Sir Lewis Hamilton 12th in first practice session with Ferrari

Sir Lewis Hamilton - Photo by Ferrari

McLaren's Lando Norris led the way in the opening free practice session at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, setting the benchmark with a 1:17.252. The Brit topped the timesheets ahead of Carlos Sainz, who delivered an impressive showing for Williams to finish just 0.149s behind. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the top three, only 0.209s off Norris’ time.

Oscar Piastri continued McLaren’s strong start to the weekend in fourth, while Max Verstappen slotted into fifth for Red Bull Racing. Alexander Albon impressed with sixth place in the second Williams, ahead of George Russell in seventh for Mercedes.

Sir Lewis Hamilton finished the session down in 12th for Ferrari, nearly eight-tenths off the pace in a disrupted session that saw two red flags. The seven-time world champion, who is still adjusting to life at Ferrari, spoke ahead of the weekend about his mindset and expectations for the season.

“I have an expectation for myself, I know what I can bring, I know I can deliver, I know what it's going to take to do that, and it's just getting your head down and working away,” Hamilton said during the driver’s press conference.

He added that he’s approaching the weekend with an open mind as he continues adapting to a very different package compared to what he’s known throughout his career.

“It's quite a lot different to what I’ve driven for all of my previous career in the sense of the Mercedes power, coming into the Ferrari power,” he explained. While he acknowledged the challenges that come with the transition, Hamilton described the experience as exciting: “This is definitely the most exciting period of my life, so I’m really just enjoying it.”

The session itself was disrupted by two red flags. The first stoppage came early after gravel was dragged onto the circuit at Turn 6. But the major incident of the hour involved Haas rookie driver Oliver Bearman, who crashed heavily at the high-speed turns 9/10 chicane.

Fortunately, Bearman emerged uninjured and was quick to apologise over the team radio.

F1TV analyst Ruth Buscombe-Divey later explained that the team would already be assessing footage to determine what parts need replacing. “They will be ready for FP 2" she noted, giving hope that Bearman could return to the track in the next session.

Despite the interruptions, teams still gathered useful data ahead of the weekend’s competitive sessions.

Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix 2025 – FP1 Classification

1  Lando Norris – McLaren Formula 1 Team – 1:17.252

2  Carlos Sainz – Atlassian Williams Racing – 1:17.401 (+0.149)

3  Charles Leclerc – Scuderia Ferrari HP – 1:17.461 (+0.209)

4  Oscar Piastri – McLaren Formula 1 Team – 1:17.670 (+0.418)

5  Max Verstappen – Oracle Red Bull Racing – 1:17.696 (+0.444)

6  Alexander Albon – Atlassian Williams Racing – 1:17.713 (+0.461)

7  George Russell – Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team – 1:17.716 (+0.464)

8  Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team – 1:17.736 (+0.484)

9  Isack Hadjar – Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team – 1:17.847 (+0.595)

10 Lance Stroll – Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team – 1:18.057 (+0.805)

11 Yuki Tsunoda – Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team – 1:18.061 (+0.809)

12 Lewis Hamilton – Scuderia Ferrari HP – 1:18.071 (+0.819)

13 Jack Doohan – BWT Alpine F1 Team – 1:18.232 (+0.980)

14 Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team – 1:18.390 (+1.138)

15 Gabriel Bortoleto – Kick Sauber F1 Team – 1:18.438 (+1.186)

16 Liam Lawson – Oracle Red Bull Racing – 1:18.455 (+1.203)

17 Pierre Gasly – BWT Alpine F1 Team – 1:18.505 (+1.253)

18 Nico Hülkenberg – Kick Sauber F1 Team – 1:18.586 (+1.334)

19 Esteban Ocon – MoneyGram Haas F1 Team – 1:19.139 (+1.887)

20 Oliver Bearman – MoneyGram Haas F1 Team – 1:19.312 (+2.060)

Sir Lewis Hamilton 12th in first practice session with Ferrari by Damian Hall