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“If you look at Aston, they’ve done a fantastic job. I felt like we were not developing at the pace we wanted.
“Our season starts here in Australia, and I’ve got all the confidence in [team principal] Andrea [Stella], the structure, the people we have, the people we have coming, that we’ll now be able to continue forward on our journey.
Oscar Piastri completed his first practice session at Albert Park on Thursday.Credit:Getty Images
“We’ve got some good upgrade packages coming but so does every other team on the grid, but I would anticipate we’d finish the season much more stronger than we started it.”
Two-time world champion Max Verstappen had mixed results in the opening Formula 1 practice session on Friday, recording the quickest lap before spinning out.
The Red Bull Star scorched around Albert Park in 1.18.790, more than half a second faster than his teammate Sergio Perez, who clocked 1.19.293.
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But with just five or so minutes left in the hour-long session, Verstappen lost control of his car, spinning off the track, before reporting to his team: “Ah, these tyres are completely f---ed now.”
Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner said both drivers had some issues in practice.
“Neither of them were absolutely happy with the balance of the car,” Horner said.
“They were both trying slightly different things. They both had brake-related issues that took them a bit deep into a couple of corners, and the high-speed spin of Max rooted that set of tires.
“But it just shows both of them are pushing, and they’re on the limit, which is what you want to see.”
Max Verstappen driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 in pit lane during a practice session on Friday ahead of the Australian F1 Grand Prix.Credit:Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton complained about bouncing - or “porpoising” - early in the session, an issue which plagued Mercedes throughout 2022, but he ended up recording the second-fastest time of 1.19.223, with a gap of 0.433 behind Verstappen.
Piastri, who took the McLaren around Albert Park for the first time in his career, finished slightly off the pace of teammate Lando Norris, whose quickest lap was more than a quarter of a second faster than Piastri’s.
Earlier, Yuki Tsunoda spun out midway through the hour-long session, and nearly caused an accident, with Hamilton forced to brake to avoid running up the back of Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri.
Perez had the third-fastest lap, from Fernando Alonso and the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
A GPS issue forced all 20 cars back into the pits at one stage, but they were able to get back on the track before the practice was called off a few minutes early due to a red flag.
The Formula 1 drivers will begin a second hour-long practice session at 4pm on Friday.
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