Oscar Piastri delighted the home crowd by topping the timesheets in the FP3 of the F1 Australian GP, edging out Mercedes’ George Russell and World Champion, Max Verstappen ahead of qualifying.
After Charles Leclerc dominated Friday’s second practice session ahead of the McLaren duo, it was Piastri who found the perfect setup when it mattered most. The Australian driver clocked an impressive 1m 15.921s in the closing moments of FP3, just 0.039s ahead of Russell, with Verstappen settling for third position.
Bearman’s FP3 session cut short
The session began dramatically as rookie Ollie Bearman, eager to recover from his FP1 crash that had forced him to miss yesterday’s second practice, suffered another setback. The young driver dropped a tyre onto the grass at Turn 11, losing control and sliding into the gravel trap. The incident immediately triggered a red flag, bringing his session to a premature end.
When the session resumed, Ferrari teammates Leclerc and Hamilton quickly took to the circuit, initially running hard tyres before switching to mediums – a strategy Aston Martin pioneered last year to optimise race performance.
Liam Lawson’s difficult weekend continued as he reported power loss over the radio during his push lap on soft tyres. Red Bull later confirmed a technical issue that sidelined the New Zealander for the remainder of the session, compounding his frustrations after damaging his floor in FP1.
Both Carlos Sainz and Jack Doohan experienced moments of lost control, though neither incident resulted in significant damage or delays.
One of the most encouraging developments was Williams’ impressive showing. Both Albon and Sainz consistently delivered strong lap times throughout the session on various tyre compounds, finishing sixth and seventh respectively. Their performance suggests the team has made significant progress and could be regular points contenders this season.
Tight at the top
The battle for supremacy remained remarkably close throughout FP3. Piastri initially set the pace on soft tyres with a 1m 17.298s, before Verstappen responded with a 1m 16.646s to temporarily claim the top spot. George Russell slotted into second at that point, nearly six-tenths behind the Dutchman.
At the session’s midpoint, just 0.093s separated second-placed Albon from fifth-placed Leclerc, highlighting the exceptionally tight competition. Most drivers conserved their final set of soft tyres for the qualifying simulation runs that would close the session.
Ferrari’s Leclerc reported oversteering issues with his car, suggesting the team still had refinements to make before qualifying.
As teams reduced their fuel loads for the final qualifying preparations, Oscar Piastri delivered his session-topping time, with Russell, Max Verstappen, Leclerc, and Antonelli completing the top five. The Williams pair secured sixth and seventh, followed by Hamilton, Tsunoda, and Norris.
With such marginal differences between the top teams, today’s qualifying session promises to be a thrilling spectacle as Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull all appear evenly matched on pace.
Feature Image Credit: McLaren Racing
