McLaren driver Lando Norris opened the new Formula 1 season atop the timesheets in first practice in Australia, as Oliver Bearman crashed heavily.
Norris moved to the front during the closing stages with a time of 1:17.252s, displacing the impressive Williams of Carlos Sainz, who wound up 0.149s behind in second place.
Charles Leclerc was in third place for Ferrari, ahead of local favourite Oscar Piastri, with reigning World Champion Max Verstappen in fifth place for Red Bull Racing.
The biggest drama of the session befell British racer Bearman.
Bearman, entering his first full season with Haas, ran wide across the Turn 10 rumble strips and attempted to save the car, but was spat into the barriers on the outside of the track.
The right-hand-side of the car sustained sizeable damage in the impact, with the right-rear tyre ripped from the rim, though Bearman was able to walk away uninjured from the wreckage.
The session was stopped for 12 minutes while Bearman’s damaged car was removed.
It compounded a challenging session for Haas as Bearman’s team-mate Esteban Ocon finished in 19th spot.
Alex Albon finished in sixth for Williams, completing an encouraging session for the team, while George Russell spun on entry to Turn 4 but managed to stop his Mercedes before making contact with the wall.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were eighth and tenth respectively, sandwiching the Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar.
Hadjar’s team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was 11th, ahead of Lewis Hamilton in his first session for Ferrari, Alpine’s home debutant Jack Doohan, and Hamilton’s Mercedes replacement Kimi Antonelli.
Another debutant, Gabriel Bortoleto, was the faster of the two Sauber drivers in 15th place, three spots ahead of experienced team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.
Liam Lawson was a low-key 16th on his Red Bull debut, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in 17th spot.
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