On the European night, the green light goes off at Albert Park: it's time for the first free practice session of the season. First on the track of the entire group are Bortoleto and the home favorite, Oscar Piastri; all others follow. From the first laps we notice small changes on the circuit: modified the curbs at the exit between turns 6 and 7, an area where last season there was the accident of George Russell.
A session that from the very beginning lights up, with the drivers lowering their times lap after lap (all mounting medium tires). With forty-one minutes to go everyone is forced to pit because of so much gravel on the track, which caused red flags. While waiting for the removal, we point out the temporary top 5 consisting of: Leclerc, Russell, Hadjar, Norris and Verstappen.
Back on track on soft rubber
The green flag brings the drivers back to the track, with Verstappen and Russell setting the first times on red rubber: the Dutchman momentarily stops the chrono in 1:17:696, followed by the Mercedes driver just twenty milliseconds behind. As for the main opponents, Leclerc continues to stay in the pits, as do the two McLarens; different situation for Lewis Hamilton, protagonist of a small mistake on the first lap from the restart, returned to the pits.
In the meantime, the first position is gained by Carlos Sainz, who with soft tires puts himself ahead of everyone, followed by Leclerc, who fails to stay ahead of him by very few thousandths. A few minutes later, the fast lap simulation phase is interrupted by a second red flag, caused by an accident of Oliver Bearman, who lost his car in Turn 10; the Englishman is okay.
Last ten minutes to give it your all
The green flag comes out again and all the drivers take to the track, looking for a lap: however, traffic takes over, with many struggling to better the entire time overall. Lando Norris manages with one minute left in the session to put himself ahead of everyone, stopping the time at 1:17:252. FP1 of the Australian GP ends with Norris in the lead, followed by an unexpected Sainz; Leclerc follows. There are still many knots to unravel: see you later with FP2!
Read also: McLaren: is Piastri's contract extension a threat to Norris' mental health?
Read also: Australian GP - First pictures from the circuit: working inside the pits
Australian GP 2025 Practice 1 result
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