under 1:23 for quite a long time, but towards the end of his stint, tire degradation seems to play an increasingly important role. In his final laps, the McLaren driver is no longer able to stay under 1:24.
Behind Ferrari, McLaren and Lance Stroll, who also performed well with an average of 1:23.358, the differences between the other top teams are small. Of course, Verstappen was not able to complete a representative long run, but Pérez’s times were not exactly impressive. The average race pace of the Mexican is only one tenth faster than that of Mercedes driver George Russell, while Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso had to give up two tenths to the Red Bull driver.
Don’t miss anything from Verstappen in 2024? Then take out a subscription with Viaplay.
