2023 F1 Australian GP FP1: What did we learn?

The first 60 minutes of running in the 2023 F1 Australian GP race weekend ended with Max Verstappen at the top of the timesheets. On a track that is still a bit dusty, drivers struggled quite a bit to find grip with the soft tires especially as a potential red herring reared its face which could potentially have an impact on the weekend.

As the chequered flag fell after multiple red flag stoppages, we had a somewhat jumbled order on the timesheets.

Verstappen led the way with his Red Bull followed by Lewis Hamilton on his soft run effort. In P3 was Sergio Perez, who was unable to do a run on soft tires, followed by Fernando Alonso. The two Ferrari drivers were P5 and P6 followed by Lando Norris in his McLaren and Pierre Gasly in his Alpine.

In a first session that did throw a wrench or two in the plans of established teams, what did we learn? Let's take a look.

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2023 F1 Australian GP FP1: Key learnings

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#1 The GPS issue should be a bit alarming

The GPS issues suffered during the first free practice session should be a bit alarming. While Albert Park has quite a few run-off areas, it's still a street circuit with blind corners, and an issue like that is just a major accident waiting to happen.

Far too many drivers were caught napping on the racing line primarily because their engineers were rendered blind. This is going to be an alarming issue and the FIA will be keeping a close eye to monitor the developments.

The absence of GPS is a major safety issue and a foolproof system needs to be in place to prevent anything from going wrong.

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#2 The green track threw a lot of cars into the gravel

The green track has caught quite a few teams by surprise as drivers have found themselves in the gravel with regularity. The streets of Albert Park are closed once a year for the Australian GP. The green track could catch a few drivers out.

To add to this, the surface of Albert Park is not abrasive in nature in any which way. It's a very smooth track and hence even the soft tires were unable to generate much grip. This explains why many drivers found themselves going through the gravel on their push laps.

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#3 Red Bull is clear of everybody else for the 2023 F1 Australian GP

Even in a session that was as sporadic as a session could go, it was quite clear that Red Bull's advantage has carried over from Jeddah and Bahrain to Australia.

Max Verstappen led the timing sheets while Sergio Perez was still third even though he did not run the soft tire. While the question could be around the gap Red Bull have over their chasing pack, it's safe to say that they are in a league of their own at the 2023 F1 Australian GP.

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#4 Ferrari will be worth keeping an eye on

For a change, Ferrari were not stuttering outside of the top 10 in FP1 as both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished around 7-8 tenths off Verstappen.

There has always been a caveat around Ferrari's times that the team tends to run a power unit mode for Friday's practice sessions. If that is the case, the signs could be positive for the team.

While they are not going to pose a challenge for Red Bull, they could once again be the second fastest car on the grid.

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#5 Yuki Tsunoda was back to his old bad habits

We've spent the first two races in 2023 praising the growth and maturity shown by Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri. He has dragged that car as close to points as any other driver possibly could have. It has also cast a degree of pressure on Nyck de Vries, who is still finding his feet in F1.

However, at Albert Park, Tsunoda damaged the upgraded floor that AlphaTauri brought to the Australian GP. The Japanese driver is fighting for his seat in F1 this year and errors like these could prove fatal.