Formula 1: Ferrari the fastest, but it is not Hamilton

Max Verstappen’s fears have been confirmed on the start of the season for Formula 1. The 27 -year -old Dutchman did not come to the best times in both training sessions in both training sessions in Melbourne. In the faster one -hour unit in the afternoon (local time), the four -time world champion even lacked first place for over half a second. That only meant seventh place for the defending champion, who had previously emphasized: “I know that we are not the fastest at the moment. We have to be patient.”

Charles Leclerc secured the best time of the day in Ferrari. The two drivers of constructor world champion McLaren were a good tenth of a second. Second, local hero Oscar Piatri, who would like to ensure the first home win at the Grand Prix of Australia for a driver from Down Under.

McLaren quickly, but not the fastest

Teammate Lando Norris came in third place, at noon the vice world champion from England had made the fastest round. Both confirmed that the new model was quick. However, they did not have a clear lead, as some expected.

In any case, the interpretation of the results was difficult. In the first unit, Carlos Sainz in particular – recently in Williams – was able to convince as second. During the second training session, the two racing Bulls with Yuki Tsunoda surprised in fourth place and newcomer Isack Hadjar in sixth place – before Verstappen and directly behind record world champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari.

The 40 -year -old Brit, on which the cameras were particularly directed on Albert Park Circuit, increased fifth after twelve in the second 60 minutes. On Leclerc at the top, however, he was still missing over four tenths of a second.

Hamilton hopes to shape Scuderia with a new era and get title number eight. He would then be the sole world champion. At the moment he shares the superlative with Michael Schumacher.

From a German perspective, Nico Hülkenberg surprised in the second training session in front of already well -occupied ranks. The 37-year-old increased to eighth place in clean from 18th place in the first unit, which was also characterized by an accident from his Haas successor Oliver Berman.