Carlos Sainz ruthlessly outpaced Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc and world champion Max Verstappen to clock the fastest time in opening practice at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday.

The Spaniard powered round a revamped Albert Park circuit under clear skies with a best time of one minute 19.806 seconds among his 24 laps, largely on soft tyres.

Early championship leader Leclerc, who won the season-opening race in Bahrain, was half a second slower on 1:20.377, fractionally ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. Verstappen was fourth, 0.82secs off Sainz.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was seventh as his slow start to the season with Mercedes continued, more than a second behind Sainz.

Coninue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

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