Will in the mix as Frosty fights back

Frosty gets delayed in pit stops

Ford's Pepsi Max Crew has come out fighting at the Australian Grand Prix with Will Davison a contender for the overall event podium after a third and fourth places in the day's two races.

Race 1:
Will was on the move from ninth on the grid as he moved forward from the opening lap and with help from a well-timed safety car he vaulted to fifth after his stop before climbing to third.

Mark was delayed exiting his pit box at his sole pit stop and while he finished seventh he was later penalised for an unsafe release during the stop which dropped him to 25th.

Race 2:
Will dropped to fourth off the line though used an alternate strategy to stay out longer than most of his rivals.

He pitted from the lead and re-joined fifth before climbing to fourth by the end of the 12-lap sprint.

Winterbottom charged through the field, climbing a remarkable 13 places to finish 12th.

Mark Winterbottom - #5 Pepsi Max FPR Ford:
Race 1: 7th (dropped to 25th with penalty)
Race 2: 12th 
"We tried a few things in race two given we had the penalty and were so far back and thankfully they seemed to work. I had a great launch off the start and while we had a slow stop I was able to work my way through the field which is encouraging. I had a lot of fun out there passing cars and it was great we moved so far forward."

Will Davison - #6 Pepsi Max FPR Ford:
Race 1: 3rd 
Race 2: 4th 
"I felt our second race was a step back from race one as although we finished only one spot lower we tried a different strategy where we ran long at the start but it just didn't quite work. We are here to try and make the car faster and we are learning more and more so third and fourth is reasonable but we will keep digging to find some more speed."

Mathew Nilsson FPR Engineering Manager:
"We've made steady progress today which is encouraging. Will had a consistent day results-wise even if he wasn't as happy with his race two effort, while Frosty showed that without his penalty he'd also be right in the mix. His race two drive was impressive. Dave and Alex have both made good ground across the two races so I think we can continue to chip away and see further improvements from all four drivers and crews."