Practice for the 2022 Australian Grand Prix took on extra importance due to sweeping track changes at the Albert Park Circuit, targeting faster lap times and more overtaking.
Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel got their first experiences of the new-look circuit as Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team collected valuable data ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying.
Lance
Lance was one of the first drivers to take to the track in the morning's first practice session, bolting on a set of Medium tyres for early exploratory laps.
As he became increasingly comfortable with the revised circuit, Lance continued to lower his lap times and ended his first run in sixth after posting a best time of 1.23.079.
The Canadian pitted right before the first red flag of the session, caused by debris, meaning his programme was unaffected ahead of a switch to Soft tyres.
Lance soon posted his session-best time of 1.21.869 before his longer runs were halted by a stoppage caused by team-mate Sebastian.
Once the session resumed, Lance was able to take his FP1 total to 24 laps ahead of the afternoon's running.
Australian Grand Prix
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Despite a 40% chance of rain in the build-up to FP2, the session ran in dry conditions, allowing Lance the opportunity to further refine the AMR22.
Lance began the session on a set of Medium tyres and fired in a succession of ever-quicker lap times to end his first stint in 10th, lapping in a best time of 1.21.756.
A late stint on Soft tyres allowed him to find further time, and his best effort of 1.20.611 allowed him to place as high as sixth before switching to longer runs on the Medium tyre, resulting in 14th at the end of FP2.
"I think we have a made a good start to our weekend, and the car is in a decent starting place, although we always want to find and extract more pace from it," said Lance.
"We will work hard tonight to see if we can find more gains. It has been really fun to take on the challenge of a revised Albert Park Circuit.
"It is much faster and more exciting, and the four DRS zones should help cars get closer and improve overtaking, so let us see what the rest of the weekend has in store for us."
Sebastian
Sebastian's practice programme came to a premature end when he lost drive on track late in FP1, having already completed 18 laps.
The issue required a replacement power unit and, despite the team's best efforts, the work was not completed in time for FP2.
The 18 laps, however, proved useful in helping Sebastian reacclimatise to the AMR22, and Saturday's FP3 offers further practice time ahead of qualifying.
"It was a shame to have to finish FP1 earlier than we would have liked – and then not be able to take part in FP2 – because today was an important day for me in terms of getting back up to speed with the car and learning a new layout," said Sebastian.
"The positives are that I felt I was able to get comfortable quite quickly and that we had a good balance in the car, too.
"It is a shame, however, not to have completed more laps, but it was a power unit issue and that meant we had to replace it.
"The car will be fine for tomorrow and we will continue to work hard and make progress."
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