Australian Grand Prix Practice 3 Match Detail on SportFeed

George Russell sent a massive warning shot to the rest of the paddock by dominating the final practice session with a blistering 1:19.053. The Mercedes driver flexed the muscles of the new W17, finishing a staggering 0.616 seconds clear of his former teammate Lewis Hamilton, who took second for Ferrari.

The session suggested that Mercedes has unlocked a significant advantage with the new 2026 power unit regulations, as they looked untouchable in the high-speed sections. The hour was far from perfect for the Silver Arrows, however.

In the closing minutes, rookie Kimi Antonelli suffered a heavy crash at Turn 2, losing the rear of his car on the exit kerb and hitting the barriers hard. The resulting red flag ended the session prematurely and left the Mercedes mechanics with a frantic two-hour rebuild before qualifying.

Reliability also plagued the bottom of the timesheets; Carlos Sainz stopped his Williams at the pit entry early on, triggering the session's first red flag, while Lance Stroll failed to set a time entirely due to a suspected internal combustion engine (ICE) issue on his Aston Martin. Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri rounded out the top four, both over seven-tenths adrift of Russell’s benchmark.