Australian GP FP1: Charles Leclerc leads Ferrari one-two, Verstappen third
F1 NewsFriday, 06 March 2026 at 03:32
Charles Leclerc topped the first practice session of the 2026 Formula 1 season with Lewis Hamilton going second fastest as Max Verstappen was third in the Red Bull Racing RB22.
Leclerc, who arrived in Melbourne as a newly wed, delivered a lap time of 1:20.267 which was 0.469s faster than Hamilton in second as Verstappen was 0.522s off the pace in third.
However, Leclerc's time in FP1 was almost three seconds slower than Oscar Piastri's session topping time at Albert Park back in 2025.
It was a horrible day for Aston Martin as Fernando Alonso did not even venture out on track due to power unit issues on his AMR26 as Lance Stroll managed only three installation laps.
It was far from a smooth session for defending F1 Champions McLaren who suffered from gearbox issues, and while Piastri managed to complete the session finish sixth fastest, Lando Norris was out of the car from mid session onwards as the team needed to check the gearbox on his MCL40. Norris was 19th.
As it stands, it appeared that Red Bull and Ferrari had the edge as Isack Hadjar was fourth fastest on his debut with the Milton Keynes squad, three tenths slower than Verstappen.
The guy who replaced him at Racing Bulls, Arvid Lindblad, was fifth fastest and bounced back from an early anti-stall issue that stopped him at the pit exit at the start of the session.
Keeping the pre-season hype around Mercedes in mind, it seems they are still unwilling to drop the sandbags as George Russell was seventh fastest, 1.104s off the pace.
Kimi Antonelli was 0.005s behind his teammate in eighth as Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg completed the top ten as Audi seemed to be off to a solid start to their F1 adventure.
F1's newest team did not set the world alight as Valtteri Bottas was 17th fastest as Sergio Perez was 20th.
Buildup towards FP1
Formula 1 is back in business finally as the first practice session of the 2026 Australian Grand Prix marks the start of one of the most anticipated seasons in the history of the sport.
With new cars powered by new power units and rolling on new, narrower Pirellis, the pecking order is set for a reset after Red Bull dominated the recent era, bar one year, 2025, when McLaren took over.
But it seems both these teams are not the top dogs as we head into 2026, as Mercedes and Ferrari are being tipped to lead the field, as Red Bull need to build on a respectable start to 2026 with their first-ever in-house power unit.
The new regulations have wreaked havoc, as the underpowered new cars are promising to be underwhelming for now with the excessive management drivers have to do with the battery not lasting a whole lap, and most of the drivers are not happy about this, especially Verstappen.
Lifting in the corner as well as lifting and coasting will be the name of the game in addition to Overtake and Boost modes along with front and rear moveable aero (Straight and Corner modes), as well as Mercedes' compression controversy, all promising that 2026 will be interesting.
New for 2026: Straight Mode 👀
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 5, 2026
There will be five zones at the season opener in Melbourne 🇦🇺#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/nvE1ovJ7f9
But will the racing be any good? The jury is still out, and Melbourne will be the first real test, as the Albert Park track requires high levels of power from the new power units.
Positive stuff, we have an 11th team in the form of Cadillac with two veterans back in the form of Perez and Bottas.
Audi have taken over Sauber and with a new power unit, have not been a disaster which cannot be said about Aston Martin.
And while we had six rookies in 2025, we have only one in the form of Lindblad at Racing Bulls.
So let's head in FP1 and try, as much as possible, to take another step towards starting to build a picture about the upcoming F1 season.
FP1 Session Highlights
The session started in clear conditions with track temperature at 34 degrees Celsius as air temperature was 21 degrees.
The tyres Pirelli brought this weekend were the: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), and C5 (Soft).
The drivers did not waste any time and lined up in the pitlane waiting for the green light to unleash them on track with the Audi of Hulkenberg leading the way.
Soon Piastri brought out a Yellow flag. He was rolling slowly on track reporting he had no power and that his engine was just idling with the throttle not working.
He soon said he had power again and went on but then the Virtual Safety Car was out as Lindblad seemed to be stuck at the pitlane exit, his mechanics came and pushed the car back to the garage.
Arvid Lindblad is pushed back into the pit lane, and we briefly saw a VSC deployed 🟡#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/XpmD3FYuvL
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 6, 2026
However Piastri reported that he was not happy with how his engine was delivering power and also said his downshifts were shocking.
Norris appeared to be suffering the same issues as Piastri as he went straight back to to the garage.
He went out again and then pitted reporting that the shifts are "definitely better".
As a not, most of the drivers opted for the Medium tyres for the start of the session.
On the other hand, Alonso's session ended before even starting as Honda found an issue with the power unit. Surprise, surprise!
We found a suspected power unit-related issue which will prevent car #14 from participating in FP1.#AusGP pic.twitter.com/VRhzRigxfq
— Honda Racing F1 (@HondaRacingF1) March 6, 2026
Almost halfway into the session, McLaren seemed to have sorted out their issues and both Norris and Piastri were doing some running.
Then Colapinto had a lock up going into Turn 3 and ended up driving through the gravel trap, and came back to the pits to get his car checked.
Sainz had a moment on track with Gasly in the other Alpine, as the Frenchman seemed to be impeding the Spaniard.
The Russell became the first driver to shift to the Soft compound and went for a timed lap. He improved his time all over but did not deliver the best time. He was only fifth.
Sainz, on Hards, had a moment in Turn 12 and ran wide, but managed to keep going after running on the kerbs.
With 24 minutes remaining, Verstappen bolted on the Soft tyre and went for a timed lap, and topped the timing screens.
Bottas also had a moment with Hamilton.
Too early in the season? 😅
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 6, 2026
Valtteri: "I got fully blocked by Lewis" ✋#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/vHPDhBKCHG
Norris, on the other hand, was out of his car as it appeared McLaren's gearbox issues seemed to be worse than they appeared earlier.
McLaren then revealed they were running a precautionary check on the reigning F1 Champion's gearbox.
Hadjar then had a huge moment going into Turn 1, locking and going for an off-track excursion through the gravel and the grass. He managed to keep his car in one piece though.
Just mowing the lawn over here 😉 @Isack_Hadjar #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/KQBhBEhlcl
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 6, 2026
Then the Yellow flag came out again as Albon was stranded on the side of the track in his Williams FW48.
Albon radioed: "I lost power steering and everything," and his engineer reported it was a hydraulic pressure issue.
The Yellow Flag became a Virtual Safety Car as the marshals pushed the Williams off the track into the nearby track exit.
🟡 VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR 🟡
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 6, 2026
Alex Albon stops out on track, with the team reporting a hydraulic issue over the radio #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/em7Y9T4xmJ
Then Perez had a huge spin going through Turn 4. He appeared to lose the rear of his Cadillac.
The Mexican driver reported that he was having too much engine braking which led to his spin.
However, he managed to keep his car out of the barrier and was soon back on his way.
The session was concluded with practice starts.
Getting in a spin! 😵💫
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 6, 2026
Checo Perez goes for a wild ride at Turn 4 💨#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/AhYoh5xTv0
Australian GP FP1 Classification
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