FP1 pace-setter Carlos Sainz finished third ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, while George Russell was the top Mercedes driver in 11th as Lewis Hamilton finished 13th.
In nearly 10°C cooler conditions compared to the first practice session at Albert Park on Friday – thanks to dark rain clouds building over Melbourne ahead of the one-hour afternoon running – Sainz led the way during the early running on the harder tyre compounds before his teammate and then Verstappen edged ahead during their later fliers on the softs.
