Practice report

F1 Australian GP: Charles Leclerc leads first 2026 practice as McLaren and Aston Martin hit trouble

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have topped the first practice session of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Australian Grand Prix

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc headed team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Max Verstappen to lead the first practice session of Formula 1's new era that starts at the Australian Grand Prix.

Leclerc's last-minute effort of 1m20.267s demoted team-mate Hamilton after a relatively uneventful first practice session of F1's new regulations era.

Most teams wasted little time getting up to speed in Melbourne as they were keen to maximise what little track time they have to optimise 2026's complicated machinery for Albert Park's severe energy demands.

Audi's Nico Hulkenberg was the first man out, though it was four-time world champion Verstappen who set a first lap time with some semblance of urgency - with laps initially around five seconds slower than last year.

Verstappen's new team-mate Isack Hadjar soon cycled through to the lead, as did Ferrari's Leclerc and Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli.

There had been an early virtual safety car for Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, who appeared to stall at pit exit, but there was more significant trouble for McLaren. Oscar Piastri reported "something was not right" with McLaren's power delivery, reporting he was "idling, but I've got no throttle."

Piastri's team-mate Lando Norris also hit teething issues with dodgy gearshifts, with the team eventually curtailing his session after just seven laps to look into the gearbox. It would leave the reigning world champion down in 19th.

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images

That was nothing compared to Aston Martin's woes, as Fernando Alonso did not make it out on track after Honda encountered engine trouble. "We found a suspected power unit-related issue which will prevent car #14 from participating in FP1," Honda said.

Team-mate Lance Stroll completed only three slow install laps to kick off what is set to be a brutal first weekend for the Aston Martin-Honda collaboration.

At the other end of the timetable Leclerc took over command with a 1m20.829s on softs, before being demoted by Verstappen's 1.20.789s and then Hamilton. But right at the end of the session, Leclerc set a 1m20.267s to take over command after what was an encouraging start for Ferrari.

Hadjar was fourth behind Hamilton and Verstappen, ahead of a surprising Racing Bulls rookie Lindblad and Piastri.

Mercedes duo George Russell and Antonelli took seventh and eighth respectively, with Audi drivers Bortoleto and Hulkenberg rounding out the top 10.

F1 Australian GP - FP1 results

Post	Driver	Car / Engine	Lap Time	Gap	Laps
1	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1m20.267s		33
2	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1m20.736s	0.469s	30
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull/Red Bull Ford	1m20.789s	0.522s	27
4	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull/Red Bull Ford	1m21.087s	0.820s	24
5	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford	1m21.313s	1.046s	22
6	Oscar Piastri	McLaren/Mercedes	1m21.342s	1.075s	21
7	George Russell	Mercedes	1m21.371s	1.104s	26
8	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1m21.376s	1.109s	24
9	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1m21.696s	1.429s	23
10	Nico Hülkenberg	Audi	1m21.969s	1.702s	21
11	Esteban Ocon	Haas/Ferrari	1m22.161s	1.894s	28
12	Carlos Sainz	Williams/Mercedes	1m22.323s	2.056s	30
13	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford	1m22.613s	2.346s	28
14	Oliver Bearman	Haas/Ferrari	1m22.682s	2.415s	25
15	Alexander Albon	Williams/Mercedes	1m23.130s	2.863s	24
16	Franco Colapinto	Alpine/Mercedes	1m23.325s	3.058s	26
17	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac/Ferrari	1m24.022s	3.755s	24
18	Pierre Gasly	Alpine/Mercedes	1m24.035s	3.768s	27
19	Lando Norris	McLaren/Mercedes	1m24.391s	4.124s	7
20	Sergio Perez	Cadillac/Ferrari	1m24.620s	4.353s	14
21	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin/Honda	1m50.334s	30.067s	3
22	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin/Honda	No time	-	0