Australian GP: Oscar Piastri tops Practice One for McLaren as Mercedes and Ferrari also show strong pace in Melbourne McLaren's Oscar Piastri set the fastest time of Friday's two practice sessions at the Formula 1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix, outpacing Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. Piastri finished second practice two tenths ahead of Antonelli, with Russell a tenth further back in third. Mercedes also impressed with their longer runs toward the end of the session, despite Russell and Antonelli finishing more than a second behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the first session. Leclerc, who led the first practice session by almost half a second, failed to improve his time in the second session, finishing fifth. This suggested Ferrari struggled to maximize their potential in late afternoon conditions. Lewis Hamilton, driving for Ferrari, finished fourth, three tenths behind Piastri, and was the only driver to complete both sessions in the top four. Max Verstappen, driving for Red Bull, faced challenges in the second session after a technical glitch forced him into the garage for nearly half the session. The Dutchman also avoided a barrier at high-speed Turn 10 after running into the gravel, though his car sustained significant damage. Reigning world champion Lando Norris of McLaren finished seventh after a clutch issue limited his running in the first session, though he managed uninterrupted track time in the second. Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls finished fifth overall, ahead of Oscar Piastri of McLaren, who was sixth. George Russell of Mercedes and Antonelli of Mercedes followed closely, with Russell just 0.04 seconds behind Antonelli. Other notable performances included Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg of Audi, Esteban Ocon of Haas, and Carlos Sainz of Williams.#charles_leclerc #ferrari #mclaren #oscar_piastri #mercedes
