Leclerc leads FP2 as pecking order mystery remains in Melbourne

Leclerc topped second practice at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix after banking a 1:16.439s to head the McLaren duo of local favourite Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at Albert Park.

There was a brief squabble between Red Bull’s Liam Lawson and Norris exiting the pits as the session began.

The McLaren driver had pulled to the right to perform a practice start, pulling away just as Lawson went by him; Norris then took to the grass to pass the Red Bull which was slower to accelerate.

It proved an eventful opening to the session for the McLaren pilot, who soon after had a wobble exiting Turn 3 that he did well to hang on to.

Nico Hulkenberg was even luckier. The German ran wide at Turn 6 and bounced through the gravel, somehow emerging unscathed at a corner that has historically taken no prisoners.

Despite his moments, Norris proved fastest through the first half of the session.

However, the presence of Yuki Tsunoda in second put that into context, the Racing Bulls driver just 0.2s away from the pace.

Norris’ best of 1:16.580s fell when both Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri went faster shortly after the mid-way point of proceedings, the Ferrari drivers’ lap recorded on a set of medium tyres.

While opening practice earlier in the day had brought with it two red flags, there were no such interruptions in Free Practice 2.

After his crash in Free Practice 1, there was no running at all for Oliver Bearman despite Haas’ best efforts.

Though the young Brit climbed into the car, while still on stands, with two minutes remaining, the squad simply ran out of time to get him on track before the chequered flag fell.

He was therefore the only driver without a lap to his name in Free Practice 2 at the end of a day that failed to answer many of the questions lingering from pre-season testing.

McLaren and Ferrari looked sharp, though the presence of Williams and Racing Bulls towards the top of the timesheet during the day suggests the wick is yet to be lit.

It was another low-key session for Lawson and Jack Doohan, both of whom banked important early laps.

Doohan ended the day ahead of Pierre Gasly for Alpine while Lawson was 17th, 1.2s away from the ultimate pace and 0.6s away from Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen.

A third and final hour of running remains ahead of qualifying around Albert Park from 16:00 AEDT tomorrow afternoon.

Australian GP: Free Practice 2 Results