Aston Martin’s Alonso fastest in wet Australian second practice, Red Bull’s Verstappen third

Melbourne Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso topped the timesheets ahead of Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc in a rain-hit second practice at the Australian Grand Prix on March 31, but world champion Max Verstappen went fastest for the day.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso topped the timesheets ahead of Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc in a rain-hit second practice at the Australian Grand Prix on March 31, but world champion Max Verstappen went fastest for the day.

The Spanish veteran followed up his podium finishes at the first two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia with another eye-opening run.

He powered around the bumpy Albert Park circuit under darkening clouds before rain fell in a best time of one minute 18.887 seconds among his 13 laps, bettering his fourth place in the first one-hour session.

"The afternoon was obviously impacted by the rain, so there is still some work to do tomorrow," said Alonso.

"We need to learn more about the tyres and the long-run pace of the car because there was not much time for that today. So far though the car seems to behave well."

Leclerc, who won in Australia last year, came an encouraging second after Ferrari's early season reliability and pace issues, nearly half a second adrift but ahead of Verstappen.

The Red Bull pilot, the early championship leader, clocked a 1:18.790 in the first practice when he had an out-of-character spin, which was better than Alonso's second session best.