Lando Norris Sends F1 Warning At Australian Gp Practice, Lewis Hamilton Off The Pace In Ferrari

Lando Norris fired a warning shot to outpace world champion Max Verstappen and top the timesheets in first practice for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday, with Lewis Hamilton 12th on his Ferrari debut.

McLaren's Norris powered round the Albert Park circuit in fine weather with a best time of one minute 17.252 seconds on soft tyres ahead of Williams' Carlos Sainz in a session red-flagged twice.

The second incident saw Haas rookie Ollie Bearman smash into the barriers and lose his rear right wheel in an accident that left debris littering the track.

He climbed out uninjured and was heard on the radio saying: 'I'm sorry.'

Norris grabbed the lead from Sainz with barely a minute left, leaving Ferrari's Charles Leclerc third ahead of Norris's teammate Oscar Piastri.