Charles Leclerc left new Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton trailing in his wake in free practice at the season-opening Formula One Australian Grand Prix on Friday as defending champion Max Verstappen struggled with the Red Bull car.
Third quickest in the first practice session (FP1), Leclerc topped the timesheet in the second (FP2) at Albert Park with a lap of one minute, 16.439 seconds on soft tyres, 0.124 better than McLaren's Oscar Piastri.
Piastri's teammate Lando Norris ran third in FP2 while seven-times world champion Hamilton was fifth, an improvement on his 12th ranking in the first session (FP1), but more than four-tenths of a second slower than Leclerc.
The soft tyre times could have little relevance for Sunday's race if the forecast for rain proves accurate.
The Red Bull car's performance was nonetheless a concern for Verstappen as he struggled with his setup.
He was fifth in FP1 and unable to post a fast lap on soft tyres in FP2, finishing seventh quickest on the medium set.
When is Australia Grand Prix?
The Australian Grand Prix is scheduled for a 4am GMT start time on Sunday 16 March, 2025 at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne.
Australia Grand Prix race schedule in full
(All times GMT)
Practice 3 – 1.30am GMT on Saturday 15 March, 2025
Qualifying – 5am GMT on Saturday 15 March, 2025
Race – 4am GMT on Sunday 16 March, 2025
How to watch Australia Grand Prix
TV channel: In the UK, every session of the Australia Grand Prix will be shown live Sky Sports.
Free highlights will be available post-race on the official F1 YouTube channel as well as on Channel 4.
Live stream: Sky subscribers can watch online via the Sky Go app.
