F1 | Ferrari, a Friday full of good news in Melbourne

The first two free practice sessions of Australian Grand Prix, on the circuit of Albert Park, were full of good news for the Ferrari. The most important is the recovery of Carlos Sainz who brilliantly passed the test of getting back into the car just 14 days after the appendectomy surgery which forced him to skip the race Saudi Arabia. Today the Spaniard completed 48 laps in total, almost the race distance without experiencing any physical problems and gradually gaining more and more confidence with the SF-24 and the walls of Albert Park. The other positive point of the day came from the performance of the single-seater which was good both on the flying lap: Leclerc achieved the best time in the fastest of the two sessions with Sainz who placed third, and in race configuration, transmitting to the drivers those positive feelings that will have to be confirmed tomorrow in qualifying and, above all, in the race on Sunday.

Read also: Free practice analysis in Australia

FP1. In the first session Leclerc and Sainz ran only on soft tyres. The Monegasque turned in 1: 18.599, fourth time, loading fuel in the last part of the session to also test in race configuration, while Sainz always had little fuel on board to work on the feeling with the SF-24 and the gravitational forces to which the pilots are subjected when they push to the maximum. The Spaniard continued with his program even after the session was suspended due to the red flag triggered by an accident by Alex Albon, and set his best time, valid for eighth position in the final minutes in 1:18.686. For him 23 laps, one more than Charles.

FP2. In the afternoon session Charles and Carlos started with medium tires before switching on the softs to test in a qualifying configuration. With the softer compound the riders stopped the time respectively in 1:17.277 e 1: 17.707, first and third best performance of the day. In the last twenty minutes both SF-24s returned to the track with the mediums used at the start of the session and loaded with petrol, thus bringing the total laps covered in the session to 51, 26 for Leclerc and 25 for Sainz.

Tomorrow. The cars will return to the Melbourne track tomorrow at 12.30pm (2.30am CET) for the last free practice session ahead of qualifying scheduled for 16pm (6am CET).