Norris fastest in Australian GP FP1 as Albon crashes out

Credit: McLaren Racing

McLaren’s Lando Norris has topped the timing boards at the Australian Albert Park Circuit, with a 1m 18.564s lap, as Williams’ Alex Albon crashed out late on.  

The paddock was back in Melbourne this weekend for the third round of the Formula 1 world championship, at the iconic Albert Park Circuit. 

Despite other supporting categories being out on track and rubbering in the asphalt ahead of F1’s opening session, many drivers were caught out with the level of grip out on track, more notably around turns nine and 10 at the left/right chicane. 

The session wasn’t without issue as the red flag was brought out with 20 minutes left to go. Albon ran over the kerb on the exit of turn six which spat him onto the circuit and into the outside wall at turn seven. Despite heavy damage, Albon reported that he was okay.  

At the end of the opening hour, Norris topped the timing sheets with the quickest time on the board. He was closely followed by Red Bull’s reigning champion, Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell who occupied P2 and P3 respectively. 

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was best of the rest in fourth whereas his teammate Carlos Sainz, who returned to race this weekend following his surgery in Jeddah, only managed P8. 

Yuki Tsunoda (RB), Sergio Perez (Red Bull) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) were sandwiched in between the two Ferrari’s in fifth, sixth and seventh.  

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri rounded out the top 10 in ninth and 10th respectively. 

RB’s Daniel Ricciardo led the bottom 10 in 11th, seven-tenths behind Norris’ best time followed by Albon, in P12, despite his red-flag-causing crash. 

Kevin Magnussen was the leading Haas in 13th, ahead of Logan Sargeant (Williams) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) who finished 14th and 15th. These three drivers were the last to remain within a second of Norris’ time. 

Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg was the leading driver outside the one-second threshold with a lap time 1.040s slower. Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and both Kick Sauber cars of Guanyu Zhou and Valtteri Bottas completed the field in 17th, 18th, 19th and P20, respectively.

The Australian Grand Prix’s second free practice session begins in a few hours at 5am GMT (4pm local time.)

That’s all for the article; Norris fastest in Australian GP FP1 as Albon crashes out!

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Susie Wolff files ‘criminal complaint’ against the FIA
• Piastri excited for Melbourne return as Stella looks to keep momentum
• Verstappen secures Saudi Arabia GP win as Bearman takes points on debut
• Verstappen claims first Saudi Arabian GP pole position by 0.3s
• Verstappen fastest in Saudi Arabia GP FP3 as Bearman makes F1 debut
• Audi to complete full takeover of Sauber in prep for 2026 F1 entry

Give us a follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from the world of Motorsport! You can also support us on Patreon or on our website!

Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.