2024 Australian Grand Prix - Free Practice 2 Results & Summary

Charles Leclerc, with a time of 1:17.277, topped the timing sheets during the second Free Practice session before the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.

FP2 took place just 2.5 hours after the end of FP1, which meant that Alex Albon couldn't participate in it. The Thai driver crashed his Williams during the first practice session of the day, and his mechanics didn't have enough time to repair it.

This practice session also took place at the same time qualifying would be held, so the track conditions were more representative.

Drivers went on track with a mix of different compounds, but as the session approached its end, everyone opted for qualifying simulations on soft-compound tires.

It wasn't clear whether Carlos Sainz would be able to participate in the Australian Grand Prix after he left the race in Jeddah due to urgent surgery for his appendix.

F1 photographer Kym Illman talked to Sainz on Thursday ahead of the weekend and suggested he didn't look like he could move freely.

The 29-year-old himself admitted he didn't feel 100%, but he wanted to see how he felt in the car. While we won't know the fuel load in his SF-24, his times definitely looked competitive, and he finished the session in P3.

As was the trend in the season's first two races, it seemed super close at the front. The times set by all the drivers were much quicker than those in FP1. Charles Leclerc's top time was 1.287, faster than the best time set by Lando Norris in the previous session. 

Lewis Hamilton, who looked quite positive ahead of the weekend, saying the W15 is an incredible car, seemed to struggle. He put in only the 18th fastest time. The seven-time World Champion was 1.557 seconds slower than Leclerc and 0.883 seconds slower than his teammate.