Mercedes driver George Russell set the fastest time in a disrupted third free practice session for the 2026 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. The session at Albert Park was interrupted by two red flags, including a heavy crash for Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in Turn 2. Antonelli escaped unhurt, but his car requires repairs ahead of qualifying.
The FP3 session began with a 20-minute delay due to barrier repairs following a crash in the Formula 3 support race. After resuming, Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton led the early running, but interruptions followed. Williams driver Carlos Sainz stopped at pit entry on his out-lap, triggering the first red flag and continuing a difficult weekend for the team after Alex Albon's hydraulic issues on Friday.
With 38 minutes remaining, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli set a time under Hamilton's benchmark on Pirelli's softest rubber. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc then improved to 1m20.271s, followed by McLaren's Oscar Piastri with 1m20.164s. Leclerc responded with 1m19.827s to take provisional top spot.
In the final quarter, Antonelli suffered a heavy crash in Turn 2, bottoming out on the inside kerb and veering into the outside wall. He was unhurt, but Mercedes faces a challenge to prepare a new car for the young Italian before qualifying at 4pm local time.
The session restarted for the final four minutes, leading to a queue at pit exit. Russell then produced a late lap of 1m19.053s, 0.616s quicker than Hamilton in second and 0.774s ahead of Leclerc in third. Piastri finished fourth at 1m20.087s, ahead of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar in fifth.
Max Verstappen was sixth for Red Bull, a second off Russell's pace. Antonelli, despite his crash, was seventh, followed by McLaren's Lando Norris in eighth, Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto ninth, and Haas' Oliver Bearman tenth.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso completed 20 laps in the Honda-powered AMR26, setting 1m22s—3.6s off the pace—but a potential benchmark if qualifying issues arise. Teammate Lance Stroll did not run due to an internal combustion engine problem. Sainz set no time, while Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez were 19th and 20th.
