F1: Verstappen tops Practice 1 for Australian GP

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Despite complaining of transmission shifting issues, defending F1 World Driving Champion Max Verstappen turned the fastest lap of 1m18.790s to top opening practice for the Australian GP at Albert Park.

It was not a clean session for the Dutchman, however, as Verstappen went off-line and suffered a spin with 7 minutes to go in the session, smacking the bottom of the car over the curbs.

After spinning, Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 in the Pitlane during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit on March 31, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Lewis Hamilton was 2nd fastest for Mercedes, 0.433s behind the Red Bull.

Sergio Perez was 3rd quick with a lap of 1m19.293s, 0.503s behind his Red Bull Honda teammate.

Fernando Alonso was 4th quick for Aston Martin, 0.527s behind Verstappen.

The two Ferraris rounded out the top-6 with Charles Leclerc in 5th and Carlos Sainz Jr. in 6th.

The session ended under red when Logan Sargeant’s William’s completely lost power, and he stopped at Turn 11 on course.

Practice 2 is up at 1:00am ET.

Practice 1 Results

POS	NO	DRIVER	NAT.	CAR	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	1	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1m18.790s	+0.000s	17
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	1m19.223s	+0.433s	20
3	11	Sergio Perez	MEX	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1m19.293s	+0.503s	19
4	14	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	1m19.317s	+0.527s	23
5	16	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	1m19.378s	+0.588s	16
6	55	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Ferrari	1m19.505s	+0.715s	20
7	4	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren Mercedes	1m19.536s	+0.746s	16
8	10	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Alpine Renault	1m19.646s	+0.856s	22
9	63	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes	1m19.699s	+0.909s	23
10	18	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	1m19.766s	+0.976s	19
11	23	Alexander Albon	THA	Williams Mercedes	1m19.766s	+0.976s	21
12	81	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren Mercedes	1m19.777s	+0.987s	22
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Haas Ferrari	1m19.806s	+1.016s	19
14	21	Nyck De Vries	NED	AlphaTauri Honda RBPT	1m19.933s	+1.143s	25
15	2	Logan Sargeant	USA	Williams Mercedes	1m20.074s	+1.284s	21
16	31	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Alpine Renault	1m20.175s	+1.385s	20
17	22	Yuki Tsunoda	FIN	AlphaTauri Honda RBPT	1m20.399s	+1.609s	14
18	77	Valtteri Bottas	JPN	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	1m20.419s	+1.629s	21
19	24	Zhou Guanyu	CHN	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	1m20.569s	+1.779s	22
20	20	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas Ferrari	1m21.147s	+2.357s	17