Ferrari leads the way as Piastri recovers in opening Melbourne practice

Ferrari and Charles Leclerc have topped the time sheets in the opening practice session of the FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2026. Under a sunny Melbourne sky, the Monaco-born driver led a dominant 1-2 result for the Scuderia, lapping the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in 1m20.267s, finishing 0.47s clear of teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Both Oracle Red Bull Racing cars followed closely, with Max Verstappen taking third place ahead of his new teammate, Isack Hadjar. In an impressive debut, British teenager Arvid Lindblad secured fifth place for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, finishing just behind the man he replaced at the team.

It was a session of mixed fortunes for the McLaren Mastercard F1 Team. Home favorite Oscar Piastri suffered a tricky start when his car ground to a halt shortly after leaving the pitlane. “I’ve got no power, I’m idling but I have no throttle,” Piastri reported before a reset allowed him to return to the pits. Despite the setback, the Melbourne-born driver surged to sixth by the end of the hour, finishing as the lead Mercedes-powered car. Conversely, World Champion Lando Norris was stranded in 19th after a gearbox problem ended his session 25 minutes early.

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli occupied seventh and eighth for Mercedes-AMG, while the new Audi Revolut F1 Team made a strong first impression. Nico Hülkenberg earned the honor of being the first 2026 car to take to the circuit, while teammate Gabriel Bortoleto finished an impressive ninth, just 1.429s off the leading pace.

The Cadillac Formula 1 Team had a reliable debut with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez finishing 17th and 20th respectively. Elsewhere, Alexander Albon stopped on track with 15 minutes remaining due to a power steering failure on his Williams.

It was a difficult session for Aston Martin Aramco, as the team was forced to park Fernando Alonso due to a suspected Power Unit issue. Teammate Lance Stroll managed only three laps before his own engine problems cut his session short.

The field will return to the track for the second practice session at 4:00 pm Melbourne time.