Mercedes' George Russell went quickest in final practice for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix beating Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by more than six tenths of a second in a session that was twice halted by red flags, the second for a heavy crash involving Russell’s team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

The start of the last hour of practice in Melbourne was delayed by 20 minutes due to barrier repairs following a crash in the earlier F3 Sprint Race. And when the F1 cars at last took to the track running was soon stopped when Carlos Sainz’s Williams ground to a halt at the pity entry. 

The red flags came out and when running resumed, with 38 minutes left Ferrari's Leclerc moved to the top of the order with a lap of 1: 20.271 on Soft tyres. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri then went quickest with a 1:20.164s, before Leclerc upped the pace and reclaimed wtop spot with a lap of 1:19.827.

As the session entered its final quarter the Mercedes drivers then went for their flying laps and within moments the session was halted once again. The Italian driver rattled hard across the kerb on the left of Turn 2 and the vibration appeared to unsettle his car as he landed on the track surface and he was launched backwards across the track into the barriers on the right side of the track. The impact was severe and he was bounced back across the track, coming to rest against the concrete barriers with the rear of his Mercedes W17 destroyed. Antonelli was unhurt and quickly returned to his team’s garage to review the error. 

The red flags were shown again but with his car quickly recovered and the debris cleared the 

session resumed with four minutes on the clock. 

Russell then demonstrated just why paddock insiders have tipped him for a genuine title challenge this year as he powered to P1 with a lap of 1:19.053, 0.616 seconds clear of Hamilton and almost eight tenths ahead of third-placed Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrar 

Local hero Piastri took fourth place for McLaren, a full second off Russell’s pace, and the Australian was followed by Red Bull Racing’s Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen. 

Thanks to an earlier lap, Antonelli took P7 ahead of defending world champion who was 1.390s off the pace. Gabriel Bortoleto took P9 for Audi and the top 10 order was rounded out by Haas’ Oliver Bearman. 

Further back, Aston Martin had its most encouraging session of the weekend so far, with Fernando Alonso completing 20 laps and posting a best time of 1:22.720 to finish in P18. It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Honda-powered team, however, as Lance Stroll was unable to take part in the session due to a PU issue. 

2026 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:19.053 23 240.355
2 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:19.669 0.616 22 238.496
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:19.827 0.774 20 238.024
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:20.087 1.034 17 237.251
5 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:20.137 1.084 15 237.103
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:20.197 1.144 15 236.926
7 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:20.324 1.271 18 236.551
8 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:20.443 1.390 22 236.202
9 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:20.459 1.406 19 236.155
10 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:20.778 1.725 18 235.222
11 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:20.838 1.785 15 235.047
12 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:20.890 1.837 13 234.896
13 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:20.983 1.930 19 234.627
14 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:21.067 2.014 22 234.383
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:21.071 2.018 26 234.372
16 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:21.413 2.360 22 233.387
17 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:21.664 2.611 17 232.670
18 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:22.720 3.667 20 229.700
19 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:23.514 4.461 12 227.516
20 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:24.397 5.344 21 225.135
21 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes - 1