McLaren continued their impressive form in the first official session of 2025, as Lando Norris topped the timesheets for FP1 at the Australian Grand Prix with a lap of 1:17.252. Carlos Sainz came in second as Williams carried over their promising testing pace. The Spaniard led the latter part of the session with a time of 1:17.401 until Norris pulled out a flying lap in the final minutes. Charles Leclerc was six hundredths behind Sainz in third for Ferrari. Oscar Piastri came in fourth in the second McLaren with a lap of 1:17.670, while defending champion Max Verstappen was fifth for Red Bull at 1:17.696.
McLaren ahead early in Australian FP1
In the early going, Verstappen put himself at the top of the timesheets ahead of the Ferraris of Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. He was quickly joined by both McLarens, with Norris going to the top and Piastri at P3. Norris and Leclerc would trade fastest laps until Leclerc broke into the 1:17s, with a 1:17.880. 21 minutes in, Jack Doohan’s Alpine kicked up just enough gravel running wide at turn 7 to warrant a red flag to clean the track. He would place 13th in practice with a lap of 1:18.232.
Soft tyres on, and Sainz on top
After the track reopened, Verstappen went to the top on the first soft tyre run. George Russell for Mercedes would join Verstappen and Leclerc into the 1:17 range. He was just two hundredths behind the defending champion, and finished in 7th with a time of 1:17.716. He was followed into the 1:17 club by Sainz on the softs in P4. The Williams driver would take the top spot with 23 minutes left, recording a time of 1:17.401.
After Bearman’s Haas mauled, one last run for everyone else
A couple minutes later, Oliver Bearman lost his Haas coming out of turn 7 and hit the wall. The first major incident of the season brought out a 10 minute red flag, after which the McLarens re-entered the top 5. With just over a minute left, it would be Norris who bumped Sainz off the top of the table. The session nearly ended early as Russell spun at turn 4 and only just missed hitting the barrier, but it would be just a brief yellow as the rest of the field was able to complete FP1 for the Australian Grand Prix.
Recapping the rest of the field
Sainz’s teammate Alexander Albon would come in 6th with a time of 1:17.713. He was followed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso (1:17.736). Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar (1:17.847) was eighth ahead of the second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll (1:18.057). Yuki Tsunoda would place 11th in the second Racing Bulls car with a time of 1:18.061, just a hundredth of a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari. Jack Doohan was in 13th, followed by fellow rookies Kimi Antonelli for Mercedes (1:18.390) and Gabriel Bortoleto for Sauber (1:18.438). Liam Lawson came in 16th in the second Red Bull (1:18.455), ahead of Pierre Gasly’s Alpine (1:18.505) and the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg (1:18.586). The Haas cars of Esteban Ocon (1:19.939) and the crash-hampered Oliver Bearman (1:19.312) rounded out the field.
