F1: Norris tops Alonso in final Australian GP practice

Have McLaren found a lasting solution to their brake issues that plagued them in Bahrain pre-season testing, with the fixes slowing them down for the first two races of the season?

Lando Norris turned the fastest lap of 1m19.117s in his #3 McLaren to top the final practice for the Australian GP in Melbourne.

Charles Leclerc in the #16 Ferrari was 2nd, 0.132s back

Norris has finished in P1, which not many people would have picked. Leclerc and Perez were next down the road, with Verstappen not able to get a clean lap in on the softs.

Saudi GP pole winner Sergio Perez was third for Red Bull, 0.148s back.

Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz Jr rounded out the top-5.

It was a bad day for Aston Martin after first Sebastian Vettel, and later Lance Stroll wadded up their cars in the barriers.

Any of Stroll’s crew who had been earmarked to jump ship and help rebuild Vettel’s car won’t be able to now, and this weekend is just going from bad to worse for the team here.

It’s been the Ferrari – Red Bull show on Saturdays so far this season, but could Melbourne see more teams get in the mix? McLaren and Alpine might fancy their chances here today. But with dark clouds on the horizon, could the weather play a part?

Practice 3 Results

POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME Behind
1 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m19.117s +0.000s
2 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m19.249s +0.132
3 Sergio Perez MEX Oracle Bull Racing 1m19.265s +0.148
4 Fernando Alonso ESP BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m19.275s +0.158
5 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari 1m19.419s +0.302
6 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m19.693s +0.576
7 Max Verstappen NED Oracle Red Bull Racing 1m19.809s +0.692
8 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m19.896s +0.779
9 Valtteri Bottas FIN Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen 1m20.008s +0.891
10 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri 1m20.071s +0.954
11 George Russell GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m20.096s +0.979
12 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri 1m20.133s +1.016
13 Esteban Ocon FRA BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m20.205s +1.088
14 Mick Schumacher GER Haas F1 Team 1m20.692s +1.575
15 Guanyu Zhou CHN Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen 1m20.836s +1.719
16 Alexander Albon THA Williams Racing 1m20.958s +1.841
17 Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas F1 Team 1m21.025s +1.908
18 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m21.050s +1.933
19 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team 1m21.636s +2.519
20 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team No Time Set