Charles Leclerc pips Hamilton to fastest FP1 lap at Australian GP
6th March 2026Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has pipped his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, to the fastest time in the opening hour of practice at the Australian Grand Prix.
Feature image credit: Pirelli Newsroom
The first practice session is now completed and in the book for the Formula 1 teams at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit, for the opening round of the 2026 campaign, and the first hour wasn’t without issues.
However, it was a strong start for Leclerc, who topped the timing boards with a 1m 20.267s lap on the board.
By the end of the opening session, the grand prix winner put daylight between himself and his rivals after the newlywed Monegasque beat Hamilton by 0.469s as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen rounded out the top three.
When the pit exit light turned green, Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg was the first driver to head out onto the Australian circuit, and he was quickly joined by the bulk of the field.
Despite this, there were immediate reliability problems. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri reported loss of power in his F1 challenger, but he was able to limp around before continuing.
The same could not be said for F1 rookie, Arvid Lindblad – Racing Bulls – who lost drive on the exit of the pit lane. The Virtual Safety Car was quickly deployed to allow the marshals to push the Briton back into the pit lane.
Aston Martin reported an issue with the power unit of Fernando Alonso’s car, and the two-time world champion was forced to sit out of the session. He was later joined by McLaren’s world champion, Lando Norris, who had developed an alleged gearbox problem and retired from the opening hour.
Similarly, Lance Stroll was forced to retire from the practice session with another suspected power unit issue.
Alexander Albon, of Williams, brought out the second VSC of the session as the #23 Williams lost drive heading through turn 10. This allowed, similar to Lindblad’s incident, the marshals to push the Williams to safety behind the barrier.
Who finished where?
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
- Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
- Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren
- George Russell, Mercedes
- Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
- Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi
- Nico Hulkenberg, Audi
- Esteban Ocon, Haas
- Carlos Sainz, Williams
- Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
- Oliver Bearman, Haas
- Alexander Albon, Williams
- Franco Colapinto, Alpine
- Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- Sergio Perez, Cadillac
- Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
- Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Valtteri Bottas will serve grid penalty at Australian Grand Prix
- Weather report: the latest forecast ahead of Australian Grand Prix
- Arvid Lindblad Takes F1 to the Streets of India
- Opinion: Was Alex Dunne Right to Choose Alpine?
- How qualifying will change in 2026
- FIA approve new power unit test following vote
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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.
