Sebastian Vettel got his championship defence off to the best start with the fastest lap during first practice for the Australian Grand Prix.
The German pipped Ferrari’s Felipe Massa to the top spot with a 1:27.211, just under a tenth quicker than the Brazilian who, despite the impressive time, had his share of mistakes as he pushed to find the limit.
Massa’s team-mate Fernando Alonso came in third, just ahead of Mercedes new signing Lewis Hamilton who kept Mark Webber at bay in fifth.
Kimi Raikkonen led the times earlier on in the session but fell to sixth ahead of the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg who was half a second down on his new team-mate.
Several drivers explored the outer reaches of the circuit, with turn five proving a problematic area. The dust kicked-up from the cars saw a slippery surface flag brought out – but it wasn’t enough to stop Paul di Resta spinning into the gravel in the closing minutes of the session.
Felipe Massa and Giedo van der Garde also took to the grass at stages.
FP1 Times – 2013 Australian Grand Prix:
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:27.211 | 16 | |
| 02. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:27.289 | +0.078 | 17 |
| 03. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:27.547 | +0.336 | 16 |
| 04 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:27.552 | +0.341 | 18 |
| 05. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:27.668 | +0.457 | 18 |
| 06. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 1:27.877 | +0.666 | 17 |
| 07. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:28.013 | +0.802 | 17 |
| 08. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:28.426 | +1.215 | 19 |
| 09. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:28.440 | +1.229 | 19 |
| 10. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:28.520 | +1.309 | 15 |
| 11. | S. Perez | McLaren | 1:28.597 | +1.386 | 19 |
| 12. | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1:28.786 | +1.575 | 19 |
| 13. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:28.910 | +1.699 | 18 |
| 14. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:29.443 | +2.232 | 20 |
| 15. | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:29.928 | +2.717 | 19 |
| 16. | G. Gutierrez | Sauber | 1:30.203 | +2.992 | 17 |
| 17. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:30.729 | +3.518 | 17 |
| 18. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:30.969 | +3.758 | 19 |
| 19. | J. Bianchi | Marussia | 1:31.263 | +4.052 | 24 |
| 20. | M. Chilton | Marussia | 1:32.176 | +4.495 | 23 |
| 21. | C. Pic | Caterham | 1:32.274 | +5.063 | 21 |
| 22. | G. van der Garde | Caterham | 1:32.388 | +5.177 | 18 |
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