2017 F1 Round 1 Australian GP FP2, Hamilton Leads Again as Vettel Closes to 0.547 Seconds

Second practice for the Australian Grand Prix took place at Albert Park on 24 March 2017. Hamilton led again, improving on his best lap from the morning by 0.600 seconds and becoming the only driver to break the 1:24 barrier in the session.

Hamilton topped FP2 with a 1:23.620, while Mercedes team-mate Bottas was third, 0.556 seconds behind. Vettel took second, 0.547 seconds off the pace. Just 0.009 seconds separated second and third, with both drivers more than half a second behind Hamilton.

Räikkönen was fourth, 0.905 seconds behind, also finishing within a second of Hamilton. Ferrari’s two drivers completed 35 and 30 laps respectively. Vettel’s position between the two Mercedes cars gave the afternoon’s top three a different order from the morning.

Ricciardo was fifth and Verstappen sixth, with Red Bull dropping back from its leading positions in FP1. Verstappen ran across the grass and gravel at Turn 12 but avoided the barriers, completing eight laps. Ricciardo completed 27.

Sainz was seventh, Grosjean eighth, Hülkenberg ninth and Kvyat tenth. Pérez finished 11th, Alonso 12th and Ocon 13th. McLaren’s Alonso completed 19 laps during the session.

Palmer lost control at the final corner and hit the barriers, bringing out the red flag. After running resumed, Massa stopped at Turn 10 with a gear-selection problem. Magnussen encountered a water-pressure issue, while Ericsson went into the gravel at Turn 6. Several teams lost practice time as a result.

Massa completed just six laps, while Stroll managed 27. Vandoorne completed 33, with both rookies getting more track running than their respective team-mates. Hamilton and Bottas each completed 34 laps, giving Mercedes consistency in both pace and mileage.

The table below gives the complete official F1 classification for FP2, listing the best lap and lap count for all 20 drivers. Hamilton led with a 1:23.620, followed by Vettel and Bottas.