Friday’s opening free practice session kicked off in Melbourne as McLaren’s Lando Norris set the pace from Max Verstappen and George Russell. In a stark contrast to the last two night-race events, the sunny Australian sky was a warm welcome for drivers and fans as the wild and eventful practice session kept everyone on their toes.
With 20 minutes remaining Alex Albon lost control of his Williams in turn seven, taking too much kerbing and catapulting him into the wall As he came to a stop in turn 8, officials threw a red-flag to halt practice as the stricken Williams drifted back into the racing line. Once the green flag was back out, Norris narrowly held on to the top spot as Verstappen closed the gap to under two-tenths to the McLaren driver.
WATCH: Albon brings out the red flags after heavy crash during FP1 as he sits out FP2 in Australia
Carlos Sainz made his return to the grid, having missing the Saudi race as he recovered from an emergency appendectomy, piloting his Ferrari to 8th on the time sheets in his first session back, while teammate Charles LeClerc was 4th overall. Yuki Tsunoda showed strong form in 5th as he set his fast lap on a set of soft compound tires, and Sergio Perez followed in 6th ahead of Lance Stroll. Lewis Hamilton ended his session 9th after potentially damaging his W14 floor on the kerbs at turn 10 and was followed by Oscar Piastri in 10th.
The heat is on as free practice 2 goes green at 16:00 circuit time. Full weekend schedule and FP1 results are below.
FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2024 Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (Local Circuit) |
| Mar. 22nd | Practice 1 | 12:30 – 13:30 |
| Practice 2 | 16:00 – 17:00 | |
| Mar. 23rd | Practice 3 | 12:30 – 13:30 |
| Qualifying | 16:00 – 17:00 | |
| Mar. 24th | Race | 15:00 |
Free Practice 1 Results:
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:18.564 | 23 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:18.582 | 0.018s | 19 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:18.597 | 0.033s | 21 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:18.599 | 0.035s | 22 |
| 5 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:18.621 | 0.057s | 26 |
| 6 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:18.642 | 0.078s | 23 |
| 7 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:18.667 | 0.103s | 26 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:18.686 | 0.122s | 23 |
| 9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:18.771 | 0.207s | 20 |
| 10 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:18.918 | 0.354s | 25 |
| 11 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:19.274 | 0.710s | 25 |
| 12 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:19.443 | 0.879s | 11 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:19.489 | 0.925s | 21 |
| 14 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:19.519 | 0.955s | 22 |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:19.561 | 0.997s | 25 |
| 16 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:19.604 | 1.040s | 21 |
| 17 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:19.622 | 1.058s | 25 |
| 18 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:19.716 | 1.152s | 16 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:19.989 | 1.425s | 23 |
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:20.014 | 1.450s | 21 |
