Review: Weather fails to dampen Albert Park thrills

There was much to see for the record 122,927 spectators on Friday at the FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2023, including incidents, red flags and, unfortunately, wet weather.

The Formula 1® drivers were in action for the first time, with World Champion Max Verstappen topping the opening session from Lewis Hamilton, while in the afternoon, Fernando Alonso managed to sneak in one quick lap in his Aston Martin before drizzle rendered the rest of the session meaningless.

In the conditions, Lewis Hamilton was one of the stars of the session, though a clearing weather forecast for Saturday suggests that the Mercedes-Benz driver may not find the conditions he may need to challenge the dominant Red Bull team.

Shane van Gisbergen has his two-race winning streak ended in the afternoon Supercars race but in a frustrating manner. The second Beaurepaires Melbourne SuperSprint race of the weekend featured two Safety Car periods, the second of which ended the race, with Brodie Kostecki taking his first career win in his Coca-Cola Erebus Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro ahead of James Courtney’s Snowy River Caravan Ford Mustang and Red Bull Ampol’s SVG.

Courtney was later demoted to 22^nd by a 30-second penalty over a clash early in the race with David Reynolds, promoting Red Bull Ampol’s Broc Feeney to third.

In Formula 2® Qualifying, held in wet conditions, Japanese driver Ayumu Iwasa took pole in his DAMS Red Bull entry ahead of French teenager Théo Pourchaire. Aussie Jack Doohan had been among the fastest drivers early in the session but as the times of others improved, the Queenslander dropped down the order, and he will start Saturday’s race from 15^th place – alongside a driver with another famous name, Enzo Fittipaldi.

In a dry Formula 3® Qualifying, points leader Gabriel Bortoleto took pole by 0.17s from Swiss driver Grégoire Saucy, with Gabriele Mini third. Christian Mansell led the Aussie drivers in 13^th place, with Hugh Barter in 23^rd and Tommy Smith in 28^th.

The second Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup race of the weekend concluded the on-track action, with Max Vidau clearing out to take the win in wet conditions. Jackson Walls was second ahead of Callum Hedge.