The first hour of AusGP Practice is complete, and Ferrari picked up where they left off in Bahrain two weeks ago. Charles Leclerc went fastest at Albert Park, putting in a 1:20.267, which was +0.469s faster than his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Eventful first session
After a two-week break between testing and the season opener at Albert Park, drivers were eager to get on track. Following Nico Hülkenberg, Lewis Hamilton was one of the first one drivers out on track, followed closely by the two Red Bulls.
The session was off to glitch-filled start, with several drivers experiencing power unit issues. Oscar Piastri had an issue with his car losing power. The McLaren driver managed to limp his car back to the pits, where a potential software issue was causing power not to deploy properly. However, Oscar was able to return to the track for the last 35 minutes of the session.
While Oscar was able to get back on track after the issues, Lando Norris was forced to retire from the session while the team carried out gearbox checks.
Arvid Lindblad’s first Grand Prix session as a Formula 1 driver was also off to a troubling start. The Racing Bulls driver needed help from the stewards to get his car back to the pits after stopping in the pit lane. This resulted in the VSC being deployed. Regardless of the early session gremlins, the young Brit put in a strong performance and was 5th on the timesheets.
It wasn’t a smooth Practice for Williams either. Alex Albon was forced to stop on track at Turn 10 after losing power steering due to a suspected hydraulics leak. This brought out another VSC while the marshals wheeled the FW48 to safety.
Former Red Bull driver Sergio Pérez experienced issues with the engine breaking that resulted in the Cadillac driver spinning off track in Turn 4.
Apart from power issues, there were many lock-ups throughout the session with drivers like Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.
Troubles continue for Aston Martin
After a rocky pre-season testing in Bahrain, troubles for Aston Martin continued. During a press conference, Adrian Newey said that the power unit vibrations are heavily impacting the functionality of the car.
Aston Martin’s team principal explained that this issue is also dangerous for the drivers, he stated that this vibration can cause permanent nerve damage if driven for too long.
Both Aston Martin and Honda worked tirelessly together from Bahrain testing to the Australian GP to resolve the issues. Having introduced countermeasures to combat the vibration issues, the team was ready to test them out in FP1.
Unfortunately, Alonso was not even able to get in the car during FP1 due to another PU-related issue. Lance Stroll didn’t experience much luck either. The Canadian retired from the session after only managing 3 laps and being almost 30 seconds off the pace.
It remains to be seen whether Aston Martin will be able to complete race distance. The team have already confirmed they will more than likely have to retire both cars early during the race on Sunday.
Ferrari dominance and a strong start for Red Bull and Racing Bulls
After playing pass the parcel with Red Bull drivers throughout the session, Ferrari came out on top in the end.
Charles Leclerc went fastest of the opening session at Albert Park, he was closely followed by his teammate Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari showed strong pace in Bahrain, and they seem determined to continue their early dominance this season. Whether 2026 will truly be the year for the Tifosi remains to be seen.
With Ferrari 1-2, the rest of the top 5 was occupied by the new Red Bull Powertrain powered drivers. Starting his second year in the sport and moving up to the Red Bull team, Isack Hadjar seemed determined to show what he is capable of during the race weekend.
While it was just a practice session, he was 4th in the timesheets with just +0.298 seconds separating him and his teammate, 4-time world Champion Max Verstappen, who was P3.
The top 5 was rounded out by the only rookie on the grid this year – Arvid Lindblad. Despite the early troubles, the British rookie put in a lap of 1:21:31-. a great start to his first full F1 weekend.
Most of the weekend is still ahead
While Ferrari and Red Bull set the pace in FP1, Mercedes had an uneventful first session. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finished P7 and P8, respectively.
With new regulations and the new cars only having run on a handful of tracks, it is too early to tell what will happen on Sunday and who will come out on top. Especially considering that teams tend to hold back in FP sessions, saving it all to Qualifying and the race.
But one thing is for sure. The first Formula 1 race weekend is finally here, and it was worth the wait.
Feature Image Credit: Ferrari Media Centre