Formula One got back underway as the ten teams returned to the modified streets of Albert Park in the early hours of the morning on Friday.
The 20 drivers got back in the cockpit as F1 resumed the 2022 season, and it was the Ferrari's who topped both timesheets, with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz sharing a session a piece.
FERRARI ON TOP
Ferrari continued their dominant return to the top of Formula One, topping both session's timesheets, starting the day in Melbourne with a 1-2. Carlos Sainz particularly impressed in the first Practice session, leading his teammate by nearly six tenths.
It was then Charles Leclerc's time to flex his muscles, as the drivers began to turn the screw on, with the Ferrari driver beating his teammates time in Practice One by almost a whole second.
However, looking at the qualifying simulation pace data, there is nothing to separate Ferrari and Red Bull at Albert Park. Ferrari didn't look invincible, heavily suffering from porpoising through the newly made long straight, which can be seen in Leclerc's fastest lap in FP2.
ALPINE IMPRESSING
The biggest surprise of the day however, was perhaps the pace of the Alpine. In the first session, Esteban Ocon secured sixth and Fernando Alonso secured ninth respectively, starting off a highly encouraging day for those in the garage.
Both Alpine drivers went onto impress further in FP2, with Alonso and Ocon taking fourth and sixth, only trailing both Ferrari's and Red Bull's, capping off a highly impressive first day in Melbourne.
They were particularly quick in the middle sector, which bodes well for a track with four DRS zones. Alpine will certainly be looking to build on their strong start to the season, starting with qualifying on Saturday.
MERCEDES STRUGGLES CONTINUE
The return of the Silver Arrows has been a difficult one so far for Mercedes, and the difficulties continued on the first day in Melbourne, still a long way off the pace and with no real solution in sight.
"Nothing you change on the car makes a difference at the moment. So that's the difficult thing." - Lewis Hamilton
Despite taking P7 in the first Practice session, the seven time World Champion was still 1.2s off the pace at the top, with his teammate George Russell even further down the order in P12.
It doesn't seem to be getting any better for Mercedes, and especially on a track with such high speeds, it doesn't bode well for their chances in qualifying and the race, as they still suffer from heavy porpoising.
The season has not started well for Mercedes, particularly by their usual standards. They will need to pick up some ideas very quickly if they even wish to be challenging at the top of the charts, not just in Melbourne, but for the rest of the season.
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