Oscar Piastri wrapped up the final F1 Australian GP practice session on a high ahead of qualifying, setting the fastest time in FP3 and leading the pack ahead of George Russell and Max Verstappen, full report and results below.
After Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets in FP2 at the F1 Australian Grand Prix, leading the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, teams and drivers are now gearing up for FP3 to get a clearer picture of their performance ahead of the qualifying session later today.
Rookie errors from Ollie Bearman
The session started with Ollie Bearman eager to make up for lost time after his FP1 crash that forced him to miss FP2. Unfortunately, his return was short-lived as he dropped a tyre in the grass and lost control of his car, spinning into the gravel at Turn 11. The incident brought out an immediate red flag, ending his session.
A tyre fight and technical issues
As soon as the green flag waved, the track came alive with a flurry of cars, led by the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Hamilton. They each completed a lap on hards before switching to mediums, a strategy Aston Martin introduced last year to optimise tyre performance ahead of the race.
Teams experimented with various tyre compounds, but not everyone had a smooth run. Lawson attempted a push lap on softs but abandoned it, reporting a loss of power over the radio. Red Bull later confirmed that it was a power unit issue, leading the New Zealander to miss the rest of the session.
It’s been a rough weekend for Lawson, who also lost time during FP1 yesterday after damaging parts of his floor. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz and Jack Doohan both had moments where they lost control of their cars, but neither incident resulted in any major issues.
Williams is back in the fight
Williams have caught everyone’s attention with their impressive pace throughout the session, as Albon and Sainz consistently delivered strong lap times on both soft and hard tyres. They ended the session in sixth and seventh, confirming their competitiveness for the season ahead.
Close speeds between the teams in FP3 at the Australian GP
The battle at the top is looking incredibly close in FP3, with Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull all appearing evenly matched. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri initially set the pace on soft tyres with a 1m 17.298s, three-tenths clear of Verstappen. But the reigning World Champion soon responded, posting a 1m 16.646s to claim P1, while Russell slotted into second, nearly six-tenths behind.
Midway through the session, Verstappen maintained the lead, followed by Albon, Antonelli, and Piastri, with Leclerc and Norris just behind. The competition was fierce, with only 0.093s separating Albon in P2 from Leclerc in P5. Most drivers continued to run their original set of soft tyres, reserving their final set for low-fuel qualifying simulation runs. Leclerc noted some oversteering issues with his Ferrari, indicating the team still had work to do.
As teams began dropping their fuel loads, the positions continued to shuffle. In the closing moments, Piastri laid down a 1m 15.921s to take the top spot, just 0.039s clear of Russell. Verstappen, Leclerc, and Antonelli rounded out the top five, with the Williams duo in sixth and seventh, followed by Hamilton, Tsunoda, and Norris.
