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Formula 1
Australian GP
F1 Australian GP Live Commentary and Updates – FP3 & Qualifying
Saturday's action from the third round of the 2023 Formula 1 season
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After following Perez to the chequered flag two weeks ago, reigning world champion and Bahrain GP winner Max Verstappen holds a one point lead from his team-mate after snatching a valuable fastest lap point in Jeddah.
All eyes will be on what Red Bull’s rivals can do to halt their charge at Albert Park, a venue the Milton Keynes operation hasn’t tasted victory since Sebastian Vettel’s 2011 triumph.
Verstappen topped Friday's opening practice before Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso headed the field in a rain-affected FP2.
Qualifying takes place on Saturday at 6:00am BST to decide the starting grid for the race on Sunday at 6:00am BST.
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Verstappen is now heading the queue at the end of the pits with the two Astons and Ferraris also in the mix - all yet to a set a time.
So, with one Red Bull out of the running this is a great chance for Aston or someone else to get a front-row start.
Race control say the session will resume at 1614 local time, so just over two minutes from now.
That red flag came with just under 12 minutes on the clock. Only nine drivers have set times so far but there's still plenty of chance for the frontrunners to climb up the leaderboard.
Not what the driver one point off the summit of the standings would be hoping for. Once again we have Red Bull woe in qualifying!
Perez has locked up and gone straight on at Turn 3 into the gravel - he's had trouble with that corner throughout the weekend so far. He stayed out of the barrier but got stuck as he attempted to get out of the gravel.
Red flag
And we have a red flag - it's Perez!
Give the chilly temperatures, it's no surprise to see drivers attempting multiple warm-up laps to try to build some heat in the tyres before going for a time.
Stopwatch
Meanwhile, Hulkenberg has now shot to the top of the times on a 1m18.373s, while everyone has now ventured out on track.
Yellow flag
And we have our first spinner - it's Sargeant in the other Williams as he rotates at the final corner and dives straight into the pits!
Stopwatch
On his second effort, Albon now shoots to the top with a 1m18.944s.
The Haas driver is fractionally quicker than the McLaren of Norris and the Alfas.
Stopwatch
But Magnussen is a bit more representative as he goes to the top on a 1m19.392s on the softs.
Albon is the first driver to put a time on the board and it's a 1m26.458s - which is not a full push lap and is around 10s off the pace.
Despite the two by two formation, we're not expecting rain of epic proportions. And it's telling that the frontrunners haven't bothered joining the early Q1 flurry.
So, it's two by two as the Williams, AlphaTauris, Alfas, Haas machines and McLarens venturing out.
Green flag
Sure enough, the queue has now built up at the end of the pits as the session begins!
Albon and Sargeant are on the dry tyres - but, given the potential for rain, expect to see an early flurry of cars heading out.
The Williams drivers are the eager beavers waiting at the end of the pitlane. No-one else has yet hurried out of the garage to join them.
Even aside from any rain drama, let's not forget what happened two weeks ago. Verstappen appeared a shoo-in for pole in Saudi Arabia, only for his Red Bull to falter and he was down in 15th. Will there be more reliability drama today?
Five minutes to go and the rain seems to have abated somewhat for now but the Melbourne skyline is still full of plenty of clouds.
The drivers are now preparing to step into their steeds and these uncertain conditions are just want the frontrunners are dreading - the potential for an embarrassing slip up is huge.
Right, this is your 10-minute warning until qualifying is due to begin!
Rain
Race control has helpfully advised that the risk of rain for this session is 90%!
But the unpredictable conditions create opportunities for an upset and someone who will be keen to impress will be Piastri as he races in front of his home crowd. It's been a tough start to 2023 for McLaren and the Aussie will be desperate to give the team, and his fans, something to cheer.
It's worth remembering the teams are heading into qualifying today slightly on the back foot after a truncated Friday. FP1 was twice red-flagged - one stoppage being due to a server failure that meant teams suffered a GPS blackout - before FP2 was then plagued by rain.
Sure enough, the cagoules are now coming out for the fans in the grandstands!
Rain
And, in fact, it's just started raining again over Albert Park, so we could be in for an interesting session!
Breaking news
But, once again, it's not been the stereotypical Australian sun that has greeted the drivers so far today - it's currently just 15C in Oz - with morning drizzle ahead of FP3 and then rain catching out several drivers in the F2 race in the past hour: https://www.autosport.com/formula2/news/f2-australia-hauger/10451302/
Breaking news
For those of you just waking up and tuning in bleary-eyed in Europe, yep you guessed it, Max Verstappen led the running in final practice this morning. Here's our full round-up of FP3: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-australian-gp-verstappen-leads-alonso-in-final-practice/10451255/
G'day everyone and welcome back to our live text coverage of the Saturday of the Australian GP! It's now just 20 minutes until qualifying should begin.
Practice is wrapped up, meaning next it is the competitive sessions (Stefano Domenicali will be pleased). Qualifying starts at 6am BST, so join us just before for the build-up. Until then, we're going to drink all the coffee.
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Breaking news
Here's the full report on FP3: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-australian-gp-verstappen-leads-alonso-in-final-practice/10451255/
So, final practice is over, which can now be known as the Perez horror show where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
And to complete a very eventful and tricky session, Ocon says his boot is stuck behind the accelerator pedal, as he puts his Alpine into neutral and rolls into the pits.
The rain is getting heavier and Sainz, on his in-lap at the end of the session, trips himself into the gravel trap but avoids getting beached and climbs out of stoney stuff. "Saved it," he says.
Piastri has been put under investigation for failing to follow the race director's instructions for practice starts. Uh oh.
Perez's rubbish FP3 is capped by missing getting out of pitlane before the end of the session, so he has to stop and get pushed back into the garage by his mechanics. It means he misses the chance to do a practice start on the grid.
Checkered flag
Almost as if in sympathy, Leclerc copies Perez's off at Turn 1 but in a less dramatic fashion. And that wraps up practice as the chequered flag comes out.
By: Autosport Staff
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