Ferrari’s Leclerc beat Max Verstappen by 0.245 seconds to top the second practice session after Ferrari produced a 1-2 in first practice, which was led by Carlos Sainz Jr. The Spaniard ended FP2 in third place ahead of fellow countryman Fernando Alonso in the Alpine.
With Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finishing second practice in fifth place for Red Bull, Esteban Ocon capped an impressive day for Alpine with sixth in front of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas.
It was another difficult day for Mercedes, with the team not bringing any upgrades to the Australian GP, as George Russell completed FP2 in 11th place and team-mate Lewis Hamilton was 13th.
Sebastian Vettel had the most eventful day, making his return after missing the first two F1 races due to COVID-19, when he suffered an engine fire midway through FP1 that triggered a red flag.
At the end of FP1, the German used a marshal’s moped to ride around the track to return to the Aston Martin garage, which has resulted in him being placed under investigation by the FIA stewards for entering the track without permission.
Vettel then missed all of FP2 as the Aston Martin F1 team changed his engine on Friday afternoon.
Away from the Albert Park track, Audi and Porsche will wait until F1’s 2026 engine regulations are announced before committing to joining the championship, with Porsche heavily linked to a partnership with Red Bull.
What time does qualifying start for the F1 Australian Grand Prix?
Qualifying for the Australian GP starts at 4pm local time (7am BST), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.
Date: Saturday 9th April 2022
Start time: 4pm local time – 7am BST
How can I watch Formula 1?
In the United Kingdom, Formula 1 is only broadcast live on Sky Sports, with highlights shown on Channel 4 several hours after the race has finished. Live streaming through NOW is also available in the UK.
Sky Sports F1, which broadcasts the F1 races, can be added as part of the Sky Sports channels, which costs £20 a month for new customers. Sky Sports can also be accessed through NOW with a one-off day payment of £11.98 or a month membership of £33.99 per month.
Fans wanting to watch the race for free will have to wait until Saturday evening (qualifying) or Sunday evening (race) to see the highlights on Channel 4.
How can I watch F1 Australian GP qualifying?
In the United Kingdom, every F1 practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with Australian GP qualifying coverage starting at 6am BST.
· Channel: Sky Sports F1
· Start time: 6:00am BST 9th April 2022
Autosport will be running a live text coverage of qualifying here.
When can I watch the highlights of F1 Australian GP qualifying?
In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of qualifying for the Australian GP at 11:30am GMT on Saturday. The full programme will run for 90 minutes, covering both qualifying and wrapping up the major talking points of the race weekend so far.
For the entire 2022 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch-up services.
· Channel: Channel 4
· Start time: 11:30am BST 9th April 2022
Will Australian GP qualifying be on the radio?
Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2022 F1 season will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 5 Live Sports Extra or via the BBC Sport website.
Coverage of Australian GP qualifying will start at 6:55am BST on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra and the BBC Sounds app.
What's the weather forecast for qualifying at Albert Park?
Dry, warm and cloudy weather is forecast for Saturday afternoon for the start of qualifying at Albert Park in Melbourne. The temperature is set to be 25 degrees Celsius at the start of qualifying, one degree warmer than qualifying for the Saudi Arabian GP last time out.
FP2 result
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Charles Leclerc |  | 1'18.978 | |
| 2 |  Max Verstappen |  | 1'19.223 | 0.245 |
| 3 |  Carlos Sainz Jr |  | 1'19.376 | 0.398 |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso |  | 1'19.537 | 0.559 |
| 5 |  Sergio Perez |  | 1'19.658 | 0.680 |
| 6 |  Esteban Ocon | | 1'19.842 | 0.864 |
| 7 |  Valtteri Bottas |  | 1'20.055 | 1.077 |
| 8 |  Lando Norris |  | 1'20.100 | 1.122 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly |  | 1'20.142 | 1.164 |
| 10 |  Daniel Ricciardo |  | 1'20.203 | 1.225 |
| 11 | George Russell |  | 1'20.212 | 1.234 |
| 12 |  Yuki Tsunoda |  | 1'20.424 | 1.446 |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton |  | 1'20.521 | 1.543 |
| 14 |  Lance Stroll |  | 1'20.611 | 1.633 |
| 15 |  Zhou Guanyu |  | 1'21.063 | 2.085 |
| 16 |  Kevin Magnussen |  | 1'21.191 | 2.213 |
| 17 |  Alex Albon |  | 1'21.912 | 2.934 |
| 18 |  Mick Schumacher |  | 1'21.974 | 2.996 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi | | 1'22.307 | 3.329 |
| 20 | Sebastian Vettel |  | ||
| View full results | ||||
FP1 result
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Sainz Jr |  | 1'19.806 | |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc |  | 1'20.377 | 0.571 |
| 3 | Sergio Perez |  | 1'20.399 | 0.593 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen |  | 1'20.626 | 0.820 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | | 1'20.878 | 1.072 |
| 6 | Esteban Ocon | | 1'21.004 | 1.198 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton |  | 1'21.027 | 1.221 |
| 8 | Daniel Ricciardo |  | 1'21.155 | 1.349 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso |  | 1'21.229 | 1.423 |
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas |  | 1'21.247 | 1.441 |
| 11 | Yuki Tsunoda |  | 1'21.289 | 1.483 |
| 12 | George Russell |  | 1'21.457 | 1.651 |
| 13 | Sebastian Vettel |  | 1'21.661 | 1.855 |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly |  | 1'21.701 | 1.895 |
| 15 | Zhou Guanyu | | 1'21.821 | 2.015 |
| 16 | Lance Stroll | | 1'21.869 | 2.063 |
| 17 | Alex Albon |  | 1'22.754 | 2.948 |
| 18 | Kevin Magnussen |  | 1'23.186 | 3.380 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi | | 1'23.924 | 4.118 |
| 20 | Mick Schumacher |  | 1'24.349 | 4.543 |
| View full results | ||||
