Lando Norris. Photo supplied by Racing Force Group

Formula 1 News: Norris tops opening practice for Australian GP

Lando Norris turned the fastest lap in his superior McLaren to top Practice 1 for the Australian Grand Prix with a time of 1m17.252s around the Albert Park circuit.

–by Mark Cipolloni

With Williams’ Carlos Sainz Jr. out in front, in the dying stages of the hour-long run at Melbourne’s Albert Park, Norris posted a lap of 1:17.252s on Pirelli’s soft tires, finishing 0.149s clear of Sainz, the Spanish driver in his maiden race weekend outing for his new team.

Sainz was 0.060s faster than his former Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in third, with home hero Oscar Piastri four-tenths of a second adrift of Norris in fourth, with the Australian narrowly ahead of four-time champion Max Verstappen in his Red Bull to round out the top-5, 0.444s behind Norris.

On his practice debut with Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton was a lowly 12th, at one stage complaining he could not get the car to turn as he would like, finishing 0.819s behind Norris.

Alex Albon was 6th in the 2nd Williams, 0.461s behind Norris.

George Russell was seventh fastest in the Mercedes-AMG, but finished the session  dropping a tire onto wet grass and spinning at Turn 4.

Best of the rookie drivers was Isack Hadjar, the Frenchman looking very good in the Racing Bull, which finished ahead of Lance Stroll and his teammate, the experienced Yuki Tsunoda.

Two Red Flags

The first red flag of the new season appeared courtesy of Australian Jack Doohan. The Alpine driver skirted the edge of the fast Turn 6, spewing gravel across the track.

It forced race control to halt proceedings for seven minutes whilst a sweeper cleared the asphalt. The skirmish, though, also resulted in Doohan sustaining damage to the left-hand edge of his floor.

Coming out of the high-speed Turn 10 right-hander Oliver Bearman lost control of his Haas and he smacked the wall hard.

2025 Australian GP Practice 1 Results

Pos No Driver Car Time Gap Laps
1 4 Lando Norris McLaren Mercedes 1m17.252s +0.000s 21
2 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Williams Mercedes 1m17.401s +0.149s 25
3 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1m17.461s +0.209s 21
4 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren Mercedes 1m17.670s +0.418s 20
5 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT 1m17.696s +0.444s 21
6 23 Alexander Albon Williams Mercedes 1m17.713s +0.461s 18
7 63 George Russell Mercedes 1m17.716s +0.464s 26
8 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 1m17.736s +0.484s 23
9 6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls Honda RBPT 1m17.847s +0.595s 25
10 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 1m18.057s +0.805s 20
11 22 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls Honda RBPT 1m18.061s +0.809s 23
12 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1m18.071s +0.819s 20
13 7 Jack Doohan Alpine Renault 1m18.232s +0.980s 20
14 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1m18.390s +1.138s 25
15 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber Ferrari 1m18.438s +1.186s 22
16 30 Liam Lawson Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT 1m18.455s +1.203s 22
17 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine Renault 1m18.505s +1.253s 23
18 27 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber Ferrari 1m18.586s +1.334s 18
19 31 Esteban Ocon Haas Ferrari 1m19.139s +1.887s 16
20 87 Oliver Bearman Haas Ferrari 1m19.312s +2.060s 12