Summary

  • Hamilton dominates both practice sessions

  • Palmer crashes out, Massa breaks down

  • Get involved: #bbcf1 - your greatest car liveries

  • Hamilton more than a second ahead of top Ferrari in first practice

Live Reporting

Gary Rose

  1. Much better from the other Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton does a 1:24.220, six tenths quicker than Valtteri Bottas.

    HamiltonGetty Images

  2. Valtteri Bottas goes back to the top of pile but is only a smidgen quicker than Daniel Ricciardo, despite being on the quicker compound of tyre. He does a 1:24.803. Not a great lap there.

  3. Daniel Ricciardo goes quickest on the super-softs with 1:24.886, three tenths quicker than the Mercedes on that compound. Encouraging pace from the Red Bull.

    Daniel RicciardoGetty Images

  4. Mercedes decide it is time for the ultra-softs. Both Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton have the purple walled compounds on.

  6. Stoffel Vandoorne is back out for the first time in over 30 minutes and does a 1:31.048 on super-softs. Not enough to lift him off the bottom of the timesheet yet.

  7. Neither of the Ferraris have had a go on the super-softs yet, with Kimi Raikkonen (P4) and Sebastian Vettel (P16) setting their times on the softs. 

    I'm keeping my hopes of a Ferrari challenge in check. They raised our hopes last year with some impressive displays in testing - as they have done this year - and then failed to win a single race.

    Kimi RaikkonenGetty Images

  8. A few fans soaking up the sun on the grassy mounds around the circuit sit up at the sound of engines firing up once again as Lance Stroll and Max Verstappen return to the track.

    Interesting to see how Stroll gets on this year. He had a tough old time in the first test in Barcelona with a couple of crashes but came through unscathed in the second week, getting plenty of mileage under his belt.

    Lance StrollAP

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  10. VerstappenGetty Images

    "I keep losing sync of the gears," reports Max Verstappen, who is currently P13. 

    The teenager, along with the rest of the drivers, pit to hand back their first set of tyres.

  11. We've had lap times from everyone now apart from Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Ocon, who have completed just two and one lap respectively. 

    Vandoorne was out with an aero rake on his car early doors and Ocon's Force India had a brake issue.

  12. Andrew Benson
    Chief F1 writer in Melbourne

    Alonso's McLaren looks OK through the chicane but it makes a terrible graunching noise each lap changing up on exit.

  13. Forty minutes into the session and the McLarens are completing laps. 

    Feel like we need a town crier type person standing by the track, belting out every now and then: "It's one o'clock and all is well' as a sort of progress report on the McLaren.

  14. Valtteri Bottas goes quickest now with a 1:25.142, three tenths quicker than Daniel Ricciardo. Both have moved ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who is back in the pits at the moment.

    BottasGetty Images

  15. Early pacesetters

    1) Lewis Hamilton - 1:25.535]

    2) Daniel Ricciardo - 1:25.860

    3) Kimi Raikkonen - 1:25.994  

    4) Valtteri Bottas - 1:26.244

    5) Sergio Perez - 1:26.415

    HamiltonRex Features

  16. Cloudy but dry throughout

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  17. BottasGetty Images

    A bit overcast in Melbourne as Valtteri Bottas lays down some rubber. We'll see those times come down as the track continues to improve. 

    Bottas is currently P3, seven tenths of a second slower than Lewis Hamilton on 1:26.244.

  18. Daniel Ricciardo, also on super softs, goes second quickest with a 1:26.990 as Lewis Hamilton improves his benchmark time to 1:25.535.

    Meanwhile, McLaren kick things off with the ninth quickest time as Fernando Alonso does a 1:28.082.

    RicciardoGetty Images

  20. Hamilton goes quickest

    It's a 1:26.478 for Lewis Hamilton to put him top of the timesheet. Sergio Perez is second quickest with 1:27.296.

    Hamilton's time is three seconds quicker than the pacesetting time in first practice in Melbourne last year.