2024 F1 Round 3, Australian GP FP1: Norris Fastest in 1:18.564, Top Six Within 0.08 Seconds as Albon Crash Brings Red Flag

The 2024 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix weekend opened with first practice at Albert Park on the morning of 22 March Beijing time. McLaren’s Lando Norris topped the times with a 1:18.564, just 0.018 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen, who had won the opening two races. Mercedes’ George Russell was third, with only 0.08 seconds covering the leading six drivers.

Albert Park welcomed the start of the season’s third round in sunshine, with the session beginning at an air temperature of 18°C and a track temperature of 31°C. Pirelli brought its softest range, C3 to C5, for the first time that year. The slippery surface, not normally used for racing, and the wind caught out several drivers, including Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, who eventually finished ninth.

Late in the session, Williams’ Alexander Albon lost control after running over the exit kerb at Turn 6. The front-right of his car struck the wall beside Turn 7; after bouncing back across the track, the rear-left hit the wall at Turn 8. The car suffered extensive damage, with possible gearbox damage as well, and the session was red-flagged for almost ten minutes. Earlier, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas had also spun in a cloud of smoke.

Fernando Alonso spent much of the first half collecting data with an aerodynamic testing rake fitted to his car, then ran into the gravel beside Turn 10. He lost almost 15 minutes while the floor was changed and finished only eighteenth. Returning to Ferrari after missing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for appendicitis surgery, Carlos Sainz completed 23 laps and was eighth, 0.087 seconds behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in fourth.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, looking capable of challenging for points, completed the joint-highest lap count and, like the other top-ten drivers, ran on soft tyres. He finished fifth, 0.057 seconds behind Norris. Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo used the harder medium compound and was eleventh, 0.653 seconds behind Tsunoda. Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu and Bottas occupied the final two positions.