George Russell set the fastest time of the final free practice session in Melbourne. But this FP3 was mainly marked by Kimi Antonelli’s violent accident just hours before qualifying.
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After two initial free practice sessions rich in lessons, the final session before the Australian Grand Prix qualifying was expected to provide a clearer picture of the hierarchy for this 2026 Formula 1 season.
On Friday, the forces seemed relatively balanced between the four top teams. Ferrari and Red Bull Racing had shown good potential during FP1, while Mercedes F1 and McLaren F1 Team had taken the lead during the second session.
These FP3 were therefore meant to serve as a dress rehearsal before the battle for pole position on the Albert Park street circuit. On the other hand, the weekend already looked much more complicated for Aston Martin, which is clearly struggling to find pace since the start of the weekend despite completing around thirty laps the day before with its two cars.
A disrupted session even before the green light
The third free practice session had a chaotic start. The stewards first delayed the start by about twenty minutes following an accident during the Formula 3 sprint race. With the safety barriers at Turn 5 damaged, repairs were necessary before allowing the F1 cars to take to the track.
At the same time, the FIA had briefly considered removing one of the five “straight mode” usage zones on the Melbourne circuit. Faced with protests from the teams, this decision was finally overturned before the start of the session.
When the lights finally turned green, few drivers immediately headed out onto the track. Among the first to leave the pits was Fernando Alonso, while his teammate Lance Stroll remained stationary in the Aston Martin garage due to a new engine issue.
Hamilton and Leclerc respond to each other
The first fast laps quickly animated the timesheet. Lewis Hamilton opened the hostilities with a reference time of 1’21″599 on soft tires.
The session was however briefly interrupted when Carlos Sainz stopped his Williams at the entrance to the pit lane. The incident first caused a Virtual Safety Car before a red flag was finally waved. The Spaniard did not return to the track afterwards.
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After the restart, the times dropped quickly. Hamilton improved his time before being beaten by Kimi Antonelli. Max Verstappen then moved into the top three, before Charles Leclerc took the lead in 1’20″271.
The battle intensified with Oscar Piastri also very close to the Ferrari’s time. Hamilton finally took back the provisional first place in 1’20″176.
Antonelli’s spectacular crash
While the battle for the fastest time was raging, the session took a turn in the final twenty minutes. While George Russell was setting very fast sectors, Antonelli lost control of his Mercedes at the exit of Turn 2.
The Italian car went violently off before ending its run in the wall, immediately triggering another red flag. Despite the violence of the impact, the driver climbed out of the car on his own and appears unharmed.
The accident however comes at the worst possible time for Mercedes, just hours before qualifying. The mechanics will now have to assess the damage and try to repair the car in time to allow Antonelli to participate in the session.
Russell concludes the session on top
The session finally resumed for only four minutes, triggering a real rush of drivers at the end of the pit lane to attempt a final improvement.
At the end of these final attempts, Russell set the fastest time of FP3 with an excellent lap in 1’19″053. Hamilton and Leclerc complete the top three, confirming Ferrari’s rise in power before qualifying. Behind them, Piastri, Isack Hadjar, Verstappen, Antonelli, Lando Norris, Gabriel Bortoleto and Oliver Bearman complete the top 10.
One thing is certain: with extremely tight gaps between the top teams, the qualifying session already promises to be explosive on the Albert Park circuit.
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Classification of FP3 for the 2026 F1 Australian GP:
