During the first practice session for the Australian GP, Lando Norris drove the fastest time in his McLaren, Max Verstappen followed in P2. The session was marked by a heavy crash by Alex Albon. It was striking that the field of drivers was very close together, the first six drivers even within less than a tenth of a second.
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The Australian GP is held in Melbourne, and many enthusiastic fans always show up in Albert Park, creating a fun atmosphere. Some fans come from very far away to see their heroes up close.
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But of course those fans also come to the track for action and that's what they got during the first practice session. Australian F1 fans were treated to two home drivers this year: Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri.
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On the Albert Park street circuit you always have to look for grip in the beginning, as there is no racing at other times. Fernando Alonso briefly lost control of the car and went spectacularly through the gravel trap at a fairly high speed. Fortunately for Alonso, he managed to keep the car clear of the wall.
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That was something Alex Albon failed to do a little later. Albon lost control of his Williams F1 car and hit the wall on both sides. A lot of damage to his car and a lot of debris on the track. It was therefore logical that we received a red flag and interruption of the session.
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Albon and Alonson were certainly not the only drivers who went off track in their search for grip and the limits of both the circuit and the car. A street circuit such as Albert Park is still 'evolving', which means there will be more and more grip and the lap times will also be significantly reduced throughout the race weekend.
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After a few minutes' interruption in which Alex Albon's car and the debris were removed from the circuit, the session was restarted for another nine minutes.
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Ultimately, it was Lando Norris who set the fastest time in the McLaren F1 car, followed by Max Verstappen by just 0.018 seconds. The first six riders were even within a tenth of a second, almost the entire top eight in fact. That bodes well for the excitement during the rest of the race weekend.
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