Key Players Shine in Australian Grand Prix Final Practice Session

Under the overcast skies of Albert Park, McLaren‘s Oscar Piastri claimed the top spot in the final practice session for the Australian Grand Prix. George Russell and Max Verstappen followed closely behind. A crash by Oliver Bearman for Haas marked a disappointing start to the session.

Drivers Take to the Track with Caution

With several frontrunners opting for hard tires initially, following Bearman’s immediate incident, they waited before returning to the track on the soft tires. Esteban Ocon and Jack Doohan briefly held the top spots before Verstappen took the lead with a 1m17.632s lap time.

Piastri then moved into first place with a 1m17.298s, but Verstappen quickly pulled away with a 1m16.646s on his second run after 24 minutes. This time stood as the benchmark for over 10 minutes, as other drivers struggled to match it in their subsequent attempts.

However, Verstappen experienced a rear slide at Turn 12, suggesting that the RB21’s handling remains a concern. With just over 20 minutes remaining, Russell took the lead with a 1m16.402s lap, followed by Lando Norris in second place with a lap featuring a big gravel strike exiting Turn 6.

Verstappen regained the top spot with another fast run on fresh soft tires, but Piastri moved ahead with a 1m15.921s just eight minutes before the end – after Norris had aborted a lap due to a slide in dirty air from traffic at the penultimate corner.

As the clock wound down, Verstappen appeared set for another fast lap but slid wildly exiting Turn 12, allowing Russell to squeeze between him and Piastri. The top three were separated by just 0.081 seconds, with Russell missing out on first place by a mere 0.039 seconds.

Late-Session Drama for Leclerc and Lawson

Charles Leclerc finally managed to move Ferrari up the order late in the session after coming close midway through, despite complaining about oversteer that was affecting his confidence. He failed to improve on his final set of soft tires as the chequered flag fell.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished fifth ahead of Williams pair Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, with Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda in seventh and eighth places respectively. Norris rounded out the top 10 in the other McLaren.

Bearman and Lawson Miss Out on Practice Time

Bearman spun off on his first flying lap after missing all of FP2 due to his FP1 shunt at Turn 10, while Liam Lawson missed most of FP3 due to a pneumatic air issue on his engine. Both drivers were unable to take further part in the session.