The opening round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship began on Friday at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit as teams prepared for the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday. Two 90-minute sessions – FP1 and FP2 – on the 5.303-kilometer, 16-turn track were run under full sun amid comfortable temperatures.
Leading the way in FP1 was Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, whose fast lap of 1:24.026 was .551 of a second better than the next quickest driver, his teammate Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton remained atop FP2 with a mark of 1:23.931, which was .127 of a second better than his nearest pursuer, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The Melbourne track record of 1:22.188, set last year by Hamilton in the final round of qualifying, remained intact.
First practice session
| 1. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 01:24.026 | |
| 2. | V. Bottas | Mercedes | 01:24.577 | |
| 3. | M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 01:24.771 | |
| 4. | K. Räikkönen | Ferrari | 01:24.875 | |
| 5. | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 01:24.995 | |
| 6. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | 01:25.063 | |
| 7. | R. Grosjean | Haas | 01:25.730 | |
| 8. | F. Alonso | McLaren | 01:25.896 | |
| 9. | C. Sainz Jr. | Renault | 01:25.922 | |
| 10. | S. Vandoorne | McLaren | 01:26.482 | |
| 11. | P. Gasly | Toro Rosso | 01:26.494 | |
| 12. | S. Sirotkin | Williams | 01:26.536 | |
| 13. | N. Hulkenberg | Renault | 01:26.583 | |
| 14. | E. Ocon | Force India | 01:26.605 | |
| 15. | L. Stroll | Williams | 01:26.636 | |
| 16. | S. Pérez | Force India | 01:26.767 | |
| 17. | K. Magnussen | Haas | 01:27.035 | |
| 18. | B. Hartley | Toro Rosso | 01:27.745 | |
| 19. | M. Ericsson | Sauber | 01:27.964 | |
| 20. | C. Leclerc | Sauber | 01:28.853 |
Second practice session
| 1. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 01: 23.931 | |
| 2. | M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 01: 24.058 | |
| 3. | V. Bottas | Mercedes | 01: 24.159 | |
| 4. | K. Räikkönen | Ferrari | 01: 24.214 | |
| 5. | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 01: 24.451 | |
| 6. | R. Grosjean | Hare | 01: 24,648 | |
| 7. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | 01: 24.721 | |
| 8. | F. Alonso | McLaren | 01: 25.200 | |
| 9. | K. Magnussen | Hare | 01: 25.246 | |
| 10. | S. Vandoorne | McLaren | 01: 25.285 | |
| 11. | C. Sainz Jr. | Renault | 01: 25.390 | |
| 12. | S. Pérez | Force India | 01: 25.413 | |
| 13. | N. Hulkenberg | Renault | 01: 25.463 | |
| 14. | L. Stroll | Williams | 01: 25.543 | |
| 15. | E. Ocon | Force India | 01: 25.888 | |
| 16. | B. Hartley | Toro Rosso | 01: 25.925 | |
| 17. | P. Gasly | Toro Rosso | 01: 25.945 | |
| 18. | S. Sirotkin | Williams | 01: 25,974 | |
| 19. | M. Ericsson | Sauber | 01: 26.814 | |
| 20. | C. Leclerc | Sauber | 01: 26.815 |
