Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc outpaces world champion Max Verstappen to go fastest in Melbourne

MELBOURNE: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said Friday there was still work to do despite going quickest in second practice at the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton only managing 13th. Monaco’s Leclerc, the early season championship leader, was outpaced by team-mate Carlos Sainz in the first 60-minute run at a revamped Albert Park. But Leclerc fired an ominous warning in the second session with a leading time of 1min 18.978 secs, with reigning world champion Verstappen 0.245secs behind after a late surge.

Sainz went third-fastest. It is early days in the season, with Melbourne only the third race, but a title tussle between Leclerc and Verstappen is forming nicely. “A bit of a harder Friday for me.

FP1 was a bit tricky, I improved quite a bit in FP2, but there is still quite a bit of work to do,” said Leclerc, 24, who won the season-opening race in Bahrain. “I don’t think anybody really put the (perfect) lap together today. We need to keep focusing on ourself.

Tomorrow is qualifying and hopefully we have a good day. We need to do another step forward, and let’s push.” Verstappen, who won in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, struggled with handling early on, saying on the team radio: “I’m still having the same issues, mate, I can’t turn the car” after straightlining into the Turn 10 chicane. He headed back to the pits after five laps, but returned to ensure Ferrari and Red Bull were again dominant.