Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia said he felt “calm” throughout second practice for the Australian Grand Prix despite spending most of the incident-filled hour in apparent danger of missing out on a place in Q2.

After an early technical problem forced him to switch bikes as dark clouds threatened to drench the Phillip Island track at any moment, Bagnaia was then interrupted by a red flag.

This meant a third of the session was gone before Bagnaia began to set representative lap times. He then scraped into the top 10, but was subsequently bumped out of it twice. He finally set a time good enough for fifth just before yellow flags came out with three minutes to go.

While Bagnaia’s championship rival Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) had similar woes early on following a crash at the start of the session, the points leader appeared to get up to speed and secure his Q2 spot much faster than the reigning world champion.

But what looked like a worrying situation from the outside was nothing of the sort, according to Bagnaia.

“I had a little issue with the first bike so I had to change to the other one,” explained Bagnaia. “But then everything was fine: we understood very quickly what to do on the bike.

“I saw that Jorge crashed when I was [also] having problems. I thought ‘okay, if I am out of Q2 because of the rain, then it will be the same for him’. So I did a very calm session.”

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

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Bagnaia suggested that his late lap did not represent the limit of his performance, as the yellows caused by Aprilia wildcard Lorenzo Salvadori at Doohan meant he couldn’t show his best with another lap.

“I never felt problems or that we were [close to missing out on Q2].

“I was improving exit by exit. The last exit I did with the used soft was very good, and then with the new soft I was just unlucky with the yellow flags.

“The first lap was very fast, but normally you improve a lot on the second lap here.

“But it was enough to be in the top 10 so I’m happy! And we already know what to do for tomorrow.”

As for Bagnaia’s relatively slow rise to the top compared to some of the field, the Italian revealed that some of this had to do with unavoidable GP24 set-up work.

“We started with the same setting as 2023 but the GP24 has less traction and more weight on the front. So we needed to change it a bit to move the balance,” he said.

“It was a good thing we did it today, but it was difficult to do. It was a step that [ideally] needed more time.”

This may go some way to explaining why GP23 bikes filled the first three positions in practice, as well as why pace-setter Marc Marquez expects the latest-spec Ducatis to make a big step on Saturday.

The upbeat Bagnaia was a fan of the new track surface: “This afternoon was maybe the best conditions I ever had at Phillip Island. It was sunny, no wind, the grip was very high.

“The new asphalt is very good, apart from the bumps!”

Marc Marquez has admitted that circumstances at Phillip Island played into his hands perfectly as he went fastest on a curtailed first day of the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix.

Marquez led his brother and Gresini Ducati team-mate Alex in a 1-2 in second practice after the morning FP1 session was abandoned due to heavy rain.

With the skies darkening above the oceanside track at the start of the afternoon session, there was no time for settling in or toying with set-ups on the resurfaced circuit. Rain was feared at any moment, so it was important to bank dry lap times up front.

The elder Marquez was fastest into the groove and was able to respond to every threat, including when Jack Miller (KTM) and Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) briefly hit the top. His best time, set at the end of the session, was a 1m27.770s.

“We can say that today these were my conditions,” admitted the 31-year-old, who won three MotoGP races at Phillip Island during his Honda years. “One of my strong points is adapting well and quickly to the conditions.

“I think the fact that we didn’t ride in FP1 and went into [second] practice straight away…the grip was improving a lot…and then you need to adapt to the conditions.

“I feel good, but I think the others will make a big step tomorrow. Especially Jorge Martin.”

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

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Unlike his brother, Alex Marquez only appeared at the top of the timesheets late in the session, when he registered a lap just over a tenth of a second shy of the six-time MotoGP champion.

What the siblings had in common, however, was that both thought the lost FP1 gave them an edge over the field.

“It was a short day, but when we have short days, normally it’s better for me,” said Alex, whose form has been patchy this season and whose only podium came in Germany in July. “I don’t know why, but when I spend more time on track it’s worse for me.

“Yesterday I said I needed to have fun on the bike again. And today I did. I had a good feeling from the very first lap. The set-up was working, the bike was working, and I was able to find the limit.

“It’s nice, but it’s just Friday. There’s a lot we need to understand still. If tomorrow is dry, I think pole will be in the 1m26s [bracket]. And it will be important to try the tyres. So tomorrow will not be easy.”

Like his younger brother, Marc Marquez also feels Saturday morning’s session will be crucial in terms of tyre data given the loss of FP1 and some unknowns around the rears Michelin has brought to Phillip Island.

“Tomorrow the most important thing will be to understand the rear tyre,” said Marc. “That’s where we will try to choose the correct option for the race.

“I only tried the soft today but I see that some people tried the medium. Now it’s time to analyse, which we will try to do tomorrow.”

The new surface, which was praised by the riders after their first run on it on Friday, adds another variable at a track where a highly asymmetrical tyre is called for.

Further complication is likely to come from a big temperature drop on Saturday. Some rain is also expected to be in the air, along with strong winds.

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An Erebus Motorsport data engineer has been axed from the team after being charged by the police on counts of assault and making a false report.

The 20-year-old man – who has not been named in the police report – had initially claimed that he had been assaulted by three men on William Street in the early hours of Monday morning, following celebrations for his team’s Bathurst 1000 victory with Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood.

This led Erebus to offer a “substantial reward” to anyone who could provide assistance to the investigation into the incident.

But CCTV footage, which has since been shared publicly, showed the man repeatedly hitting himself while being followed by a woman. Both parties were taken to a Bathurst hospital and paramedics were called to the scene.

A New South Wales police communication explains: “Following police inquiries, yesterday (Thursday 17 October 2024) the man was served a future court attendance notice for common assault (DV) and false representation resulting in police investigation.

“He will appear in Bathurst Local Court on Wednesday 11 December 2024.

“Police will allege in court the man assaulted a woman known to him, and was not assaulted himself but made a false report to police.”

Brodie Kostecki, Erebus Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

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In a statement, the team confirmed: “Erebus Motorsport was advised by NSW Police that charges would be laid and his employment has been terminated.”

Kostecki and Hazelwood had claimed their first Bathurst 1000 victory on Sunday, with this the first outright victory of the latter’s Supercars career.

Having started from pole, the pairing dominated the 161-lap race which saw just one safety car intervention.

Late pressure was applied by Broc Feeney in the Triple Eight-run Chevrolet Camaro he shared with Jamie Whincup, although no opportunity to launch a pass presented itself.

The win was Erebus’ first in the Great Race since 2017, when it triumphed with David Reynolds and Luke Youlden at the wheel.

Free Practice 1 at the Australian Grand Prix was cancelled on Friday as the expected heavy rain hit the Phillip Island circuit.

Race direction gave the 45-minute session every chance to go ahead, delaying the opening of pit lane multiple times in the hope that the rain would ease enough for the resurfaced track to dry.

Things briefly looked positive when, an hour and 40 minutes past the planned start time, the pits were finally scheduled to open.

However, amid what looked like general reluctance from most of teams and riders, the idea was quickly dropped. Shortly thereafter, the session was finally abandoned.  

“We have some aquaplaning and it’s better to wait until the rain stops,” reported multiple MotoGP race winner Loris Capirossi, who did several track inspections in the BMW safety car.

The cancellation of FP1 is likely to have consequences and could lead to some rescheduling of the programme. The soft rear tyre Michelin has brought to this track, which not only has a new surface but places unique demands on rubber, cannot safely go into a full race without any dry track time.

One year ago, adverse weather conditions forced flexibility on the part of the Australian GP organisers. With a better forecast for Saturday than Sunday, the Grand Prix was brought forward to Saturday.

While the grand prix went ahead and was won by Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco, the sprint – switched to Sunday in place of the grand prix – ultimately fell victim to the expected conditions and was called off.

Safety Car

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This year’s rain came as no surprise given the forecast as it was earlier in the week. While torrential rain predictions did not materialise on the Japanese Grand Prix weekend two weeks ago, the forecast for Phillip Island has proven accurate thus far.

Although the high winds set to hit the island on the practice days stayed away on Saturday morning, they began to pick up following the cancellation of FP1.

Home rider Jack Miller will be among those riders pleased to see the rain. One of several riders eyeing the opportunity this outlier weekend may bring, the KTM man said on Thursday that minimal dry running will play into his hands.

Capirossi’s safety car outings this morning were notable for some lurid slides as well as some good humoured ‘penalties’ shown to him on a pit board by the bored Fabio di Giannantonio and Andrea Migno of VR46, complete with Rossi’s #65.

Ahead of Austin’s US Grand Prix, F1’s latest tech drama emerged after what has been a busy season for F1’s poachers and the FIA’s gamekeepers alike.

First, there was the classic F1 saga over flexing front wings, with aero-elasticity key to making this — and arguably any — generation of cars sing, a domain apparently mastered by McLaren and Mercedes in particular.

Flexing wings have always been a difficult area to police due to the difference between static tests and the reality of carbon fibre bending under load. But having already issued technical directives in the past to better advise teams on how the rules would be applied, the FIA was comfortable with what the teams were doing, and did not feel the need to impose stricter flex tests to police F1 designers’ favourite grey area.

Next, McLaren became the talk of the paddock once more in Baku with its innovative low-downforce rear wing, which created a mini-DRS effect that boosted its straight-line speeds. The design again passed the FIA’s existing tests, but this innovation was edging towards the darkest of grey areas. After conversations with the FIA, McLaren agreed to tweak its design for the next race it will use the wing — which is set to be at the Las Vegas GP.

The fact that the FIA let the front wing saga go, but that McLaren did end up altering its rear wing, shows the complexity of the matter for the governing body’s gamekeepers, and how each of the 10 teams are forced to operate in more shades of gray than a bestselling novel.

Now, it is Red Bull Racing that has been flagged by rival teams over the manner in which it has installed its race height-altering device to change the front bib.

What is the ‘front bib’?

All teams use such a system in some form, but teams suspect Red Bull’s — legal — cockpit-based solution could have been used overnight when the car is under parc ferme conditions, which is expressly forbidden.

Red Bull claims the device “is inaccessible once the car is fully assembled and ready to run”, and it has to be stressed that the team does not have to modify its car in Austin, but McLaren’s Oscar Piastri felt the parc ferme nature of the solution was “out of the gray area and into a black area.”

It will be almost impossible to prove that Red Bull ever used the device in parc ferme, so even as the FIA works on stricter procedures, it is a saga that won’t have a satisfactory conclusion for those who won’t give Red Bull the benefit of the doubt.

And if you are a rival team, why would you?

You may remember that Red Bull was also mentioned when the FIA reinforced its rule outlawing asymmetric braking, but is important not to throw everything onto one pile. The FIA explained that rule tweak was designed to make the 2026 regulations more robust, after which the new phrasing was retroactively added to this year’s rulebook — still with no indication of any team breaking the rules.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, leads Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

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Why all the grey areas, and why now?

But it doesn’t seem coincidental that the 2024 season has been marked by so many tech dramas.

The regulations are in their third of four seasons, with teams finding it ever harder to add performance through traditional means. Any marginal gains can make a substantial difference to the end result now, which invites out of the box thinking.

Additionally, a closing up of the grid has led to a gripping on-track battle between Red Bull and McLaren, which has also spilled out off the track with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and McLaren CEO Zak Brown trading the occasional barbs, whether it was about these technical dramas or over high-profile staff leaving Red Bull for pastures new.

“It’s all part of the sport,” Brown told Motorsport.com earlier this year. “You’re trying to win every battle in Formula 1 on and off the track. You’re looking over every single mirror and every single wing.

“I’m going to do everything I can that’s appropriate to help McLaren win. And I would expect the other nine teams to do the same. And that means we’re going to be at odds with each other from time to time.”

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko added: “One time some teams will accuse others, and then the ones that are behind are blaming the others and say that they don’t have it. This is a normal game as long as I am in Formula 1 and it has always been like this.”

Now that is at least one thing McLaren and Red Bull can agree on.