The ranking of free practice 1 of the Australian F1 GP
Here is the complete ranking at the end of free practice 1 of the 2026 F1 Australian GP:
| Pos | Pilot | Team | Detachment | Turns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ST | 0 |
The news of FP1 in Melbourne
The 2026 season of Formula 1 seems to be off to a good start Ferrari: Charles Leclerc he is the author of the best final time of the FP1 Australian GP to Melbournethanks to a lap launched right at the end of the session (with used Soft tyres) which allowed him to move the bar to1:20.267. Thanks to this last fast attempt, the Monegasque thus displaces his teammate from the top, improving by almost half a second. Lewis Hamiltonwho took the lead just under a quarter of an hour before the end of the session.
For the rest, the entire free practice session replicated the same script in a constant loop: Ferrari, Red Bull, Ferrari, Red Bull, with the drivers from the Milton Keynes team, Max Verstappen but also Isack Hadjar to alternate leadership with Leclerc himself, even before Hamilton. The two, however, are a little more hidden Mercedeswho closed the session with the seventh time of the great favorite of the day before, George Russellin front of his boxmate Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
However, it didn’t go particularly well for the reigning world champion Lando Norrisforced to raise the white flag due to a gearbox problem after just 7 laps. And if there are also reliability problems to note Alex Albon – who parked his Williams on track mid-session – and for Arvid Lindbladstopped a few seconds after the start but then able to restart and finish with an excellent fifth time, the two o’clock session was even worse Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso he didn’t even get into the car due to a power unit problem, while Lance Stroll he ran three very slow laps (over 30 seconds behind Leclerc) before experiencing an engine problem himself Honda.
F1 GP Australia 2026, live and ranking of free practice 1
You can relive the emotions of the first free practice session in Australia with our live commentary.
The weekend program
F1 returns to the track in the Italian morning, with free practice 2 scheduled from 6.00 in the morning and which will give a slightly clearer picture of the balance of power on the track, also thanks to the usual tests on race pace. Tomorrow, Saturday 7 March 2026, FP3 at 2.30 am and the highly anticipated qualifying at 6.00 am.
Sunday 8 March, however, will be the time for another – the sweetest and most heroic of all – early rising, with the Australian GP which finally opens the 2026 F1 World Championship and which will start at 5.00 in the morning. Here are all the weekend times with details of television coverage.
