Ferrari made a lightning fast start to the weekend’s action at the Australian Grand Prix, as Carlos Sainz set the fastest time of the first practice session ahead of team mate Charles Leclerc.
The Spaniard set a time of 1m 19.806s around the resurfaced Albert Park track, with Charles Leclerc a further 0.571s behind. Sergio Perez finished P3 in the session – despite bringing out the red flags after he lost a piece of bodywork on track. Perez was a couple of tenths ahead of team mate Max Verstappen in fourth.
Also showing form in FP1 were the McLarens, as Lando Norris set the fifth fastest time of the session, while home favourite Daniel Ricciardo finished in eighth.
FP1: Sainz leads Ferrari team mate Leclerc in opening Australian Grand Prix practice session
On his return to the track, Sebastian Vettel suffered from more tough luck as he brought out another red flag in the session after he stopped on track due to a loss of power, an incident which forced a change of power unit for the German.
Watch the video above to see how the first practice session in Melbourne unfolded.
Next Up
Related Articles
Every trophy won in the 2026 F1 season so far
BettingWhich F1 driver has been most profitable in 2026?
The story behind these 12 striking images from the 2026 season
ExclusiveFornaroli on testing for McLaren and pushing for a race seat
Why have Cadillac decided to replace Lowdon with Budkowski?
UnlockedInside the F1 driver’s bubble: The communications officer