Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez led the way in FP1 of F1 Australian GP but Lewis Hamilton popped up and separated the two in second.

It was a sunny FP1 eventually in F1 Australian GP but there was dramas throughout the session with double red flag periods, one which saw an early end. The last one was caused by Williams’ Logan Sargeant who stopped on track after his car shut-off.

The session wasn’t resumed with about four minutes remaining. The earlier red flag in the session was due to GPS troubles which saw many drivers coming in the way of each other and causing near collisions due to their close proximity.

Red Bull’s Verstappen ended up on top with a 1m18.790s lap in FP1 of F1 Australian GP as teammate Perez almost made it 1-2 but for a late push lap from Mercedes’ Hamilton helped him to be second to separate them just when the red flag was waved.

It wasn’t a clean session for the Red Bull pair as Verstappen had a spin at the exit of Turn 4 after running over the kerb. Perez, meanwhile, had couple of moments one at Turn 3 and the other at Turn 1. He actually set his fastest lap on the medium tyres in third.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was fourth eventually after missing third, ahead of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. McLaren’s Lando Norris did a good job in seventh from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Mercedes’ George Russell.

It was an identical lap for Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Williams’ Alexander Albon at 1m19.766s lap but the Canadian was 10th ahead of the Thai, where the latter set his best time on the medium tyre. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri slotted in a good 12th.

Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg was 13th after his wide moment, with AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries 14th from Williams’ Sargeant. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was 16th from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, who had a big Turn 3 moment where he nearly escaped the barrier.

He lost the rear and slid onto the grass and gravel before coming to a halt. Both the AlphaTauri cars set their pace on the medium tyres, as Alfa Romeo pair of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu were 18th and 19th respectively.

The Chinese driver had a big moment when they were facing GPS issues as he found himself in a sandwich of a Red Bull and Aston Martin while taking a corner. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen rounded the 20 runners after his early moment.

The power unit components list saw another hit for Ferrari customer teams this time with Bottas, Zhou, Hulkenberg and Magnussen taking a second Internal Combustion Engine, in only the third grand prix of the 2023 F1 season.

Here’s the PU list: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2023%20Australian%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20New%20PU%20elements%20for%20this%20Competition.pdf

Here’s details for Australian GP: https://formularapida.net/fia-shares-australian-gp-details-as-it-reminds-of-old-pitlane-rule/

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