Australian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen topped the opening practice in Albert Park as the session saw two Red Flags and multiple on-track incidents.
It was the scarlet Ferrari of Carlos Sainz who took to the track first as the opening practice of the Australian Grand Prix weekend got underway in Albert Park. The Spaniard then opened the weekend’s timesheets with a 1:25.314 on the hard compound of tyre.
(FP1) First Practice Results – 2023 Australian Grand Prix
As the first ten minutes of the session ticked down it was the Red Bulls on top with Max Verstappen in P1 with a 1:19.332 on the softs, just over two tenths ahead of Sergio Perez who was on the mediums. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was also on the mediums in P3, almost a second behind the Dutchman, while Lando Norris was the only driver without a time on the board after having returned to his garage after an out lap for some set up changes.
The track quietened down around the twenty minute mark with all but a few cars returning to the pits after the first round of runs. Verstappen had swapped to the soft tyres and managed to bring the target time down to a 1:18.790, half a second ahead of his teammate while this time it was Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin who was just less than a second behind the Red Bull racer with Williams’ Alex Albon in P4 with an identical time, a 1:19.766.
Practice got quite lively after the half hour mark with a few cars going through the gravel traps, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda having the most dramatic one as he spun and bounced through the gravel, the Japanese driver lucky the car stopped before going into the barriers.
The session was Red Flagged with just over 23 minutes left as there was an issue with the GPS system, which could explain the reason why there had been so many traffic problems and close calls in the few minutes prior.
Things got back underway with fourteen minutes left of the session and there was a queue at the pit exit as drivers were keen to get back out circulating. Within the final ten minutes there was a big, smoky moment from Verstappen as the reigning champion caught the kerb and went spinning and sliding down the track, destroying his tyres.
A few minutes later there was another Yellow as Logan Sargeant had pulled off to the side of the track as his Williams turned off. A second Red Flag was called and, with only a few minutes left on the clock, there wouldn’t be enough time to recover the car and get the session back underway so FP1 ended slightly early.
The session ended with Verstappen’s earlier 1:18.790 keeping the Dutch driver in P1 ahead of Hamilton, who’d set his time just before the second Red Flag. The seven-time champion got to 0.433 seconds of the leading Red Bull while Perez was just over a tenth further back.
Fernando Alonso took P4 for Aston Martin with a 1:19.317 while the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sainz ended in P5 and P6 ahead of Norris. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was P8, 0.856 seconds off Verstappen while the top ten was rounded second Mercedes, of George Russell, and Stroll’s Aston Martin.
