31 March 2023 , 07:00
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Lewis Hamilton asked for rain this weekend – and he got his wish in Friday practice as the heavens opened to cap off a couple of action-packed practice sessions.
The second practice sessions of the Australian Grand Prix weekend saw Fernando Alonso top the timesheets with a time set early on. The rain began to fall around 15 minutes in, scuppering the chances of anyone else from targeting the Spaniard's best time.
It was always possible – a 40% chance of rain was expected and there was a noticeable chill in the air compared to the first sessions earlier in the day. The teams had a feeling it was coming too, as the circuit filled up quickly from the moment the lights turned green.
As a result, several drivers had their plans interrupted by traffic – leading to the usual complaining over the radio. And when the rain began to fall there were the inevitable slips and spins, particularly at the cross-over points in terms of which tyres to use.
But it did, at least, provide a first opportunity of the season for the teams to test these cars with intermediate tyres. They also got the chance to practice starts with the new, slightly wider grid boxes in place this weekend after penalties handed out in the first two races of the year for incorrectly positioned cars.
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All that came after the first practice sessions, which had enough action of its own. Max Verstappen was the man who went quickest in that first hour of running, but he also incurred the wrath of the stewards for going a little too quickly in the pit lane.
Max Verstappen had a spin during practice in Melbourne (Sky Sports)He was clocked travelling at 86.4kph where the limit is 80kph. Verstappen was duly fined £615 by the stewards, though he will face no sporting penalty for the offence.
The defending champion had another hairy moment when he span late in the session, but was able to regain control of his Red Bull without anything disastrous happening. Team-mate Sergio Perez also ran off the track at one point but, again, avoided any serious consequences.
FP1 was red-flagged for 10 minutes while GPS issues were dealt with to make sure the race director knew where the cars were at all times. And the session ended prematurely when the red flags came out again, as Logan Sargeant lost power in his car and was left parked on the grass at the side of the track.