Max on P6 in third free practice in Melbourne

Published on 07 March 2026 by Florence Cobben

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has finished the third and last free practice in anticipation of the Australian Grand Prix in sixth. On the 5.278-meter-long Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, which boasts fourteen corners, George Russell set the fastest time in his Mercedes, ahead of the Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in P2 and P3. Max’s teammate at Oracle Red Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar, set the fifth-fastest time.

Ahead of FP3 there is an announcement that the start of the session is delayed. Repairs to the track are still being carried out after a major crash during the Formula 3 sprint race that took place just before today’s free practice session. Work is also still ongoing at Aston Martin, specifically on Lance Stroll’s car. The team only has two functioning batteries available for the rest of the weekend, meaning we are unlikely to see many laps from Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso today.

When the session finally gets underway – twenty minutes later than originally scheduled – the air temperature in Melbourne is 20°C, while the track temperature sits at 35°C Franco Colapinto is the first driver to appear on track. Otherwise, it’s not immediately busy on the circuit, with more than half of all the cars staying parked in the pit. Lewis Hamilton is the first car to put a time on the board, after driving a lap on a set of soft tyres.

After nine minutes, the session is interrupted by a yellow flag when Carlos Sainz’s Williams has comes to a stop at the pit entry, with the Spaniard having no luck getting it back underway. Shortly afterwards, a virtual safety car is deployed. Sainz climbs out of the car, effectively ending his participation in the session – far from ideal with qualifying approaching. Even later a red flag is waved, so the stranded Williams can safely be removed and returned to its garage. Meanwhile the clock continues to tick on; it’s a matter of waiting for the session to be resumed.

With just a little under 40 minutes to go, the track is cleared for use. By now a line of cars are ready and waiting to go at the end of the pit lane. Max, too, is waiting to get out on track, with a new set of soft tyres under his RB22. After a quick fast lap, the Dutchman is back on P2 but moments later he gets demoted to P3, as Kimi Antonelli goes fastest, overtaking Lewis Hamilton for P1.

Max improves his time on his second attempt, but this is only good enough for P5, behind both Ferraris, Piastri and Antonelli. Alex Albon, like his teammate, comes to a still in turn four of the track but fortunately does get his car underway again. Aston Martin announces Lance Stroll won’t be participating in the rest of the session due to a suspected problem with the internal combustion engine. Meanwhile, new team Cadillac struggles with both drivers at the back of the field. Both Cadillac drivers, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Botttas, are four and a half second off the pace of the rest of the grid.

With just twelve minutes to go, Antonelli causes a red flag after a heavy crash exiting turn 2. The young Italian luckily hops out of the car uninjured, but lots of work will be awaiting the Mercedes mechanics to get the car in shape for qualifying. Once again, the clock keeps running, and valuable practice time ticks away.

In the last four minutes the track is cleared for use, and almost the whole field heads out for a final stint on soft tyres. George Russell shows he’s the man to beat with a very fast lap. Max again  improves on his time, but it’s good only for P6, a couple hundredths behind teammate Hadjar, who closes the session in P5. That concludes the first batch of practice sessions of the year.

Results third free practice Australia: