George Russell set a blistering time to top Australian FP3. Image: XPB Images
Russell left it until the dying seconds to produce his best lap, the Mercedes driver pushing hard to find a quick time after a late red flag caused by a heavy crash for teammate Kimi Antonelli had earlier cost him a potentially faster lap.
The Briton ultimately delivered a 1m19.053s to top the session, finishing six tenths clear of the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton and setting the fastest time of the weekend so far.
Antonelli’s crash triggered the second red flag of the session, which had already begun 20 minutes later than scheduled after barriers required repairs following a crash during the earlier Formula 3 Sprint Race.
The Italian’s incident came as he dropped his rear wheel onto the grass on the exit of Turn 2. The loss of traction pitched his Mercedes into a spin before it slammed heavily into the opposite wall, scattering debris across the circuit.
Antonelli was able to climb from the car unscathed, but Mercedes now face a significant task if they are to repair the heavily damaged machine in time for qualifying later this afternoon.
That’s a lot of damage on the Mercedes! 😳
Kimi Antonelli is out of the car and ok#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/kpKwdRtVvJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 7, 2026
Charles Leclerc finished third behind his Ferrari teammate after spending much of the session at the top of the timesheets.
The Monegasque driver had led the way for the majority of the hour before Russell’s late surge pushed him down the order.
Leclerc still ended the session comfortably ahead of FP2 pace-setter Oscar Piastri, beating the Australian by three tenths, with Piastri more than a second adrift of Russell’s benchmark time.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar continued his impressive start to the weekend by beating teammate Max Verstappen for the first time as a Red Bull driver. The Frenchman finished fifth, one position ahead of the former world champion.
Despite his heavy crash late in the session, Antonelli’s earlier effort was still good enough to leave him seventh on the timesheets.
Lando Norris continued to search for pace throughout the weekend, ending the session eighth and finishing behind McLaren teammate Piastri for the third consecutive practice session.
Gabriel Bortoleto and Oliver Bearman completed the top 10 for Audi and Haas respectively.
Earlier in the session, the first red flag had been caused by the Williams of Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard stopped on the entry to the pit lane during his out lap after reporting a loss of power over the radio.
Sainz remained stationary in the car for several minutes while the track was initially placed under Virtual Safety Car conditions.
Race control eventually brought out a red flag to allow marshals to recover the stricken Williams, with the stoppage lasting approximately six minutes before the session resumed.
It marked the second time this weekend that Williams had suffered a session-ending issue, following Alex Albon’s stoppage during Friday’s opening practice session.
Sainz joined Lance Stroll as the only drivers not to record a lap time during the session, with the Canadian unable to take to the track and compounding a difficult weekend for Aston Martin.
There was at least a small positive for the Silverstone-based outfit, however, as Fernando Alonso managed to complete 20 laps during the hour.
The two-time world champion ended the session three and a half seconds off the pace and ahead of both Cadillac cars at the foot of the timesheets.
The first qualifying session of the 2026 Formula 1 season is scheduled to begin at 4pm AEDT.
Pos.
No.
Driver
Team
Time / Gap
Laps
1
63
George Russell
Mercedes
1:19.053
23
2
44
Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
+0.616s
22
3
16
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
+0.774s
20
4
81
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
+1.034s
17
5
6
Isack Hadjar
Red Bull Racing
+1.084s
15
6
3
Max Verstappen
Red Bull Racing
+1.144s
15
7
12
Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
+1.271s
18
8
1
Lando Norris
McLaren
+1.390s
22
9
5
Gabriel Bortoleto
Audi
+1.406s
19
10
87
Oliver Bearman
Haas F1 Team
+1.725s
18
11
41
Arvid Lindblad
Racing Bulls
+1.785s
15
12
30
Liam Lawson
Racing Bulls
+1.837s
13
13
31
Esteban Ocon
Haas F1 Team
+1.930s
19
14
27
Nico Hulkenberg
Audi
+2.014s
22
15
10
Pierre Gasly
Alpine
+2.018s
26
16
43
Franco Colapinto
Alpine
+2.360s
22
17
23
Alexander Albon
Williams
+2.611s
17
18
14
Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
+3.667s
20
19
77
Valtteri Bottas
Cadillac
+4.461s
12
20
11
Sergio Perez
Cadillac
+5.344s
21
21
55
Carlos Sainz
Williams
1
