Charles Leclerc led a Ferrari 1-2 in the opening practice session for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix as F1’s new era of competition kicked off in at Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit. There was trouble for defending world champion Lando Norris, however, with the McLaren driver completing just seven laps before a gearbox issue sent him back to the garage for the rest of the session. 

Leclerc left it late to take top spot crossing the line in the final 45 seconds of the one-hour session to post a final time of 1:20.267 set on C5 Soft compound Pirelli tyres. That put him almost half a second clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton who took P2 just five hundredths of a second clear of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. 

It was Verstappen who led the way in the opening minutes of the session. Ten minutes in and on Medium tyres the Dutchman climbed to the top of the order with a lap of 1:22.920, with new team-mate Isack Hadjar in P2.

Hamilton then split the Red Bulls before Leclerc moved to the top of the order with a lap of 1:22.322. The Monegasque driver traded fastest laps with Verstappen and Hadjar as the session headed for the halfway mark until Leclerc dropped the benchmark to 1:21.227.

Further back, there were teething problems for defending Constructors’ champions McLaren. Early in the session hometown hero Oscar Piastri complained that he had lost power before the issues righted itself. He returned to the garage for checks but was soon back out on track with no further problems.

Norris was less fortunate. The defending Drivers’ champion reported problems with downshifts and then told him team all gear changes were “not right”. He returned to the garage and would take no further part in the session.

There were minor issues elsewhere, with new arrivals Cadillac losing wing mirrors from both its cars. The season’s only rookie, Arvid Lindblad, triggered a Virtual Safety Car when he stalled at the end of the pit exit and had to be pushed back to his garage by the Racing Bulls crew. The 18-year -old Britain would recover from the technical glitch to later claim P5 on the final timesheet in a strong opening session. 

As the session reached the halfway point Mercedes George Russell emerged on C5 Soft compound Pirelli rubber, but the Briton only managed to climb from P9 to P5, still eight tenths of a second off Leclerc’s Medium tyre best. 

Verstappen then took his first turn on the C5s, and the Dutchman jumped back to P1 with a lap of 1:20.908. Once again, he traded times with Leclerc, with the Ferrari stealing top spot with a lap of 1:20.829 before a second push lap from Verstappen saw him temporarily reclaim bragging rights with a time of 1:20789. 

He didn’t stay there long, however. As the Red Bull driver moved back to Medium tyres, Hamilton jumped ahead in the closing stages with a lap of 1:20.736, only for Leclerc to fire in his last-gasp fastest lap that saw him take P1 0.469 clear of his team-mate and 0.522 ahead of Verstappen who took P3. 

Hadjar’s first session with Red Bull Racing ended with the Frenchman in fourth place, just under three tenths of a second off his four-time champion team-mate. His replacement at Racing Bulls, Lindblad, rounded out the top five with a good Soft tyre time of 1:21.313 that left him just over a second off the pace. 

PIastri also put in a late flyer to claim P6 with a time Soft tyre time of 1:21.342, while Russell finished the session in seventh place 1.1s off top spot. The Mercedes’ driver’s team-mate Kimi Antonelli was eighth ahead of Audi pair Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg. 

Williams' Alex Albon caused a late virtual safety car after stopping on Lakeside Drive with a suspected hydraulic leak. 

There were far worse issues at Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso did not make it out on track after Honda encountered engine trouble, while team-mate Lance Stroll completed just three slow laps as his team prepared for a difficult weekend dealing with ongoing PU issues. 

2026 FIA Formula 1 Australian Gran Prix – Free Practice 1
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:20.267 33 236.719
2 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:20.736 0.469 30 235.344
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:20.789 0.522 27 235.190
4 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:21.087 0.820 24 234.326
5 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:21.313 1.046 22 233.674
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:21.342 1.075 21 233.591
7 George Russell Mercedes 1:21.371 1.104 26 233.508
8 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:21.376 1.109 24 233.493
9 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:21.696 1.429 23 232.579
10 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:21.969 1.702 21 231.804
11 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:22.161 1.894 28 231.263
12 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:22.323 2.056 30 230.807
13 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:22.613 2.346 28 229.997
14 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:22.682 2.415 25 229.805
15 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:23.130 2.863 24 228.567
16 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:23.325 3.058 26 228.032
17 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:24.022 3.755 24 226.140
18 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:24.035 3.768 27 226.105
19 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:24.391 4.124 7 225.151
20 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:24.620 4.353 14 224.542
21 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 1:50.334 30.067 3 172.211