2026 Australian GP FP1: Ferrari go 1-2 in season opener

Ferrari struck the first blow of the new Formula 1 season as Charles Leclerc led the opening practice session of the Australian Grand Prix, heading team mate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the first on-track running of the 2026 F1 World Championship.

With a brand-new technical era debuting this weekend, anticipation had been building throughout the paddock ahead of the first competitive laps of the year. At 12:30 local time, the pit lane light at Albert Park turned green, and the new generation of Formula 1 machinery rolled out for the first time in a race weekend setting. The Audi of Nico Hulkenberg was first in line as cars queued at the end of the pit lane, eager to begin gathering data on the freshly introduced regulations.

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Most of the field quickly joined the action, including the historic first Formula 1 practice appearance for Cadillac as the American manufacturer began its maiden season in the sport. But the early running wasn’t entirely smooth. Home favourite Oscar Piastri reported “no power” over the radio in the opening minutes, triggering a brief yellow flag before the McLaren driver managed to get his car moving again and return to the pits.

The session was soon neutralised by a Virtual Safety Car when Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad stopped at the exit of the pit lane with an issue. His car was pushed back to the garage, delaying the start of his programme. Elsewhere in the paddock, Aston Martin confirmed that Fernando Alonso would not take part in FP1 due to a suspected power unit problem, leaving Lance Stroll as the team’s sole runner during the session.

2026 Australian Grand Prix FP1 Results

2026 Australian Grand Prix FP1, 6 March 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:20.267	33
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.469s	30
3	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.522s	27
4	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	+0.820s	24
5	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+1.046s	22
6	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.075s	21
7	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+1.104s	26
8	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+1.109s	24
9	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.429s	23
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.702s	21
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+1.894s	28
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+2.056s	30
13	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+2.346s	28
14	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+2.415s	25
15	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+2.863s	24
16	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+3.058s	26
17	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+3.755s	24
18	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+3.768s	27
19	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+4.124s	7
20	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+4.353s	14
21	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+30.067s	3

As the track began to rubber in and the first representative laps appeared on the timing screens, most drivers opted for the medium compound tyres. Verstappen initially set the benchmark during the opening quarter of the session before Ferrari’s Leclerc edged ahead with a 1m22.080s effort, the Monegasque signalling early promise for the Scuderia in the sport’s new technical cycle.

The times continued to shuffle as the session developed. Lindblad remained in the garage following his earlier stoppage, while Isack Hadjar briefly moved to the top of the leaderboard during his first practice outing as a full-time Red Bull driver. His stint at the summit proved short-lived, however, as Leclerc soon reclaimed P1.

There were several scruffy moments across the field as drivers explored the limits of the evolving cars. Verstappen suffered a lock-up at one of Albert Park’s heavy braking zones, while Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas reported being blocked by his former Mercedes team mate Hamilton during a flying lap.

By the halfway point of the hour, Leclerc still controlled the session with a 1m21.227s, holding a 0.176s advantage over Verstappen. Hadjar sat third, followed by Hamilton and Piastri, the Australian gradually building mileage after his earlier issue interrupted his run plan.

Lindblad eventually returned to the track to begin making up for lost time as teams worked through their early data gathering. As the session moved into its second half, George Russell became the first driver to switch to the soft C5 tyres, jumping to fifth place on his initial qualifying-style run.

Soon the rest of the field followed suit, bolting on the softest compound and pushing for representative times. One driver absent from the late-session charge was reigning world champion Lando Norris, with McLaren confirming that his car had been returned to the garage for precautionary gearbox checks, ending his session early.

Further drama followed as Hadjar reported a “big lock-up” and ran over the grass during a moment on the brakes. Verstappen, meanwhile, returned to the top of the timesheets with a 1m20.789s lap as the session entered its final 15 minutes.

The action was briefly halted again when Alex Albon stopped at Turn 10, bringing out another Virtual Safety Car while marshals recovered the stranded Williams. Once running resumed, Hamilton showed strong pace around a circuit where he has previously claimed eight pole positions, briefly moving to the top of the leaderboard.

Elsewhere, Sergio Perez spun off the track late in the session in his Cadillac, reporting issues with engine braking over the radio.

But when the chequered flag fell at the end of the hour, it was Leclerc who finished on top, delivering a late benchmark lap of 1m20.267s to edge Hamilton by 0.469 seconds. The Ferrari driver also completed the most laps of anyone in the session with 32 tours, underlining a productive opening outing for the Scuderia.

Verstappen ended the session third fastest ahead of Red Bull team mate Hadjar, while rookie Lindblad impressed by recovering from his earlier stoppage to finish fifth quickest. Piastri placed sixth for McLaren ahead of the Mercedes pairing of Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with Audi drivers Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto rounding out the top ten.

Just outside the top ten, Esteban Ocon finished 11th for Haas ahead of Williams driver Carlos Sainz. Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson was 13th, from Haas rookie Ollie Bearman and Albon. Alpine drivers Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly ended the session 16th and 18th, respectively, with Bottas between them in 17th.

With his curtailed running, Norris ended the hour 19th, while Perez was classified 20th following his late spin. Stroll completed only limited running and finished 21st, as Aston Martin dealt with the suspected power unit problem that sidelined Alonso.