McLaren’s hometown hero Oscar Piastri led a super-competitive final practice session for Sunday’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix with the Australian just 39 one-thousandths of a second ahead of Merce

Today is the day, then. For all of pre-season and even during the first three practice sessions we have had here so far, the mantra has been “we’ll see after qualifying in Melbourne”. That is that whatever teams have been holding back or not, there is no place to hide when it comes to the first session that sets the grid for 2025.

The first qualifying session of the year takes place on Saturday, March 15 at the Albert Park Circuit, but as a result of the dramatic time difference with the UK, qualifying is today in Melbourne! The Australian Grand Prix is opening the season this weekend, with Lewis Hamilton's grand prix debut with Ferrari being the main event.