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Australian GP
F1 Australian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying
Saturday's action from the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park
Over two years on from the cancelled Australian GP due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, F1 returns to a revamped Albert Park.
The key track changes see sections of the circuit widened, the Turn 9-10 chicane taken out to increase speeds in a flowing back section and the entire layout has been resurfaced. All changes have been made in the hope of increasing overtaking opportunities and creating more exciting races.
Sebastian Vettel is back for Aston Martin after missing the opening two races having tested positive for COVID-19 and had an eventful Friday after suffering an engine failure in FP1 which ruled him out of second practice, while he also picked up a €5000 fine for riding a scooter on-track back to the pits after FP1.
F1 world championship leader Charles Leclerc topped Friday practice for Ferrari from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, after Carlos Sainz Jr was fastest in FP1.
Final practice for the Australian GP gets underway at 4am BST (1pm local time), followed by qualifying at 7am BST (4pm local time).
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We'll be back in around 90 minutes for what promises to be an intriguing qualifying session for the Australian GP! Bye for now
Breaking news
Here's our report from a very eventful FP3 in Australia - certainly plenty to keep those up in the early hours awake in that one! https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-australian-gp-norris-leads-fp3-as-both-aston-martins-crash-out/9737138/
Some more replays have just shown the extent of the porpoising suffered by Mercedes during that session, Hamilton was bouncing around all over the place down the back 'straight'!
Aside from the Aston crashes, there were notable off-track moments for Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell in FP3 it what was a scrappy session.
We've only got two hours until qualifying so plenty for the teams to ponder after that disrupted session.
Just before Stroll's crash, Norris was given an urgent warning from his team warning him to pit immediately and not to use full throttle. He may have topped that session but it seems there's some concern at McLaren.
A lot of drivers would've been looking for more from that session, not least the two Aston Martin racers - and that team will have frantic repairs to make now. But Verstappen also had a tricky session and didn't look at all comfortable.
So, we've got a very jumbled order at the end of the session. Who would've predicted Norris heading Leclerc, Perez, Alonso and Sainz in that one? Certainly not us, but how much we can read into it remains to be seen.
Stroll has gone straight into the barriers at Turn 11, but with much less damage than to Vettel's earlier impact. But that means the end to the session. It was a lock-up for the Canadian and he just couldn't get the car turned in.
Red flag
And we've got another Aston off! What a disaster for the Silverstone squad!
Stopwatch
Leclerc is now up to second as the mixed-up order now looks a little more as expected but he's still a tenth down on Norris.
Verstappen just had a big wobble through the opening couple of corners - it seems he's really struggling to find the right balance with that car.
Stopwatch
Alonso has now improved on his lap and goes second with a 1m19.275s to trail Norris by just a tenth.
Verstappen complains about understeer and it seems Red Bull is struggling to get the set-up quite right on his car as he's down in seventh - just ahead of the Mercedes drivers - at the moment.
Stopwatch
But that's nothing compared to what team-mate Norris manages, as he jumps up to the top of the times on a 1m19.117s!
Stopwatch
And there's now a great improvement from home driver Ricciardo as he takes his McLaren up to fourth.
Just over 10 minutes of the session remaining, and it's Sainz who still has the fastest time by less than half a tenth of a second from Perez, Alonso, Leclerc and Verstappen.
But that effort from Alonso falls 0.3s short and he remains third. Meanwhile, the two Mercedes drivers are now a more encouraging sixth and seventh, Hamilton leading Russell.
Alonso is on another lap meanwhile and has gone slightly quicker in the first sector, can he reclaim top spot from his countryman?
Meanwhile, LUKE SMITH has dug out an interesting story from the paddock as Singapore could host a double-header later in the year to replace the cancelled Russian GP: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/second-singapore-f1-race-emerges-as-possible-russian-gp-replacement/9736540/
To emphasise what a poor weekend for Aston Martin this is, the sole car running now of Stroll is only 19th quickest, trailing the two Williams drivers.
Stopwatch
Sainz had been languishing, by Ferrari's recent improved standards, in seventh but he now goes to the top of the times on the softs with a 1m19.419s.
While Sainz is not happy with Latifi - "I almost crashed," he moans and the Williams driver could well get a penalty for that later.
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Russell is not happy in the other Mercedes. "It's just a bit all over the place at the moment," he says on the radio.
Stopwatch
And that effort from the Mercedes driver has put him eighth, while Perez has now retaken top spot from Alonso as he goes to a 1m19.458s
Verstappen has just improved to fourth but Hamilton is down in 18th at the moment but on a faster lap now.
Stopwatch
Perez and Leclerc had briefly knocked Alonso off top spot but he's now improved again on the softs with a 1m19.660s - a tenth faster than Perez's best.
Yellow flag
Russell is now the latest driver to go off! He gets it all wrong at the first corner and has to rejoin partway through the following turn.
Alonso is still quickest as things stand, but it's now Leclerc up to seocnd from Norris - great to see the McLarens showing some more pace this weekend, with Sainz then heading Bottas
Yellow flag
And Verstappen is the latest to go off, getting it all wrong at the final corner! But, unlike Vettel, he doesn't hit the barriers
Green flag
We're now back under way in Albert Park with all sorts of action among the pack of cars heading out on track.
Vettel, helmet still on, is now deposited back into the paddock. It's not quite the return the four-time champion was looking for this weekend.
Marshals are busy recovering the mangled Aston of Vettel and it shows just how much damage there is to the front of the car. Meanwhile, Vettel has now found a moped but is riding on the back of it and off the track this time!
Up at the top of the leaderboard is Hamilton's old rival Alonso, from Sainz, Ricciardo, Perez and Bottas so quite a jumbled order as we approach the mid-point in this session.
That red flag has come at a point where four other drivers haven't set a time, while Hamilton's sole effort is an unrepresentative 18s off the pace.
It was good to see Schumacher slowing down immediately after the incident and checking that his compatriot was OK after that shunt.
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Replays show there was a snap of oversteer as Vettel went through Turn 10. "Sorry I lost the car - I had a snap between Turn 9 and 10," he apologises on the radio.
It's going to be a busy few hours for the Aston Martin team as the front suspension has been savaged in that impact. Vettel is now walking across the empty track but no sign of a moped this time after his escapades yesterday.
Red flag
But now Vettel's dismal weekend has got worse as the Aston has clouted the wall at Turn 10. It never rains but it pours and there's a lot of a damage to the front of that car.
Yellow flag
We've got a yellow flag in sector three and it's because of the struggling Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton - how often have we said that?
By: autosport.com
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