Lando Norris led the way in an opening practice session which was interrupted by two red flags at the Albert Park circuit.

The most significant disruption came when rookie Oliver Bearman crashed his Haas at the exit of turn 10. The driver was unhurt in the incident, but caused significant damage to the right-hand side of his car.

Bright sunshine greeted drivers as the first official practice session of the season began. It took little time for drivers to start beating the fastest time from the same session last year and by the time the chequered flag fell every team bar Haas had beaten it.

Charles Leclerc led the way early on as the drivers favoured the medium tyre compound. His new team mate Lewis Hamilton was off his pace to begin with, complaining he was struggling to turn his car at one stage.

Max Verstappen and the McLaren drivers were also consistently in the hunt for fastest time on the medium rubber. But once drivers switched to the soft tyres Carlos Sainz Jnr became a factor in the Williams, setting a 1’17.401 to head the times.

Seconds after Sainz set that time the session was red-flagged. Bearman had run wide at the exit of turn 10, snapped sideways as he rejoined the track and made a heavy impact with the barrier on the outside of the circuit. His VF-47 came to a rest with its right-hand wheels hanging off. Bearman apologised to his team as he climbed out.

That caused a significant delay in proceedings. The session eventually resumed with 10 minutes remaining, which gave Norris enough time to displace Sainz from the top. He had to contend with Yuki Tsunoda, however, who passed him at the final corner as the McLaren driver prepared to begin one lap, leading the pair to swap places at the next two turns.

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Leclerc ended the session third followed by Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren. Verstappen, who switched back to medium rubber for the final minutes, was fifth ahead of Alexander Albon in the second Williams.

George Russell was seventh for Mercedes after a harmless spin at turn four late in the session. Fernando Alonso took eighth ahead of Isack Hadjar, the rookie telling his team on the way in he hadn’t been happy with his fastest lap. Lance Stroll completed the top 10.

Hamilton was 12th for Ferrari, two places ahead of his replacement at Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The pair were split by Jack Doohan, whose off-track excursion at turn six dragged gravel onto the circuit, causing a brief early red flag.

2025 Australian Grand Prix Grand Prix first practice result

P. # Driver Team Model Time Gap Laps
1 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes MCL39 1’17.252 21
2 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams-Mercedes FW47 1’17.401 0.149 25
3 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-25 1’17.461 0.209 21
4 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes MCL39 1’17.670 0.418 20
5 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda RBPT RB21 1’17.696 0.444 21
6 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes FW47 1’17.713 0.461 18
7 63 George Russell Mercedes W16 1’17.716 0.464 26
8 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR25 1’17.736 0.484 23
9 6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 02 1’17.847 0.595 25
10 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR25 1’18.057 0.805 20
11 22 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 02 1’18.061 0.809 23
12 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari SF-25 1’18.071 0.819 20
13 7 Jack Doohan Alpine-Renault A525 1’18.232 0.980 20
14 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes W16 1’18.390 1.138 25
15 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber-Ferrari C45 1’18.438 1.186 22
16 30 Liam Lawson Red Bull-Honda RBPT RB21 1’18.455 1.203 22
17 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault A525 1’18.505 1.253 23
18 27 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari C45 1’18.586 1.334 18
19 31 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari VF-25 1’19.139 1.887 16
20 87 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari VF-25 1’19.312 2.060 12

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