Australian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Is Oscar Piastri the favourite for pole position?

What a nightmare start to the season for Oliver Bearman. After destroying his car in FP1, the English driver got stuck in the gravel on his very first flying lap during the final practice session of the weekend, causing another red flag. Approaching the 11th turn, the English driver touched the grass, which sent him spinning. Unable to control his car, he couldn’t extract it from the gravel trap. The rookie will therefore head into the first qualifying session of the year with only 14 preparatory laps under his belt.

The Haas driver wasn’t the only one to experience a disappointing first attack lap. On his first attempt to set a good time, Liam Lawson complained of power issues over the radio. Called back to the garage by his team, the mood was grim among the Red Bull engineers. The nature of this technical problem was not disclosed. What is certain is that this situation is far from ideal for Sergio Pérez’s replacement, who damaged his car on Friday by getting too close to the curbs. The Austrian team later announced that their new driver would not be going out again for these FP3. This situation is far from ideal for Lawson, who complained on Thursday about not being fast enough.

With around twenty minutes remaining in the session, George Russell took the best time with a 1:16.402. The Brit regained the top spot from Max Verstappen by 0.3 seconds. Alexander Albon confirmed the good form of the Williams team shortly after by placing his FW47 in second position. Just a few seconds later, Carlos Sainz grabbed third position.

The local hero, Oscar Piastri, put on a show at the end of the session by securing the second fastest lap despite sliding through the final sector. A little later, he became the first driver of the weekend to break the 1:16 barrier by recording a 1:15.921.

Charles Leclerc complained on the radio about his Ferrari, which he finds slightly too oversteering. Despite this lack of confidence, the Monegasque took the lead over his new garage neighbor, Lewis Hamilton. The latter was also surprised by a slightly playful rear end at the beginning of his last attack lap. In the first corner, the car slightly slipped in the middle of the curve. Managing to recover it, the seven-time world champion went beyond the track limits.

Results of the Free Practice 3 of the 2025 Australian Grand Prix