Ferrari starts strong, immediate 1-2 Leclerc-Hamilton

Ferrari’s 2026 world championship opens with a double flash: Charles Leclerc finishes at the top of the first free practice in Melbourne thanks to a fast lap set right at the end that allowed him to stop the clock at a time of 1:20.267 (with used Soft tires). The Monegasque thus snatches the best time from teammate Lewis Hamilton, who had taken the lead about 15 minutes before the final checkered flag.

Read more 2026 Australian GP – FP1 Classification: Ferrari starts well, immediate 1-2 with Leclerc and Hamilton

The session was characterized by a long distance duel between Maranello and Red Bull: Max Verstappen and the young Isack Hadjar shadowed the Ferrari drivers throughout the hour of practice, while the Mercedes of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli appeared more cautious, finishing in seventh and eighth positions respectively.

It was not an easy morning for Lando Norris, who completed only 7 laps before experiencing a gearbox problem. Problems also for Williams, with Alex Albon forced to park on track due to a hydraulic system failure that caused him to lose power steering. Even worse, as expected on the eve, was Aston Martin’s morning: Fernando Alonso remained stationary in the pits due to Power Unit problems, while Stroll collected only three very slow laps before surrendering to the difficulties of the Honda engine.

F1 returns to the track at 6:00 AM Italian time for free practice 2 of the Australian GP: live coverage on FormulaPassion.it starting from 5:45.

F1 Melbourne, race hub: all useful links

To best follow the live coverage of free practice 1 of the Australian F1 GP, here are all the useful links for the race weekend in Melbourne, the first round of the 2026 World Championship:

• TV times – The weekend schedule
• Weather – What the weather is like in Melbourne
• Preview – The themes of the weekend
• LIVE – The session report
• Results – The session classification
• Last year – How it went in 2025
• Calendar – All F1 2025 stages
• Driver Standings – After the 2025 season
• Constructor Standings – After the 2025 season

F1, the live report of FP1 of the Australian GP

03.35 – We enjoyed spending this little night hour together and now it’s perhaps time to go and rest a bit. But only a bit, eh: we want you all wide awake, charged and perky at 6:00 for the minute-by-minute live account of free practice 2, which will surely give us some more important indications on the balance of power on track. We wait for you with our live report starting from 5:45, but since you are knights of the FP night, you have permission to arrive let’s say even at 5:55 (for this time). Jokes aside, goodnight and see you later!

03.33 – While the drivers line up on the grid for the usual end-of-session practice starts, let’s recap the classification of this FP1:

03.30 – Checkered flag! Free practice 1 of the 2026 Australian GP ends here.

03.29 – Charles Leclerc puts himself back in the lead right at the close of the session! 1:20.267 for the 28-year-old, who beats Lewis Hamilton by almost half a second: 1-2 Ferrari at the end of this first session of the 2026 World Championship.

03.28 – Arvid Lindblad improves again, now taking fifth place behind Hadjar. Very interesting times for Charles Leclerc who is relaunching again with the same set of used Soft tires.

03.27 – Three minutes to the end of a decidedly intense first free practice session. What is certain is that Ferrari and Red Bull have started quite well, with the two Mercedes a bit cautious in pursuit: Russell is 5th at 6 tenths, Antonelli 7th, also behind the Racing Bulls of the surprising Lindblad. Audi also did well among the midfield teams, while for McLaren it’s a bit of a quiet start, with Piastri 9th and Norris out due to a gearbox problem after 7 laps.

03.24 – Spin for Sergio Perez, who lost control of his Cadillac while going through turn-4, moreover in a somewhat strange way. More than a driving error, it seems the Mexican had a rear axle lock-up entering the corner.

03.23 – Green flags and we are back on track! Meanwhile, it seems over for Lance Stroll as well, who in the end only covered 2 laps with Hard tires, finishing 29 and a half seconds off Lewis Hamilton’s time.

03.21 – Also interesting is this new F1 trend, which at least in this first practice session did not stop the action – as usually happens when someone stops on track during practice – but deployed the Virtual Safety Car.

03.19 – Alex Albon is stopped on track after turn-10: the Thai driver reported a power steering problem and therefore parked, moreover after covering a few meters with a decidedly not very encouraging noise from his Mercedes engine. Virtual Safety Car!

03.18 – Affirmative answer! 1:20.736, for Sir Lewis, who goes to the top of the session for the first time this year.

03.17 – In the second fast attempt with the Softs, Charles Leclerc does not improve, thus remaining 40 thousandths behind Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton is instead improving: will the Englishman from Ferrari manage to get closer to the top and his teammate?

03.15 – Not so bad for Audi, on the contrary! Nico Hulkenberg is eighth at a 1.1 gap from Verstappen, with Gabriel Bortoleto right behind in ninth place.

03.13 – A bit of rallying for Isack Hadjar, who went wide in turn-1 and then onto the grass to control the car avoiding the barriers after a big lock-up under braking. He’s not Sebastien Ogier, but the nationality is the same!

03.12 – The ping-pong between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen continues: the Dutchman now takes back the lead with a time of 1:20.789, with a 40 thousandth gap over Leclerc (who is however relaunching for a second attempt).

03.11 – The session of the reigning world champion Lando Norris is already over: the English driver experienced a gearbox problem and in the McLaren garage the mechanics are already dismantling the component to check what happened.

03.09 – Meanwhile Charles Leclerc improves with new Softs dropping to the 1:20.829 mark. Lewis Hamilton, with the same “red” Pirelli tires, is 4 tenths behind his teammate and is fourth.

03.07 – Not bad the time of Isack Hadjar, who goes to second place with a 179 thousandth delay from his bulky teammate.

03.06 – Lando Norris is again “on foot”, out of his McLaren number 1. Meanwhile Max Verstappen puts himself in the lead of the session in 1:20.908.

03.04 – And now Verstappen and Hadjar also fit a nice set of fresh Soft tires and start their first “qualifying simulation”. In quotes because, obviously, we are still in FP1 and because this year it is very complicated to understand what work the drivers are really doing on track.

03.03 – Russell continues slyly without showing himself too much: 1:22.117 the first lap of the pre-race super-favorite for the victory of this F1 World Championship, who slots into fifth place, 9 tenths behind Leclerc.

03.00 – The classification situation after the first half hour of activity on track, while George Russell is the first to launch with Soft tires.

02.58 – While Lindblad returns to the track, to soon be the last driver of the 21 active – Fernando Alonso is already out of the game for this session – to set a time, most of the big names have returned to the pits after a decidedly intense first half hour of activity.

02.55 – Hadjar and then Verstappen put themselves back in the lead, but Leclerc is not having it: 1:21.227 for Ferrari number 16, which beats the four-time world champion by 176 thousandths and the young Frenchman from Red Bull by 223. Fourth time for Lewis Hamilton, who is just under half a second behind his garage mate.

02.53 – Lando Norris also returns to the track, perhaps finally ready for a timed lap. Oscar Piastri meanwhile is 14th, while the Cadillacs have also taken to the track, with a time that earns them 17th and 18th place, albeit with a 6-second (Perez) gap from the top and Bottas even over 8.5 seconds.

02.51 – Meanwhile our Federico Albano on his Twitter account shows us the implications of “super clipping” with the telemetry of Max Verstappen’s first fast lap.

02.49 – And now Leclerc really returns to the lead, at least for the moment, taking the best time in 1:21.635 at the end of the tenth lap with the same set of tires.

02.47 – Leclerc takes back the lead but is now immediately beaten by Isack Hadjar in 1:21.888, still with Medium C2 tires.

02.45 – Russell instead starts the season with the sixth time, 1.5 from the limit set by Verstappen and Leclerc. Zero laps for the aforementioned Alonso, who will not be part of the game for this session, and for Valtteri Bottas.

02.44 – Max Verstappen takes back the lead, though without making a break compared to Leclerc’s time: 1:22.305 for the Dutchman from Red Bull, who beats his historic rival by only 17 thousandths. Still without a time is the reigning world champion Lando Norris, who after the installation lap returned to the pits to his mechanics.

02.42 – Charles Leclerc now goes to the lead, beating the time set moments before by Andrea Kimi Antonelli by half a second. 1:22.322 for the 28-year-old at the wheel of the Ferrari.

02.40 – We also already have some times to tell you about, although understandably still quite high: 1:22.920 for Max Verstappen, with a 9-tenth advantage over Lewis Hamilton and a 1.2 margin over teammate Isack Hadjar. All drivers so far have used Medium tires, with the exception of Stroll and Sainz who chose the Hards.

02.36 – Green flags and we are back on track! Meanwhile, communication arrives from Aston Martin that for Fernando Alonso there will be no start to the season: there is a problem with his power unit and therefore the session is already over for the 44-year-old Spaniard.

02.34 – Virtual Safety Car: after the problem reported by Piastri, there is a problem for Arvid Lindblad, who stopped a few meters after the pit lane exit and is now being pushed back into the pit lane by the track marshals.

02.32 – Immediately a small problem for Oscar Piastri, who proceeds slowly after turn-1 declaring via radio that he has “no power“. After a few seconds, however, the Australian resumed his pace without apparent difficulty, perhaps helped by a system reset.

02.30 – Green light and we’re off! Away with FP1, away with the 2026 Formula 1 season, with Nico Hulkenberg being the first to leave the pits, followed by a good list of 18 drivers immediately on track.

02.28 – There is so much desire to see F1 on track that there is a line of cars already in front of the pit exit. In a very short time, the official start of the season.

02.23 – Now, don’t overdo it with the volume at full blast given the hour, as you risk a report for disturbing the public peace. But here, if you haven’t seen it and want to get a bit hyped, here is the new-old opening theme for the start of the Formula 1 session:

02.20 – Quick analysis of the weather conditions on track: in Melbourne there is a sun that is a bit pale for the moment, with some passing clouds cooling the day. 20 degrees air, 34 track. According to the official F1 weather service, however, there is no risk of seeing rain in this session (but in general throughout the weekend).

02.15 – Here we are, we’re ready! Are you awake? 15 minutes of waiting, but you can still grab a coffee before really seeing the cars take to the track in Melbourne for the first hour of free practice of the 2026 season.

F1 Australian GP, free practice 1 live

Goodnight to all of you, dear readers of FormulaPassion.it. We are live to tell you about free practice 1 of the Australian F1 GP weekend, which will start at 2:30 AM Italian time and end at 3:30 AM. It will be a highly anticipated first session, even if taking place in the middle of the night, in which we will finally be able to see the new cars on track on a circuit different from that of Bahrain, and above all without the great tactical maneuvering of the pre-season tests: from now on, and for 24 weekends, it will be tremendously serious.

There is no shortage of important themes already this Friday, with the teams looking for confirmation after the Sakhir tests on a very different circuit, where it is not certain that the very fast middle sector might not put the new power units with (about) 50% electric power in difficulty. Who will be the first winner of the new era of racing? Find out with us, following and commenting live on all the sessions of the 2026 Australian GP of F1.

Read more Aston Martin, weekend hanging by a thread. Newey: “We only have two batteries left”