FP1 at the 2026 F1 Australian GP has been completed as the new season is underway. View the full report here.
It was a very messy start to the opening session of the year. Arvid Lindblad stopped on pit exit, while Oscar Piastri was briefly limping around as he had no power. The Aussie got going. However, the Brit did not. The Racing Bulls was pushed back to the pits.
Lando Norris was unhappy with downshifts and returned to the garage quite quickly.
Aston Martin confirmed Fernando Alonso would not run in FP1 due to a power unit issue. Lance Stroll only did 3 laps himself.
At the 10-minute mark, a 1:22.920 from Max Verstappen on medium tyres put the Dutchman 0.893s of Lewis Hamilton as the 2021 title contenders showed strong speed. Hadjar, Leclerc and Antonelli rounded out the top 5. 1.443s was the spread.
Out front, Charles Leclerc and the two Red Bulls continued to trade times. The Ferrari man logged a 1:21.635 with just over 42 minutes left, putting him 0.253s ahead of Hadjar. Verstappen was 0.670s away, a mistake at turn 3 not helping as he had to abandon that lap.
The times continued to fall and it was the same names doing it in FP1 at the 2026 F1 Australian GP. Hadjar did a 1:21.460, before teammate Verstappen beat that by 0.057s. Then Leclerc responded once more by banging in a 1:21.227. Lewis Hamilton was P4 as Ferrari and Red Bull continued to set the pace.
Down at turn 3, Colapinto had a lock-up and took a brief trip through the gravel.
At the halfway mark, Leclerc led Verstappen, Hadjar, Hamilton, Piastri, Antonelli, Lawson, Russell, Ocon and Bortoleto.
Soft tyres appear
Out first on the soft tyres, George Russell only went P5, 0.890s away from Charles Leclerc.
On the exit of turn 12, Carlos Sainz dipped his left hand side tyres in the gravel but continued without issues.
The second driver out on the red sidewall tyres was Max Verstappen. He logged a 1:20.908 to be 0.319s quicker than the Monegasque driver. Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar moved himself up to P2, ending up 0.179s from the benchmark.
It was game over for Lando Norris early doors as a gearbox gremlin ended his session.
Starting a flying lap, Isack Hadjar had a massive lock-up and went deep into turn 1, taking a fast trip through the gravel.
Not for the first time, Leclerc and Verstappen traded P1. After the Ferrari driver clocked a 1:20.829, the four-time World Champion beat it by 0.040s. Hadjar, Hamilton, Russell and Antonelli rounded out the top 6 with 16 minutes left as they were covered by 0.587s.
Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton would end up quickest as a 1:20.736 put him 0.053s ahead of his former arch rival.
Albon stops and Pérez spins in 2026 F1 Australian GP FP1
With just over 10 minutes remaining, Alex Albon stopped on track with a hydraulics issue. A VSC was required to clear his car.
Entering turn 4, Sergio Pérez had a solid spin as he suffered with engine braking issues.
Leclerc lays down a marker
As the chequered flag fell to close FP1, Charles Leclerc smashed in a 1:20.267 to put 0.469s into the field. Hamilton, Verstappen, Hadjar and Lindblad completed the top 5. A terrific late lap from the Racing Bulls driver put him in the mix.
Piastri, Russell, Antonelli, Bortoleto and Hülkenberg completed the top 10 in an intriguing session in FP1 at the 2026 F1 Australian GP.
