Formula 1 News: Norris tops opening practice for Australian GP

Before a huge crowd for a Practice 1, Lando Norris turned the fastest lap of 1m18.564s in his #4 McLaren Mercedes to top opening practice for the Australian GP in Melbourne.

–Mark Cipolloni–

It was a very close session with 1-second separating the top-16. Norris’ lap was just 0.018s faster than the #1 Red Bull Honda of Max Verstappen.

George Russell was third quick for Mercedes, hustling his car around the Albert Park circuit just 0.033s behind

The #16 Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was 0.035s back and a real surprise was Yuki Tsunoda in the RB, just 0.057s behind.

Lando Norris led the top-6 drivers by just 0.078s.

“I think I’ve damaged the floor,” says Hamilton as he runs wide through the gravel again. That’s not the only late moment, as Piastri got balked by traffic in the form of a Red Bull.

The session was interrupted with one Red Flag when Alex Albon wadded up his Williams hitting the curb in Turn 6, careening off the wall in Turn 7 and sliding down the track to Turn 8. He also crashed in practice last year in Australia.

Williams will be spending their lunch break fixing Albon’s car in the hopes of getting him back out for FP2 later on. They will be hoping there’s no gearbox damage so early on in the season, as it wouldn’t be good to lose one from the pool in such a long year.

Over 400,000 fans are expected for the weekend.

2024 Australian GP Practice 1 Results