It’s time to finally learn the 2025 F1 pecking order as the crucial final practice session and qualifying arrive on Saturday at the Australian Grand Prix. Live below!
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch the 2025 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during racing. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer >
Follow all the action in our live blog below! Can’t see the blog? TAP HERE
READ MORE
‘WORST JOB IN MOTORSPORT’: Career-defining test for new F1 ‘villain’
PRACTICE TALKING POINTS: Exciting signs for Piastri as thriller looms
Brown dissects Oscar/Lando relationship | 03:27
12:15pm: WHAT ROLE WILL THE WEATHER PLAY TODAY?
The forecast has come down from a predicted 36 degrees in Melbourne, and some early cloud cover made it a bit cooler on the way to the track, but the sun is coming out and it’s nearing the predicted top of 34 at Albert Park.
It’ll be all about the softs today, and perhaps that heat will help some of the teams that were struggling to heat them up – but we’re still at a 95% chance of rain on race day, so teams will have to sacrifice their setups to add downforce.
It makes for an interesting tactical decision; how far do you go to focus on starting position if we’re getting a wet race anyway?
11:30am: THE BIG QUESTION – WHERE IS RED BULL AT?
The common wisdom in the paddock after Friday practice is that it’s a three-way race for pole between McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, plus Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Lewis Hamilton was notably slower than his new teammate, but still solid.
That leaves Red Bull and reigning champion Max Verstappen in a bit of no man’s land. Are they amongst the contenders? Or are they back in a very tight midfield which saw both the Racing Bulls and Williams impress yesterday?
“(I felt) comfortable, just too slow. We obviously have a lot of work to do overnight,” Verstappen’s new teammate Liam Lawson said yesterday.
“Day 1 on a new track, we’re expecting to have some work to do, but probably not this much.”
But Verstappen doesn’t believe it’s the sort of problem that can be fixed overnight via some setup work.
“The problem is that it’s not really like I have major balance problems, so it’ll be a bit hard to fix, but it’s also nothing that I didn’t expect when I arrived here. I’m not positively or negatively surprised with the pace that we are showing,” he said.
“We’ve never really been that good here since that new tarmac update, so it’s not really helping, but still it’s the same for everyone. We just need to find a bit more pace but for now we’re definitely lacking a bit to fight up front.”
Practice 3 begins at 12:30pm AEDT before qualifying from 4pm AEDT.
SATURDAY PREVIEW: HAMILTON’S ADMISSION ON FERRARI DAY ONE – via AFP
Lewis Hamilton said his first competitive day in a Ferrari had been “completely different” but he is relishing trying to squeeze out more pace at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion officially began work at the Scuderia in January after his shock move from Mercedes after 12 years.
While he completed 162 laps of testing in Bahrain, the Briton was in the Ferrari cockpit for the first time at a grand prix, finishing fifth in second practice after coming 12th in the opening session.
“It’s been a learning day as I continue to understand and get to grips with the new car,” said the 40-year-old.
“Everything is so completely different from what I’ve been used to for so long, but that’s the challenge and I’m embracing it.”
Hamilton was 0.42 seconds behind teammate and pacesetter Charles Leclerc around Albert Park, but was satisfied that he was making progress.
“We were not completely satisfied with FP1 but we made some good progress in FP2 and got some solid longer runs in, which was important,” he said.
“There’s still balance work to do overnight, and we’re missing a bit of pace, but that’s expected.
“It’s about building step-by-step, maximising what we have, and continuing to push forward. Looking forward to working hard and seeing what improvements we can make tomorrow.”
Red Bull boys take on Aussie test | 01:52
Ferrari were pipped to the constructors’ championship by McLaren last year and have not won a drivers’ title since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
Leclerc said it was too early to draw any conclusion from his first encouraging outing of the year in Melbourne.
“The feeling in the car was good and we had a solid first day on track. There is still some margin for improvement in terms of the balance, which is the same for everyone across the paddock,” he said.
“It’s too early to come to any conclusions. We will only get a first idea of the respective pace of all the teams in qualifying.”
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
All Times AEDT
Supercars Qualifying 3: 9.05am – 9.15am
Supercars Qualifying 4: 9.25am – 9.35am
Formula 2 Shakedown: 10.25am – 10.40am
Formula 3 Sprint Race: 11.15am – 12pm
F1 Practice 3: 12:30pm – 1.30pm
Formula 2 Sprint Race: 2.15pm – 3pm
F1 Qualifying: 4pm – 5pm
Supercars Race 3: 5.35pm – 6.20pm
Discussion about this post