Leclerc Leads Ferrari 1-2 in Opening Practice of 2026 Australian Grand Prix

Sports

The 2026 Formula 1 season officially began at Albert Park in Melbourne with the first practice session of the Australian Grand Prix, and it was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who set the pace to top the opening session of the year. The Monegasque driver delivered the fastest lap late in the session, leading teammate Lewis Hamilton to give Ferrari an early one two result.

Leclerc clocked a best time of 1:20.267, comfortably placing him at the top of the timesheets as teams began their first competitive running of the new season. Hamilton finished second, around half a second behind, marking a strong start for the seven-time world champion in Ferrari colours.

Reigning race winner Max Verstappen placed third for Red Bull after spending much of the session trading quick laps with Leclerc before Ferrari’s final run secured the top two positions. Verstappen’s teammate Isack Hadjar completed an encouraging session in fourth place as the team gathered important early data.

One of the standout performances came from rookie Arvid Lindblad, who impressed on his Formula 1 debut by finishing fifth fastest for Racing Bulls. The young driver showed strong pace throughout the session and remained close to the leading teams, providing an early glimpse of his potential in the top category.

Home favourite Oscar Piastri finished sixth for McLaren in front of his home crowd after a session that included some technical issues early on. His teammate and defending world champion Lando Norris endured a difficult start to the season after a gearbox problem limited him to only a handful of laps, leaving him well down the order by the end of the session.

Mercedes had a relatively quiet opening hour, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finishing seventh and eighth respectively as the team focused on gathering data rather than chasing lap times. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten in a session that saw teams working through installation runs, tyre evaluations and setup adjustments.

Elsewhere there were several minor incidents and reliability concerns as teams adapted to the early conditions of the season opener. Cadillac also took part in its first official Formula 1 practice session, marking a significant milestone for the new entrant team as it begins its journey in the championship.

With the first practice session complete, teams will now analyse their data before returning to the track later in the day for the second practice session. While it is still early in the weekend, Ferrari’s strong start with Leclerc and Hamilton suggests the Scuderia could be a major contender as the 2026 season gets underway in Melbourne.