Lewis Hamilton completed a sweep of leading all three practice sessions for the Australian Grand Prix.
However the Mercedes driver’s advantage was trimmed in the final hour of practice, which ended with the Ferraris occupying second and third places. Sebastian Vettel was the quicker of the two, 0.264s off Hamilton’s benchmark time.Hamilton was the last driver to set a time during the session but set the pace as soon as he did. Team mate Valtteri Bottas made a mistake at turn 14 on his quickest effort, ran through the grass, and ended up over a second of his team mate.
That allowed the Haas pair to claim the fourth and fifth fastest times, beating both the Honda-powered Red Bulls. Romain Grosjean led the pair, eight-tenths off the ultimate pace but just half a second off the Ferrari with the same engine.
Pierre Gasly was the quicker of the Red Bull drivers but a full second away from Hamilton’s pace, and only a few hundredths quicker than Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso. Max Verstappen made it three Honda-powered cars in the top 10, while Daniel Ricciardo completed the top 10.
There was little to choose between the Renault pair, Nico Hulkenberg lapping just four-hundredths slower. Alfa Romeo didn’t replicate their Friday pace, Antonio Giovinazzi leading the way in 12th, five places ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.
Williams were little closer to the pace in the final hour of testing. Robert Kubica ended the session at the bottom of the times after hitting the pit wall following one run.
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Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’22.292 | 12 | |
2 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’22.556 | 0.264 | 12 |
3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’22.749 | 0.457 | 12 |
4 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’23.112 | 0.820 | 17 |
5 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’23.334 | 1.042 | 15 |
6 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull-Honda | 1’23.367 | 1.075 | 17 |
7 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’23.422 | 1.130 | 17 |
8 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’23.442 | 1.150 | 16 |
9 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’23.481 | 1.189 | 19 |
10 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’23.695 | 1.403 | 14 |
11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’23.737 | 1.445 | 15 |
12 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’23.831 | 1.539 | 16 |
13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’24.049 | 1.757 | 21 |
14 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’24.082 | 1.790 | 18 |
15 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’24.328 | 2.036 | 15 |
16 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’24.345 | 2.053 | 16 |
17 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’24.402 | 2.110 | 18 |
18 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’24.568 | 2.276 | 16 |
19 | 63 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’25.944 | 3.652 | 14 |
20 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams-Mercedes | 1’26.589 | 4.297 | 16 |
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Third practice visual gaps
Lewis Hamilton – 1’22.292
+0.264 Sebastian Vettel – 1’22.556
+0.457 Charles Leclerc – 1’22.749
+0.820 Romain Grosjean – 1’23.112
+1.042 Kevin Magnussen – 1’23.334
+1.075 Pierre Gasly – 1’23.367
+1.130 Valtteri Bottas – 1’23.422
+1.150 Daniil Kvyat – 1’23.442
+1.189 Max Verstappen – 1’23.481
+1.403 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’23.695
+1.445 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’23.737
+1.539 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’23.831
+1.757 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’24.049
+1.790 Sergio Perez – 1’24.082
+2.036 Alexander Albon – 1’24.328
+2.053 Lance Stroll – 1’24.345
+2.110 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’24.402
+2.276 Lando Norris – 1’24.568
+3.652 George Russell – 1’25.944
+4.297 Robert Kubica – 1’26.589
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
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Combined practice times
Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | FP3 | Fri/Sat diff | Total laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’23.599 | 1’22.600 | 1’22.292 | -0.308 | 71 |
2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’23.637 | 1’23.473 | 1’22.556 | -0.917 | 65 |
3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’23.866 | 1’22.648 | 1’23.422 | +0.774 | 80 |
4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’23.673 | 1’23.754 | 1’22.749 | -0.924 | 65 |
5 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’25.224 | 1’23.814 | 1’23.112 | -0.702 | 72 |
6 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’24.934 | 1’23.988 | 1’23.334 | -0.654 | 66 |
7 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull-Honda | 1’24.932 | 1’23.442 | 1’23.367 | -0.075 | 71 |
8 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’23.792 | 1’23.400 | 1’23.481 | +0.081 | 74 |
9 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’24.832 | 1’23.933 | 1’23.442 | -0.491 | 82 |
10 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’24.816 | 1’23.572 | 1’24.402 | +0.83 | 76 |
11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’25.015 | 1’23.574 | 1’23.737 | +0.163 | 63 |
12 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’25.634 | 1’23.644 | 1’23.695 | +0.051 | 61 |
13 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’25.166 | 1’24.293 | 1’23.831 | -0.462 | 76 |
14 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’25.288 | 1’24.011 | 1’24.345 | +0.334 | 80 |
15 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’25.285 | 1’24.133 | 1’24.049 | -0.084 | 66 |
16 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’25.498 | 1’24.401 | 1’24.082 | -0.319 | 73 |
17 | Alexander Albon | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’25.230 | 1’24.675 | 1’24.328 | -0.347 | 76 |
18 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’25.966 | 1’24.733 | 1’24.568 | -0.165 | 73 |
19 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’28.740 | 1’26.453 | 1’25.944 | -0.509 | 71 |
20 | Robert Kubica | Williams-Mercedes | 1’27.914 | 1’26.655 | 1’26.589 | -0.066 | 74 |
Kribana (@krichelle)
16th March 2019, 4:17
Mclaren need to get themselves sorted out here. They are embarrassing.
Todfod (@todfod)
16th March 2019, 5:28
@krichelle
I’m surprised you thought they were going to show any more pace. I’m expecting Norris out in Q1, and Sainz might only get through because there are Albon looks shaky to opening weekend and the Force indias are still getting to grips with their new machine.