McLaren driver Lando Norris has posted the fastest time in an eventful final practice session at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Norris completed a lap of the Albert Park circuit in 1 minute, 19.117, with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc .132 seconds behind in second position in a session interrupted by two red flags.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez posted the third-fastest time, while Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton finished .779 seconds behind Norris with the eighth-quickest time for the session.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who posted the fastest time in P1 on Friday, was fifth in Saturday’s practice session, while Australian Daniel Ricciardo made it two McLarens in the first six when finishing .576 seconds behind his teammate Norris.
But the final practice session before qualifying, to be held later on Saturday, proved difficult for Aston Martin, with their drivers Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll crashing into walls.
The first red flag was produced 21 minutes into P3 when Vettel lost control on Turn 10, putting his Aston Martin into the barrier nose first to end his session.
The light went green with 28 minutes remaining in the session, but the red flag was produced again when Stroll crashed into a wall at Turn 11.
The crash by Vettel, who missed the first two races of the season due to Covid-19, continues a testing return to racing for the four-time world champion.
He completed 18 laps in P1 on Friday before engine failure halted his Aston Martin.
He was then fined 5,000 Euros (NZ$7,930) for taking a scooter for a ride on the Albert Park circuit back to the pits during the session in violation of F1s track safety rules.
Leclerc won the opening race of the season in Bahrain and series defending champion Max Verstappen, who was seventh-fastest in the final practice Saturday, won the second in Saudi Arabia, both in March.
In a major renovation to the Melbourne track, five corners were reprofiled at Albert Park and two were removed completely, meaning practice times were generally five seconds faster than in previous races.
After two races, Leclerc leads the drivers' championship with 45 points, followed by Sainz with 33 and Verstappen with 25.
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