The 2026 Formula 1 season began in Melbourne on Friday as five British drivers took to the track for the opening practice sessions of the Australian Grand Prix weekend.
British Drivers Show Strong Early Pace in Melbourne
In the opening practice session, Ferrari topped the session, securing a promising 1-2. Leclerc led his seven-time world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton by just under half a second.
In the second session, Hamilton ended his day just outside the top three. Ferrari looked to have a strong package going into the weekend and they are demonstrating that so far.
Another team who have had a lot of ‘buzz’ around them ahead of the season is Mercedes. They had an underwhelming opening session, with George Russell only managing seventh fastest.
However, they enjoyed a more encouraging second session, with Kimi Antonelli finishing just ahead of his British teammate in second. Russell was, however, just one tenth shy of his teammate in third.
McLaren showed signs of being competitive in testing, but no one could really pinpoint their position among the top four teams.
Lando Norris had a disappointing start to his season, managing only seven laps in the first practice session. The team were forced to change his gearbox due to an issue, leaving him out of the car for most of FP1.
Home hero Oscar Piastri only managed sixth and was one second adrift of the fastest time from FP1, set by Leclerc.
Much like Mercedes, the Woking-based team had a much more positive second session, with Piastri topping the session. However, Norris could only manage seventh and was just over a second slower than his teammate.
The reigning champion will be hoping for a more positive Saturday, as Norris’ first season as defending champion begins.
Haas seem to be a competitive midfield team this year, which bodes well for Oliver Bearman. He embarks on his second full season in the sport.
Bearman ended the first session 14th and finished just outside the top 10 in the second session, behind his teammate Esteban Ocon.
Rookie Arvid Lindblad was the second-fastest Brit in FP1, finishing in an impressive fifth in the timesheets. In the second session, he finished the day with another top 10 time, setting the eighth fastest lap.
He and his Racing Bulls team have shown positive signs of speed this weekend so far. Lindblad and his team will be worth keeping an eye on in qualifying.
Driver Reaction
Lewis Hamilton: “Today was really a good day: it was fantastic to be back on track and start getting serious. It’s wonderful to be here, and I’m incredibly grateful to be able to do what I love and see so many fans today. On track it was challenging at times, but we made the most of every lap and worked in the best possible way, gathering a lot of useful information. There’s still plenty of work to do, but I can’t wait to get back in the car tomorrow.”
George Russell: “It was a really up and down day because every time that we had the medium or the hard tyre on, we were right in the top two of the timesheets – every lap felt good and I was confident. Then we put the soft on and we didn’t go much quicker. Clearly, there is a bit of pace in the car and it’s just about getting the most out of the tyre, so we need to understand why that is.”
What’s next?
The third and final practice session will get underway at 1:30am GMT (12:30 local) before the all-important first qualifying of the season gets underway at 5:00am GMT time (16:00 local).
Feature image: Ferrari Media
