George Russell dominated the timesheets in final practice for the 2026 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix as Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli suffered a heavy crash that disrupted proceedings at Albert Park.
Russell set the fastest lap time of 1:19.053 in the dying moments of FP3, eclipsing Friday’s best by over 0.7 seconds, signaling the W17’s superior downforce and straight-line speed amid sandbagging chatter.
The session marked the last opportunity for teams to fine-tune setups before qualifying but was fraught with interruptions, including two red flags and mechanical woes that left several drivers without competitive times.
Carlos Sainz was the first victim to get struck by reliability gremlins as his Williams ground to a halt just after leaving the pits, triggering the first red flag as the car stalled at the pit lane entry.
Sainz climbed out frustrated, reporting a sudden power loss that team principal James Vowles later attributed to an irreparable glitch carried over from testing—no lap time was recorded for the Spaniard, underscoring Williams teething issues with their new power unit integration.
Drivers piled into the pit lane for fresh soft tires as Marshals took eight minutes to clear the stricken FW49, the stoppage chomping down on track action particularly for midfield outfits chasing setup tweaks.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll did not participate at all after he was sidelined by a suspected internal combustion engine issue that left the Canadian without a single lap, underscoring ongoing reliability concerns for the AMR26 project.
As the session resumed, Oscar Piastri, fresh off topping FP2 for hometown heroes McLaren, immediately slotted into provisional first with a 1:20.087.
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Charles Leclerc later lit up the timing screens for Ferrari with a 1:19.827, but the Monegasque’s efforts was soon overshadowed by teammate Lewis Hamilton who extracted every ounce from his SF-26 to deliver a 1:19.669.
As the session progressed into its middle phase, more interruptions ensued starting with a brief yellow flag for Williams’ Alex Albon who slowed dramatically on the back straight before recovering without issue.
Not long after, Mercedes sophomore Kimi Antonelli clipped the inside of Turn 2 and veered hard into the outside wall, sending the W17 into a violent double-impact measured at 17G that crumpled the left side and both wings.
The violent crash prompted a second red flag with just four minutes left in F1 Australian GP FP3 as Antonelli walked away unscathed, confirming over radio he was “okay but shaken.”
George Russell ultimately salvaged what was a session of mixed fortunes for the Brackley-based squad by setting a last-minute lap of 1m19.053s which was six tenths faster than Hamilton and seven tenths up on Leclerc, who rued a scruffy first sector on his final push post-red flag.
Red Bull duo Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen occupied fifth and sixth, while reigning world champion Lando Norris languished in eighth after struggling with McLaren understeer. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto slotted ninth, edging out Haas’ Oliver Bearman by 0.319s.
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Oscar Piastri paces second practice for Australian GP amid disruptions, Aston Martin struggles
