Leclerc leads Ferrari one-two in Melbourne practice

· BBC Sport
Charles Leclerc won the Australian Grand Prix in 2022Reuters

By
Andrew Benson
F1 Correspondent in Melbourne
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Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton struck the first blow of the new Formula 1 era with first and second fastest times in opening practice at the Australian Grand Prix.

Leclerc replaced Hamilton in top spot with a late lap that moved him 0.469 seconds clear of the seven-time champion.

Until then, less than 0.1secs had separated Hamilton, Leclerc and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Verstappen's new team-mate Isack Hadjar was fourth fastest, 0.820secs off the pace, ahead of 18-year-old Briton Arvid Lindblad, making his debut for the Racing Bulls team.

Aston Martin, whose dire form has been in many ways the story of the new season so far, had a predictably difficult session.

Fernando Alonso was not able to run at all because of a problem with his Honda power-unit. Team-mate Lance Stroll managed just three laps before an engine problem was also discovered on his car.

Team principal Adrian Newey had stunned F1 on Thursday when he said that the vibrations from the Honda engine were so bad that Alonso felt unable to do more than 25 laps without risking permanent nerve damage in his hands.

But this appears to have been a different reliability issue for an engine that is well below the required standard in F1 following the introduction of new rules this season.

Mercedes had come to Melbourne tipped as the favourites after pre-season testing but they had a low-key session and George Russell ended the session seventh fastest, 1.104secs off the pace and behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

As always, the caveat of practice is that it is impossible to know the specifications in which the cars run and fuel loads and engine modes can have a significant effect on performance.

McLaren had a difficult session afflicted by gearbox problems and world champion Lando Norris was down in 18th place.

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli was eighth fastest, ahead of the Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto, whose team-mate Nico Hulkenberg took the final spot in the top 10.

Haas driver Esteban Ocon was 11th, split from British team-mate Oliver Bearman by Williams' Carlos Sainz and the second Racing Bull of Liam Lawson.

The new Cadillac team was saved from being in the last place they had expected by Aston Martin's problems, Sergio Perez setting 19th fastest time and Valtteri Bottas 20th.

Australian Grand Prix

6-8 March with race at 04:00 GMT on Sunday

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