Verstappen sets the pace as Perez endures difficult final practice
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Verstappen – who has never won the Australian GP – seems to be the firm favourite to take Red Bull’s first win at Albert Park since 2011.Why have Mercedes & Red Bull dominated F1 so much?Video of Why have Mercedes & Red Bull dominated F1 so much?The Dutchman’s 1m17.565s puts him over a tenth clear of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a busy FP3 session.On the other side of the garage, Perez – who is just one point behind Verstappen in the championship – struggled for paceThe Mexican ended the session P6 overall – behind Esteban Ocon, George Russell and Pierre Gasly – but that didn’t tell the whole story.Perez sat in the garage for the opening 20 minutes of the session as Red Bull worked on his car due to an unconfirmed issue.However, when he was on track, he didn’t look comfortable in the RB19.Perez had offs at Turn 1, Turn 3 and the penultimate corner as he struggled with the brakes on his Red Bull.He reported over team radio: “I just don’t feel the car… it’s all OK with the car? I cannot brake into Turn 1, very loose rear, then a lot of front lock into Turn 3. Very inconsistent in the corner.”Related Verstappen’s “won’t be around for too long” warning if F1 plays with format Could the Australian Grand Prix become a night race?Perez followed it up with: “I cannot believe this session.”Just behind Perez was Carlos Sainz – who had a late spin after the chequered flag – Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll and Zhou Guanyu.Rain fell at the end of the session meaning the track could be greasy for qualifying.
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