Australian GP: Verstappen top in final practice as Perez struggles

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the final practice session of the Australian Grand Prix as, teammate, Sergio Perez struggled with the balance of his RB19.

How third practice unfolded…

When the pit exit light went green, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was the first driver to venture out onto the Albert Park circuit, ahead of both the Ferrari’s, Haas’ and Stroll’s teammate, Fernando Alonso. While both Ferrari and Haas drivers continued, both Aston Martins returned to the pit lane after an installation lap.

Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg set the first lap time on the board with a 1:22.529 but this was soon beaten by his teammate, Kevin Magnussen who put in a 1:20.9. However, both drivers were soon beaten by the usual contenders of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and Verstappen.

After 20 minutes, Sainz was on top with a 1:18.127 lap ahead of Alonso and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was the only driver yet to set a lap time. Despite this, Perez was soon hindered by Hulkenberg on his first fast lap which put him 17 seconds behind Sainz’s pace.

The yellow flag was temporarily brought out as the session approached its 30-minute mark after Magnussen – who sat 17th fastest – locked up into the penultimate corner, and found himself on the grass verge. Luckily the Dane was able to gingerly return to the circuit.

With 27 minutes left on the clock, the session was red-flagged after a chunk of debris, from Nyck De Vries’s Alpha Tauri, was found lying on the circuit. The debris which had fallen off was found to be part of the Dutchman’s engine cover. The session was soon green-flagged and several drivers soon returned to the circuit.

15 minutes was left on the clock and McLaren’s Lando Norris, who sat 16th on the timing sheets, was stuck in his garage after a clutch issue. This meant it was the end of practice for the Briton

Alfa Romeo’s Gunayu Zhou – 6th fastest – brought out a late yellow flag after he took a shortcut across the grass verge before he spun out and made contact with the barrier, facing in the wrong direction. Fortunately, the Chinese driver was able to continue on his way after he rotated his car back in the right direction.

With 10 minutes left on the clock, on a soft tyre run, Verstappen jumped to the top of the timing sheets with a 1:17.565 ahead of Alonso and Russell who were in second and third respectively. However, Russell was soon demoted down to fourth fastest as he was beaten by Alpine’s Esteban Ocon who went third.

Throughout the session, Perez had been struggling with the balance of his RB19 all session as he skipped across the gravel – and grass – on the run-off area of turn one. Despite this, the Mexican driver still managed to put in the sixth fastest lap.

To make matters worse as Perez attempted to get out on track for a potential practice start on the grid, the Red Bull Mechanics were forced to come to the pit exit line to retrieve the #11 RB19. Perez was stranded at the bottom of the pit lane because the pit exit traffic light went red to signal the end of the session.

That’s all for the article; Australian GP: Verstappen top in final practice as Perez struggles!

Who will get pole position in qualifying ahead of the Australian Grand Prix? Let us know in the comments!

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Australian GP: Alonso on top of FP2 in damp conditions
• Australian GP: Verstappen leads down-under ahead of Hamilton and Perez
• Wolff sees ‘promising’ signs at Mercedes F1 factory
• Alonso reinstated back to P3 after Saudi Arabia review
• Alonso slapped with 10 second penalty for serving penalty incorrectly
• LIVE: 2023 Saudi Arabia GP

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.