Hamilton 12th as Norris fastest in Melbourne practice

Lewis Hamilton made his F1 debut in Melbourne in 2007

Australian Grand Prix

Venue: Albert Park, Melbourne Dates: 14 March-16 March Race start: 04:00 GMT on Sunday, 16 March

Coverage: Live radio commentary of practice and qualifying on BBC 5 Sports Extra, race live on BBC Radio 5 Live. Live text updates on the BBC Sport website and app

British rookie Oliver Bearman crashed heavily in first practice at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Lando Norris set the pace for McLaren.

Bearman, starting his first full season in Formula 1 after three cameo appearances last year for Ferrari and Haas, lost control in Turn 10 and spun into the wall. He was unhurt.

Lewis Hamilton was down in 12th in his first session for Ferrari, 0.819 seconds off the pace and 0.61 seconds behind team-mate Charles Leclerc, in third place behind Norris and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.

Hamilton complained over the radio to Ferrari that he was "struggling to turn the car".

Norris team-mate Oscar Piastri was fourth fastest, ahead of Red Bulls Max Verstappen, Williams Alex Albon and Mercedes George Russell.

Russell lost control of his Williams after dropping a wheel on to the grass late in the session but managed to avoid any damage.

Behind the Briton, Aston Martins Fernando Alonso was eighth, split from his team-mate Lance Stroll by French rookie Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bull.

Bearmans crash brought out a red flag, stopping the session for 10 minutes while his damaged car was cleared from the track.

It was the second stoppage of the session after officials brought out the red flag to clear gravel from the circuit on the exit of Turn Six, dragged there by Australian rookie Jack Doohan in the Alpine.

Shortly after running resumed, Piastri also ran slightly wide at the corner, one of the most difficult on the track, and brought fresh gravel on to the circuit.

Oliver Bearman drove in three F1 races in 2024