Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton led the way for Mercedes during the first free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix, and indeed the 2015 season.
The pair were separated by just 0.029s, with both managing 19 laps on Friday morning in Melbourne.
Williams’ Valtteri Bottas was their closest rival, though he remained over a second off the pace with his 1:30.748 – the only driver bar Mercedes to dip below the 1:31 mark.
Toro Rosso rookie Carlos Sainz Jr impressed with the fourth fastest time, whilst his team-mate and F1’s youngest driver at just 17-years-of-age was sixth fastest, split by the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.
Felipe Massa was seventh ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, whilst Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo completed the top ten.
McLaren’s Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen were sidelined after just six and seven laps respectively after engine troubles struck.
Sauber nor Marussia managed to get either of their cars out, though for very different reasons. Whilst the latter encountered some late technical troubles, preventing either Will Stevens or Roberto Merhi from running, Sauber’s problems were away from the track.
The Swiss team is involved in an ongoing legal battle with former driver Giedo van der Garde. It’s believed, though not confirmed, that a court ruling would find the team in contempt if their cars exit the garage without Van der Garde in one of them.
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 01. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:29.557 | 19 | |
| 02. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:29.586 | 0.029 | 19 |
| 03. | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:30.748 | 1.191 | 20 |
| 04. | C. Sainz Jr | Toro Rosso | 1:31.014 | 1.457 | 32 |
| 05. | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 1:31.029 | 1.472 | 13 |
| 06. | M. Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:31.067 | 1.510 | 31 |
| 07. | F. Massa | Williams | 1:31.188 | 1.631 | 19 |
| 08. | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:31.310 | 1.753 | 14 |
| 09. | P. Maldonado | Lotus | 1:31.451 | 1.894 | 22 |
| 10. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:31.570 | 2.013 | 9 |
| 11. | D. Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:32.073 | 2.516 | 18 |
| 12. | S. Perez | Force India | 1:32.247 | 2.690 | 22 |
| 13. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:32.261 | 2.704 | 19 |
| 14. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:34.542 | 4.985 | 6 |
| 15. | K. Magnussen | McLaren | 1:34.785 | 5.228 | 7 |
| 16. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 5 | ||
| 17. | M. Ericsson | Sauber | |||
| 18. | F. Nasr | Sauber | |||
| 19. | W. Stevens | Manor | |||
| 20. | R. Merhi | Manor |
