Max Verstappen finished at the top of the timesheets in the first practice session at the Australian Grand Prix, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and his team mate, Sergio Perez, as the drivers got to grips with a 'green' Albert Park circuit.
Verstappen set a time of 1m 18.790s on the soft tyre to lead Hamilton by 0.433s. Perez – whose fastest time was set on the medium compound tyre – wound up 0.503s behind Verstappen, followed closely by Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin.
FP1: Verstappen leads Hamilton and Perez during first practice at Albert Park
Ferrari team mates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were fifth and sixth respectively followed by Lando Norris in the McLaren, and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly. Mercedes’ George Russell was ninth quickest, with Lance Stroll rounding out the top 10.
There were several key incidents in the session, as a number of drivers ran off track, while there were two red flags – the first caused by the GPS system going down and the second by rookie Logan Sargeant stopping on track with a mechanical issue.
Click on the video player above to catch the action from FP1 in Melbourne.
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