Australian Grand Prix: Friday Practice Recap

Friday consisted of two 60-minute sessions – FP1 and FP2 – around the reconfigured 5.279-kilometer (3.280-mile), 14-turn circuit.

Magnussen recorded 18 laps in FP1 sampling both the Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium and Red soft tires. A best time of 1:23.186 (P18) was set on the softs – the Dane battling back from a bout of nausea overnight. Schumacher trialed the White hard compound to start before switching to a set of softs. The German delivered a fastest tour of 1:24.349 (P20) from the 15 laps he logged in the session.

FP2 saw lap times drop as the track continued to rubber in. Magnussen clocked a 1:21.191 (P16) during his qualifying sim – utilizing the Red soft tires – with Schumacher logging a 1:21.974 (P18) lap as his best effort on the soft compound. Both drivers wrapped up the session with high-fuel runs gaining further valuable data ahead of Sunday’s race.

Haas F1 Team ran a total of 78 laps on Friday across FP1 and FP2 – 41 by Magnussen and 37 by Schumacher.

Kevin Magnussen, Driver No. 20, Haas F1 Team

“I didn’t feel great when I woke up this morning but we still managed to get some laps in and get a feel for the car. Hopefully I’ll be a bit better tomorrow, build from there and have a good qualifying again. It looks like we have a bit of work to do on the low-fuel balance whereas high-fuel balance seems more in the window, so that’s the focus.”

 

Mick Schumacher, Driver No. 47, Haas F1 Team

“It’s a great track, a flowy track and it’s quite quick so it was interesting to drive. We had a few issues here and there and we’re still trying to figure it out and be 100 percent sure with what we have as an issue but we’re getting there and tomorrow will be better.”

 

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

“Not a perfect day for us today with various issues but FP2 was already better than FP1, so we just need to work a little bit more. The team is trying hard for FP3 to get to the next step and then we’ll be where we want to be. There were a few things, starting with Kevin not feeling very well this morning, and then maybe some suspension problem which we couldn’t fix for Mick which we’ll now try to investigate. There was a little bit of everything – not a perfect day but we’ll come back tomorrow.”

 

Today's Data

Event: Free Practice 1 & 2 for the Australian Grand Prix – Friday April 8
Location: Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne
Layout:     5.279-kilometer (3.280-mile), 14-turn circuit
FP1 & FP2 Weather: Partly Cloudy
Drivers: Kevin Magnussen & Mick Schumacher 

Free Practice 1 Rundown:

Magnussen: 18th overall (1:23.186), 18 laps completed
Schumacher: 20th overall (1:24.349), 15 laps completed
Fastest Driver: Carlos Sainz of Scuderia Ferrari (1:19.806)

Free Practice 2 Rundown:

Magnussen: 16th overall (1:21.191), 23 laps completed
Schumacher: 18th overall (1:21.974), 22 laps completed
Fastest Driver: Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari (1:18.978)