Ferrari led the way in the opening practice for the Australian Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc setting a 1m20.267s to head teammate Lewis Hamilton by four tenths, while Max Verstappen was third.

Isack Hadjar impressed in fourth for Red Bull after leading much of the first half of the session, ahead of rookie Arvid Lindblad and local favourite Oscar Piastri in sixth. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli followed for Mercedes, with Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg completing the top ten.

The session featured several early technical issues, most notably for McLaren.

Piastri stopped on track with a power issue just three minutes into the session before recovering to complete 19 laps, while Lando Norris managed only seven laps and finished 18th as the team carried out precautionary gearbox checks.

There were also a handful of off-track moments for Franco Colapinto, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, while Alex Albon stopped late in the session with a hydraulic issue.

Teams will return to Albert Park for Practice 2 at 4pm AEDT.

Pos. No. Driver Team Time / Gap Laps
1 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:20.267 33
2 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.469s 30
3 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.522s 27
4 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing +0.820s 24
5 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +1.046s 22
6 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren +1.075s 21
7 63 George Russell Mercedes +1.104s 26
8 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +1.109s 24
9 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +1.429s 23
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi +1.702s 21
11 31 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team +1.894s 28
12 55 Carlos Sainz Williams +2.056s 30
13 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +2.346s 28
14 87 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +2.415s 25
15 23 Alexander Albon Williams +2.863s 24
16 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine +3.058s 26
17 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac +3.755s 24
18 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine +3.768s 27
19 1 Lando Norris McLaren +4.124s 7
20 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac +4.353s 14
21 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +30.067s 3