2024 Australian Grand Prix - Free Practice 2 Results & Summary

F1
Friday, 22 March 2024 at 07:16
Updated at Friday, 22 March 2024 at 07:18
carlos sainz ferrari car25

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.

2024 Australian Grand Prix - Free Practice 2 Results:

PositionDriverTeamTime/Gap
1Charles LeclercFerrari1:17.277
2Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing+0.381
3Carlos SainzFerrari+0.430
4Lance StrollAston Martin+0.545
5Fernando AlonsoAston Martin+0.635
6George RussellMercedes+0.674
7Oscar PiastriMcLaren+0.800
8Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing+0.813
9Lando NorrisMcLaren+0.878
10Yuki TsunodaRB+0.911
11Guanyu ZhouKick Sauber+1.144
12Daniel RicciardoRB+1.257
13Logan SargeantWilliams+1.301
14Valtteri BottasKick Sauber+1.308
15Pierre GaslyAlpine+1.414
16Nico HulkenbergHaas F1 Team+1.425
17Esteban OconAlpine+1.428
18Lewis HamiltonMercedes+1.557
19Kevin MagnussenHaas F1 Team+1.998
20Alexander AlbonWilliams-