Saturday’s final free practice session came to close with a bang as Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc topped Max Verstappen’s quickest lap by a scant 0.020 seconds as the checkered flag fell. As in yesterday’s FP2 session, LeClerc leads from Verstappen and Carlos Sainz as teams turn to the evening qualifying session later today.
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With nineteen cars on track, the final practice session was largely a tire test as drivers pitted the soft and medium compounds against one another in anticipation of qualifying. While LeClerc and Verstappen set their fastest times on soft tires, Sainz set his on the medium compound and was only 0.077 seconds behind teammate LeClerc.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had a positive FP3, ending their running in 4th and 5th positions after putting up a more competitive and consistent session after the prior days lackluster showing. Aston’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finished their FP3 in 6th and 7th position ahead of Oscar Piasri, Lance Stroll, and Lando Norris.
The much quieter final practice session leads us into this evenings qualifying at 16:00 circuit time. The full weekend schedule, as well and our FP1 Report and FP2 results are below.
FP1 Report – CLICK HERE
FP2 Report – CLICK HERE
FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2024 Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (Local Circuit) |
| Mar. 22nd | Practice 1 | 12:30 – 13:30 |
| Practice 2 | 16:00 – 17:00 | |
| Mar. 23rd | Practice 3 | 12:30 – 13:30 |
| Qualifying | 16:00 – 17:00 | |
| Mar. 24th | Race | 15:00 |
Free Practice 3 Results:
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
| 1 | 16 | Leclerc | 1:16.714 | 22 | 26 | |
| 2 | 1 | Verstappen | 1:16.734 | 0.020s | 28 | 21 |
| 3 | 55 | Sainz | 1:16.791 | 0.077s | 20 | 25 |
| 4 | 44 | Hamilton | 1:16.806 | 0.092s | 20 | 29 |
| 5 | 63 | Russell | 1:16.886 | 0.172s | 23 | 31 |
| 6 | 14 | Alonso | 1:16.997 | 0.283s | 20 | 24 |
| 7 | 11 | Perez | 1:17.014 | 0.300s | 28 | 29 |
| 8 | 81 | Piastri | 1:17.087 | 0.373s | 19 | 33 |
| 9 | 18 | Stroll | 1:17.341 | 0.627s | 22 | 23 |
| 10 | 4 | Norris | 1:17.490 | 0.776s | 22 | 27 |
| 11 | 22 | Tsunoda | 1:17.673 | 0.959s | 19 | 32 |
| 12 | 77 | Bottas | 1:17.752 | 1.038s | 20 | 30 |
| 13 | 23 | Albon | 1:17.759 | 1.045s | 23 | 23 |
| 14 | 24 | Zhou | 1:17.876 | 1.162s | 19 | 32 |
| 15 | 31 | Ocon | 1:17.920 | 1.206s | 18 | 33 |
| 16 | 27 | Hulkenberg | 1:17.941 | 1.227s | 17 | 28 |
| 17 | 20 | Magnussen | 1:17.961 | 1.247s | 18 | 32 |
| 18 | 3 | Ricciardo | 1:17.963 | 1.249s | 20 | 23 |
| 19 | 10 | Gasly | 1:18.390 | 1.676s | 19 | 31 |
