Saturday, 23 March 2024
- Free Practice 3: P3, 1:16.791, 20 laps
- Qualifying: P2, 1:16.185, 18 laps

• Carlos Sainz put together a splendid Qualifying session in Albert Park, where he came in second just two weeks after undertaking surgery for his appendicitis.
• The Ferrari race driver made some adjustments to his seat, his seatbelts and the brake pedal of his SF-24 in order to better cope with the physical discomfort he still feels when he is at the wheel.
• The Spaniard made another step forward in Qualifying, leading both Q1 (1:16.731) and Q2 (1:16.189) before reaching Q3, where he fought for pole position up until the very last lap with 1:16.185 being his fastest time.       

QUOTES:
“From missing the race in Jeddah to this P2 in two weeks, it’s been an interesting journey to say the least! I’m very happy because coming to Australia I wasn’t even sure I was going to make it. We have managed to progress steadily session after session, knowing that the target was to arrive as prepared as possible for qualifying. I tried everything to get pole in the last lap but it’s impossible to be disappointed with today’s result given the circumstances".

“Hopefully the body holds on during the entire race. As long as I have no pain and with the extra motivation from today, I will fight to get a good result tomorrow".

COMING UP:
Sunday, 24 March 2024
- Race: 15:00 local time (05:00 CET)