Norris tops first free practice at Australian GP, Hamilton 12th

MELBOURNE : McLaren's Lando Norris topped the timesheets in the first free practice for Formula One's season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday as Lewis Hamilton was 12th quickest on his Ferrari debut.

Norris lapped Albert Park in one minute, 17.252 seconds on soft tyres, 0.149 seconds ahead of Williams driver Carlos Sainz on a glorious afternoon at the lakeside circuit.

Seven-times world champion Hamilton complained on the team radio that he was struggling to turn the car in an underwhelming start for his new team.

His teammate Charles Leclerc fared much better as the third quickest, about two-tenths of a second slower than Norris.

Norris's McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri was fourth fastest ahead of Red Bull's defending champion Max Verstappen.

With Sainz on top and teammate Alex Albon sixth fastest, Williams put down an early marker to be the "best of the rest" after showing marked improvement during winter testing in Bahrain.

George Russell reported understeer at high speed and excessive heat inside his Mercedes and spun off track with a minute left in the session.

He posted the seventh quickest lap, while rookie teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli was 14th.

Oliver Bearman damaged his Haas with a heavy shunt after a slide through gravel when exiting turn six.

With his right rear wheel dislodged and bouncing down the track, the 19-year-old spun across the track and apologised to his team after coming to a halt.

It was the second of two red flags to halt the session, with stewards reporting debris from an unnamed car in the first.

Alpine's embattled rookie Jack Doohan and Red Bull's new driver Liam Lawson needed repairs to the floors of their cars after veering off track.

New Zealander Lawson, occupying arguably the toughest race