The classification of free practice 1 of the F1 Australian GP
Here is the complete classification at the end of free practice 1 of the 2026 F1 Australian GP:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:20.267 | 33 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.469 | 30 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.522 | 27 |
| 4 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +0.820 | 24 |
| 5 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +1.046 | 22 |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +1.075 | 21 |
| 7 | George Russell | Mercedes | +1.104 | 26 |
| 8 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +1.109 | 24 |
| 9 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +1.429 | 23 |
| 10 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi | +1.702 | 21 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +1.894 | 28 |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +2.056 | 30 |
| 13 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +2.346 | 28 |
| 14 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | +2.415 | 25 |
| 15 | Alexander Albon | Williams | +2.863 | 24 |
| 16 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +3.058 | 26 |
| 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | +3.755 | 24 |
| 18 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +3.768 | 27 |
| 19 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +4.124 | 7 |
| 20 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | +4.353 | 14 |
| 21 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +30.067 | 3 |
| 22 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | No time | 0 |
The report of FP1 in Melbourne
The 2026 Formula 1 season seems to start well for Ferrari: Charles Leclerc set the fastest final time of FP1 for the Australian GP in Melbourne, thanks to a flying lap right at the end of the session (on used Soft tires) that allowed him to set the bar at 1:20.267. Thanks to this last fast attempt, the Monegasque thus displaces his teammate Lewis Hamilton from the top, improving by almost half a second, who had taken the lead just under a quarter of an hour before the end of the session.
For the rest, the entire practice session replicated the same script in a constant loop: Ferrari, Red Bull, Ferrari, Red Bull, with the Milton Keynes team drivers, Max Verstappen but also Isack Hadjar alternating at the top with Leclerc himself, even before Hamilton. A bit more hidden instead were the two Mercedes, which closed the session with the seventh fastest time of the pre-race favorite, George Russell, ahead of garage mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
It did not go particularly well for the reigning world champion Lando Norris, forced to wave the white flag due to a gearbox problem after only 7 laps. And while there are also reliability problems to note for Alex Albon – who parked his Williams on track halfway through the session – and for Arvid Lindblad, stopped a few seconds after the start but then able to restart and finish with an excellent fifth time, the session for the two Aston Martin cars was even worse. Fernando Alonso did not even get into the car due to a power unit problem, while Lance Stroll completed three very slow laps (over 30 seconds gap from Leclerc) before experiencing an engine problem with the Honda unit himself.
Read more Aston Martin, weekend hanging by a thread. Newey: “We only have two batteries left”
F1 Australian GP 2026, live and classification of free practice 1
You can relive the emotions of the first free practice session in Australia with our live report.
The weekend schedule
F1 returns to the track in the Italian morning, with free practice 2 scheduled from 6:00 AM, which will give a clearer picture of the balance of power on track, also thanks to the usual race pace simulations. Tomorrow, Saturday, March 7, 2026, FP3 at 2:30 AM and the highly anticipated qualifying at 6:00 AM.
On Sunday, March 8, instead, it will be time for another – the sweetest and most heroic of all – early wake-up call, with the Australian GP finally opening the 2026 F1 World Championship, starting at 5:00 AM. Here are all the weekend times with details of the television coverage.
Read more GP Australia 2026: FP2 report
